Job Discussion Forums

[samhouston]

I have an Alien Employment Permit with my current job in Shanghai. At a new prospective employer, also in Shanghai, after weeks of leading me on, they finally told me they don't want to hire me because it would cost them 26,000 RMB to get me an FEC. This must be an outrageous lie. But then again, I have no idea how much it costs. Anyone know?

Also, when moving from one school to another, if you already have an FEC from the current job, does it get transferred to the new job just like the residence permit? Or do they have to apply for a new FEC from scratch?

Thanks.

[dean_a_jones]

I lost my FEC this year, so had to get a new one. I was asked to pay 10RMB for the replacement.

But no idea if that is because it is a replacement, rather than a new one. But based on experience, these kinds of things are usually pretty cheap here. I wouldn't think, as in your situation, a transfer or new permit (either way) would not be much of a financial burden for the employer as this is always happening.

What they may be referring to, albeit disingenuously, is the cost of the overall permits necessary to hire an FT. And am afraid I have no idea what those might be. But as you are already in country, I suppose this is just the usual BS about not giving you a firm answer when the answer isn't positive.

[jimpellow]

Are they saying they don't want to hire you because they want you to work illegally?

A visa service said this:

"The application for “Foreign Experts Certificate” is free of charge. If the applicant is qualified and can provide complete and authentic materials, the application process only takes three working days. The longest validity period of certificate is five years for every issuance."

Of course one has seen in the past dubious recruiters and schools charging the teacher some fee for offsetting the high costs of obtaining such a certificate, but one has to see what this probably truly is.

The only way I could see this having any sense of legitimacy is if they were looking ahead at what the social tax would come out to be. At 33 to 40 percent of the teacher's salary, and with no cap and no way for the school to apply for a refund, it has really driven up the costs to hire foreigners and obviously is going to keep wages suppressed.

Sounds like you are better off without them.