Job Discussion Forums

[dog backwards]

If the OP is not in China, it was not any entity in Jiangsu that refused the Z visa. The Z visa is issued by the home country's Chinese consulate. If The OP is in his home country, SAFEA refused to issue the invitation letter.

Let's get the story straight.

[Alexis009]

Thanks for all the replies!

To answer a few questions, no this was not for the VISA application it was from the FAO, for work permit. These desk jockies at the school gave me the wrong terminology that I copied into my post. I am still stateside, with no visa, and low hopes of ever making it to China for this next semester... ):

I have been hard at work browsing for jobs though, and after all the input I'll still push for a job in Jiangsu (And thanks Puffy for the recommendation for Hangzhou, but seems like every position is filled there). Thanks Chengdude for that info, it just makes me worry more for applying to other cities in the same province if the Jiangsu provincial FAO will just auto-deny me once again. hah.

I became more "creative" with resume and work experience, strategically naming a possible 6 month stint volunteering ESL teaching at a local college. yes I have no dignity. Hopefully that's enough time. I draw the line at 6 months of possibly fictitious experience. I'm confident that I am a good teacher regardless, and that my students will learn under my tutelage...

Anyways from what I gather, I'll just keep applying to other unis in other cities and hope and pray that I get lucky with the FAO. This is china. Maybe it gets easier after a few years of experience?

[Mister Al]

Someone wrote:

[londis]

The PSB in Jiangsu are rather strict. I had a fair amount of trouble getting my visa, and ending up having to fiddle around with dates in my CV to total up to 2 years teaching experience. They never checked a single referee though, and even if they had they would've only found my brother

[sharonariel]

Seems like there is a lot of misinformation here.

1. Foreign Affairs Office. There are two of these. The one that is in your school and the other that is in the municipal government. The one in the municipal government has nothing to do with issuing your visa.

2. The application for a visa needs 3 things:
a. Foreign Experts Certificate (issued by State Bureau of Foreign Experts).
b. Confirmation letter of invitation (this used to be "Application of Visa notice, but that has apparently been phased out).
c. Health Exam (it has, like, 30 different things that you should be tested for but in reality they are only looking for an HIV infection or signs of opiate abuse). I do know that this is not required for the Foreign Experts certificate, but it may actually be that the PSB is the one who wants this. Not sure, but it *is* a requirement someone among these many obstructive regulatory agencies in China.

3. There is a lot more to these things than meets the eye.
a. The requirements that each province has for offering Foreign Experts licenses are highly variable and actually depend on the city in which there is the nearest State Bureau of Foreign Affairs. Some say that they need a letter from a previous employer (Jiangsu) others say that they don't (Shanghai). Some say that they want one but are not strict (Taizhou, Zhejiang). Others don't issue permits to blacks (Guangzhou). Still others depend on the type of relationship that the boss of your school has with the State Bureau of Foreign Experts.

I had my Foreign Experts License issued in Jiangsu, but after having to take my employer (Changzhou International School) to the Labor Bureau to get my last salary then he obviously would not issue a letter. The State Bureau of Foreign Experts are the first people to whom I took the school (and who issued a judgment against them), but without the letter they would not issue the visa. (Even though they are the ones that mediated the complaint and understood why.) No amount of talking would sway them.

c. The health exam can only be done at a very limited number of places (even within China).

If you are out of the country, then the approval of Foreign Experts Certificate will not usually be a problem.

The paperwork is apparently so arduous and split among so many departments that a lot of schools (most of them, probably) have you come to the country on an L visa and then ask you to do a visa run to Hong Kong (or Macau) to give them the documents so that you can get your Z visa after they have filled out all the paperwork. (And this makes sense. Why would a school want to process a Z visa for a foreigner who might not show up anyway?) *Then* you come back to the country and have the Z visa turned into a resident permit. But, again, this varies by province. Jiangsu lets their foreign experts turn the tourist visa into a Z visa and then a residence permit. Sichuan and Hunan don't and will make you leave the country.

But honestly: The requirements for things in China change so frequently and are so variable, that it really could be anything at any time.

There is also another possibility (for the poster who said that the FAO couldn't get him approved): The school found someone that they liked better and just made up a lie in order to not hire the foreigner. Very common in China. Rules can be made up at any time for any reason to absolve the speaker of responsibility for whatever situation that he doesn't want to be responsible for.

[sharonariel]

[Londonboy]

I have been trying to get a z visa for Jiangsu and have just heard back from the school that the PSB think I am too young! They said they would let it through in June. At that time I will be 22 and 2 months, which makes no sense.

Also I have no teaching experience on my CV other than my TESOL course. Not quite sure how this sits with the OP's problem.

I now have to quickly decide if it is worth just going on a tourist visa and winging it until June.

[lee_barttwater]

I agree, you are too young. You have no proper/relevant education, no teaching experience, and "winging" it is hardly the hallmark of a professional.

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

[Londonboy]

[sharonariel]