Job Discussion Forums

[CHINOISE]

I spent a couple hours being interrogated by the local police because I was suspected of teaching at a school other than the one that had sponsored my visa.

Apparently there is a new law that is now being enforced. Funny thing is that I had never taken any work outside of my regular full time job, and I taught only 3 times at that school. I explained that it was simply a volunteer position.

Anyway there were several cops and I was summoned with my employer and a translator. After the extensive questioning, there reports to be signed and stamped using my fingerprint, etc..

As a result of the on-going investigation I will not be able to renew my residence permit before I go home, and who knows if I'll be able to get another visa which I will apply for as soon as I get back to the states.

Welcome to the new reality, folks.

[dean_a_jones]

Perhaps you annoyed someone, somewhere along the line as this has always been a grey area and I imagine will continue to be so. My state-issued contract says I need permission from my employer to do part-time work. Who knows what the guidelines and 'official rules' are, but am sure they (or their enforcement) vary from place to place.

Any chance you are not getting along with someone (anyone) at your current school or where you did that three hours of work and they just decided to screw you over? I would think that a phone call is all it would take to get petty revenge like this, assuming the person had the right connections. From the way you described it, it seems unlikely that someone didn't actively do something to trigger this situation.

[rioux]

[vikeologist]

I think from your previous posts that you work for a private school, and if you're moonlighting for a competitor, then I'm sure that you can understand why people might be annoyed. Someone doing private classes while working for a University would be much less likely to attract the attention of the Police, though it's still technically illegal.

I think it's not a new law though. It's the way it's always been. The only thing the law changed was to make working illegally liable to heavier penalties.

Technically you shouldn't be able to get a new visa for a few years, but the authorities do have the discretion to remove this barrier, so you might have to suck up to someone before you leave if you want to come straight back. This is based on a blog post that's now been deleted. Hands up, I honestly don't know how this works. I think maybe you have to avoid getting a stamp in your passport which says 'Don't come back any time soon'.

[johntpartee]

[drjtrekker]

Hey OP,

What city are u in?

[Markness]

Yeah, same sentiments with the others. Either you just had really back luck, someone is trying to make an example out of you, or you pissed someone off. I never have heard of anyone experiencing legal problems with extra work, and anyone with half a brain could easily shut down a ton of the "illegal" work just by going to city job websites and looking at 90 percent of the "part-time" work available for teachers.

If you didn't rub someone the wrong way I am guessing you either live in Guangzhou or you had some REALLY bad luck.

Sorry to hear either way man, if your heart is set on China though then just lurk over to a different city! New world

[RWA1981]

They are really getting serious about Visa enforcement. My flatmate just recently got fined $900, detained and then deported with a 3 year reentry ban for teaching on an L visa. The good old days are gone from what I can tell.

[Shroob]

[NoBillyNO]

In most countries a working visa is tied to one job... it is possible to work at multiple places by working for an agency and procuring several work books.

[fat_chris]

[CHINOISE]

Apparently the public high school did not have a permit to hire a foreign teacher. So my best guess is that some public official had been upset that he didn't receive his usual bribe, and I had to go answer to the PSB. This was not some keystone copper, it was at the province headquarters, so it was closer to China's equivalent of Scotland Yard or the FBI.

The police were quite adamant that this was not some grey area though. My boss and I were repeatedly told that working anywhere that wasn't stamped in your red book was a punishable crime, and was being enforced as the result of some recent legislation. I'm taking that with a grain of salt, but this guy certainly would know better than me and probably anyone else on this board.

The point is, all these discussions about working privates and getting extra work are just discussions about breaking the law. If the mods don't care, then I don't either.

[wangdaning]

It has always been technically against the rules to work outside of the employer who sponsored you. It is also technically illegal to smoke in bars and restaurants.

Also, are you sure enforcement was due to legislation or policy.

[vikeologist]

Wangdaning makes a good point. Not all laws are enforced.

I've always had a feeling that the mods are happy with conversation about this topic, because it's important that people do know that

a) working for another employer is against the law
b) the penalties are extremely harsh, both for the moonlighter and the non-visa sponsoring employer.

Chinaoise - Although it's always been against the law, last year's legislation means that you could have had to pay a heavy fine and been sent to prison for a short time. You've been let off lightly, although one could also see the response of the Police as being proportionate.

Clearly Police are sometimes going to clamp down because of not having got their bribe. On the other hand, there are benefits to schools having to get approval to hire foreign staff. There are already plenty of stories of foreigners having bad experiences with dodgy schools and agents. Imagine what that would be like if any tin pot organisation was allowed to employ foreigners. Also, though charging Y3,000 or whatever the local charge is for an invitation letter is certainly a bit cheeky, generally schools have to maintain a good relationship with the Police more than outright bribery.

Getting a visa / permit etc for foreigners is quite expensive. It's hardly fair if schools employ staff without incurring these costs.

I'm not defending the law or the Police. I'm just pointing out that if I was spending about Y10,000 per foreign teacher I recruit, and there was a competitor down the road giving them part-time work, I'd be inclined to complain.

There's also the issue of child abuse. Although the laws regarding criminal checks are a bit of a mess, I think most people would agree that having some kind of check on staff who have access to children is a good idea, and having staff working off the books is not ideal.

[RWA1981]