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struelle
Joined: 16 May 2003
Posts: 2372
Location: Shanghai
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 Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2004 1:33 pm Post subject: |
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| Maybe you can do the same, explaining that your not sure of your departure date. |
Just an update on my transition between School A and School B. Right now it's about 95% complete.
School B has been more than helpful in pretty much everything, and I really appeciate this. It helps that I used to teach for them in the past. They applied for a new visa, but a reference letter from School A was necessary. In addition, I had to go to the local PSB and register my new apartment downtown, thus getting the necessary piece of paper to complete the new visa process.
Both hurdles cleared, but this was WAY too close a call. I went to my local PSB the same day my old work visa expired (today), and there was a document from School B to confirm an in-progress application for a new work visa. After running around getting photos and copies made, I finally got the house registration paper at 3:30. I had to bust my a s s to the Exit-Entry Burea with someone from School B to get my application in before it closed at 4:30.
Had I gone one day or even hour later, I would have been up the creek because today was the expiry date of the old visa. I had originally planned a tourist visa extension, but school B applied for my new work visa on June 25. We thought this was enough time, but good ol' red tape came up and delayed the process until today.
The airplane issue is almost solved, too. One of my bosses from school B knows a travel agent who can order an open ticket, but then fill in an arbitrary date on the booking receipt which is then faxed to School A. School A then reimburses, according to the contract.
So why go through all this trouble? Basically I want nothing more to do with School A, but they'd love to keep me around longer, even after my contract is now over. If I tell them directly that I'm staying in Shanghai but changing schools, they'll get upset (lose face) and maybe cut my airfare or do something with my visa. So the best way out is to create a convincing story that I'm going back to Canada in summer. Something like, "Been nice knowing you guys, but I'm going back home."
I wish there was a better way to do this transition, but the most difficult part is not to give any hints to School A that I'm staying in China. So reimbursing airfare, getting reference letters, and/or visa extensions and police registration become very, very, troublesome.
Steve |
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kev7161
Joined: 06 Feb 2004
Posts: 5880
Location: Suzhou, China
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| Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2004 3:38 pm Post subject: |
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Today (June 30th), my Alien Employment Permit and my Residency Card expire. I renewed my contract back in April for next year and the FAO started working on renewing my documents June 1st ("don't worry, Kevin. No problems!). As of today, they have not been renewed. Let me tell you a little story:
My school is not allowed to have foreign teachers. They have not yet been certified. My "official" employer is Times Education Mangagement Inc. and not "Song Cheng Hua Mei" school. It seems that I was hired as an [i]educational consultant[/i] and Times (whose offices are conveniently located on campus) has "loaned" me out to teach at Hua Mei. Now, I had a little whiff of all of this earlier this year, but didn't really know the details and there didn't seem to be any problems (I am one of 10 FTs). Well, the PSB didn't know of this duplicity (or did know and was averting its eyes/accepting a little pay off here and there) and have now fined my school for false reports. Needless to say, as of tomorrow (my birthday, happy f**king birthday to me!), I am an illegal alien in China. Other teachers that were made visa-extension promises are also having problems. My school WAS certified as of yesterday, but it will be a good 2-3 weeks before everything is "supposedly" in order! If the PSB wants to fine me, the school will be paying the fines and not me, I assure you.
Yesterday, I was talking to the head guy in charge of all this and he was telling me about lovely Chengdu for some reason. Then he said, "Kevin, you should get a job there!" "Ray," said I, "I have already signed a contract for Hua Mei school for another year." "That contract doesn't mean anything!" he countered. Hmmmmm, toilet paper anyone? |
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struelle
Joined: 16 May 2003
Posts: 2372
Location: Shanghai
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| Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 3:23 pm Post subject: |
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| My school WAS certified as of yesterday, but it will be a good 2-3 weeks before everything is "supposedly" in order! If the PSB wants to fine me, the school will be paying the fines and not me, I assure you. |
Ouch! Talk about a nasty birthday surprise.
You have my sympathies but you should run, not walk, to your nearest PSB and get a tourist visa. See the archives for how to do this. You may have to pay a 1-2 day late fine which you can then get the school to reimburse later. But if you let the school delay, you'll end up paying more. And they will delay, if they haven't moved since April.
As I just found out, the PSB are very strict on this matter.
Another update: School B of mine just went to the PSB yesterday to apply for my new work visa, which was the deadline of my old one from school A. But my red book hadn't yet arrived from the Education Bureau which we applied for earlier. That meant the PSB issued me a tourist visa extension for today and they'll later apply for a new work visa.
There are too many damn visas in my passport now, but the PSB had to do this, else I'd be illegal.
So I suggest you get cracking on this right away.
China is a land of red tape where you daily bang your head against a bureaucratic brick wall. Despite this, or maybe I'm insane, I tend to enjoy the challenges of getting through the bureaucracy. Because in the end, there will be success.
Steve |
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Lee_Odden
Joined: 22 Apr 2004
Posts: 172
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| Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 8:32 am Post subject: |
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| Roger wrote: |
I don't want such a bonus because they have every right to withhold it from you!
Airfare is the way to go - it's yours, no matter whether you "deserve" a bonus or not; still, it does get pocketed by the wrong people sometimes! I don't want Chinese to determine whether I deserve a "bonus" - they can't determine that! |
I disagree. You are relatively safe if the bonus is written specifically as a "completion bonus." Fairly straightforward and there is no room for arbitrary decision-making as to whether it is due just as long as the employee completes the contract.
I have heard and read of many problems with "return air fare." Many employers will try to withhold it if the employee does not fly back but chooses to travel or work for another school. |
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