Job Discussion Forums

arioch36 · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 3589

yep, what ymmv said, that was the meaning I intended. Starting with Plan B, find another school. The invitation letter and FEC (gotten together if you are already in country .... well, I mean unless you mooned Hu Jin tao during the olympics, with a Free tibet on your butt, it aint no problem for a legal school to do

hiptoclip · Joined: 29 Jan 2008 Posts: 15

Just for the record, I am going from one university to another in Beijing. I visited the new school during the semester, and met a few of the foreign teachers. None of them had any problem getting the Z visa from the school. The new school had six foreign teachers last semester. This is my first time renewing a visa in Beijing. So my guess is that the " 5 day wait period" is really longer than that.

ymmv · Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Posts: 387

Hansen · Joined: 13 Oct 2008 Posts: 737 Location: central China

OP, Most people know that "regulations" are more or less meaningless. Same for the experience of others. There are a couple of other legitimate reasons for a delay . One is that schools are required to be registered properly themselves in order to hire FTs. The school certification to hire FTs can and does sometimes expire. That can cause a delay. The school must renew their "certification."

Another possibility is a change of personnel in the FAO ofice of the school. An incompetent FAO or assistant can really make things difficult. A new hire may receive no training except what he learns along the way. Also, some people care not a whit how much they inconvenience you. FT must fly to HK because I was too busy playing computer games when supposed to be working? No problem. Spent a week reading the newspaper in meetings while time for the FT runs out? No problem.

Believe it or not, some schools place a very low priority on FT business. Getting things done for you in a timely manner is not high on their list. If you overstay your visa, there is a 500RMB/day fine associated with that. More complications may follow. I doubt, from the sound of things, that your school would even consider paying your fine.

If the incompetence of your school, or its indifference, is making it necessary for you to go to HK at your own expense, you really should consider other employment options.

On the wall of a toilet stall in a Greyhound bus station someone may have written. "Life is hard. If you're stupid, it's even harder."

Don't be.

arioch36 · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 3589

ymmv · Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Posts: 387

So? The denouement?

hiptoclip · Joined: 29 Jan 2008 Posts: 15

Hi everyone. I want to thank you for your help in this trying time. The result is that everything will be fine. Basically what happen was that my red book had been ready since January 15. But nobody from the school office checked. Because the school offical had to do business out of town, and did not check till the morning of January 20. I had a chinese friend of mine call to see if the red book was ready on the 20th as well, and was told over the phone that is was ready come pick it up. The school offical picked it up for me and I got it from them.
So.... what can be learned from all this ??? First of all please understand I am not a new teacher in China. I have gone through this procedure before, but not in Beijing. Problem 1) I was talking to three school officals about my visa, I should of only been talking to the exact person who was going to hand in/ and pick up the visa. Problem 2) I gave the new school all my paper work with five weeks to go before my visa expired.= So the new school assumed I might not get it back in time, before my visa expired. 3) I went to my new school and met the people who were dealing with my visa= This is not a problem, but it's good to do this so the office of the school know you are serious about them doing their work so the foreign teacher can stay in the country.
4) Going from school to school, having to do finals, grades, change apartments, all in a short period of time, makes this process more stressful then it should be. So... if you want to stay in country, and change schools. Start looking as soon as you can. Ask direct questions about the new school. Get emails/ or meet current teachers. Turn in all your paper work for new visa asap, and ask the school how much time do they think think they need to process it ? Also..... the last problem was that once I gave the new school all the papers they asked for with five weeks to go, they still needed more things from me, which was part of the delay in them turning the papers in. Any questions for me just ask... I will get my Z visa back after the holiday.

ymmv · Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Posts: 387

Hansen · Joined: 13 Oct 2008 Posts: 737 Location: central China

Documents necessary for both the expert certificate and resident permit here:

Foreign expert certificate:

Academic credentials (Diplomae, Certificates, licenses)
Contract from school
Invitation letter (?)
Document from local police station documenting actual place of residency.
The school must be properly registered in order to employ a FE.

Residence permit:
Invitation letter from school
Paper from local police office regarding place of residency (Flat, dorm, etc.)
Foreign Expert Certificate

If some documents are required that I overlook, please add them. Sometimes copies are adequate. Some documents must be originals. Documents from school, local police, etc., must have official red stamp.

Note that before you can get a RP, you must have your Foreign Expert Certificate. The local PSB requires that all copies of documents be on A4 size paper. Your office may require a different size paper. In some cases, having one official document is inadequate. For instance, the place of residency from the local police. You should have two official documents-- one for foreign expert office, one for passport PSB.

Any goof in the above can/will delay the process. Once you turn in the documents to the PSB, a receipt from them will cover you; however, you may have trouble getting on an airplane or renting a hotel room without your passport.

arioch36 · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 3589

Medical exam must be completed before the FEC is issued . In Henan, Zhengzhou, they aissue a medical booklet similar to the FEC.

Is the medical to be done before entering CHina, after, or both? Well SAFEA does have a blurb in their regs about getting the med exam before entering. However last I knew in the US, the medical exam was not needed by the consulate in the US, just the invitation, work letter and passport. Also, the form you would get from the consulate or download will most likely not suffuce, and after arriving you would still be asked to do another medical exam. Technically a medical exam done in home country must have notarization ...at the state level?, not just any notarization. The SAFEA and Consulate bureaus are not under the same authority. Also consulates have different Operating instructions in different countries

IT2006 · Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 12:10 am Post subject:

arioch36,

Once again I'm behind you. I wouldn't bother with a stateside medical check. Last time, the school just threw mine away.

BTW, in most states, notaries are state-level notaries. That doesn't mean diddly in China though.