Job Discussion Forums

rolly66 · Joined: 30 Oct 2015 Posts: 1

I was recently Skype interviewed for a High School job in Shenzhen. They wanted me out there in 2 weeks and when I asked about visas was told I would come out on a tourist visa and then have it changed in Hong Kong to a Z visa. Is this possible/legal/OK ? I understood I should have the Z visa issued in my own country UK and in my passport when I arrived in China. Thanks. Any info would be much appreciated.

hz88 · Joined: 27 Sep 2015 Posts: 162

OhBudPowellWhereArtThou · Joined: 02 Jun 2015 Posts: 1168 Location: Since 2003

Don't do it. Do a search and read all of the recent discussions about this. While it may be possible for you to have your L visa changed to a Z, it is (at this point) a crap shoot. Suppose that it is possible for you to change it in HK, how comfortable do you feel about traveling through a country whose language you don't speak , where you must depend upon strangers every step of the way?

If the school, it is legit, it can wait for the Powerz that Bee to issue a letter of invitation which will allow you to apply for your legitimate work visa from your home country.

Coming to China on a tourist visa is a bad idea if you want to work.

Aristede · Joined: 06 Aug 2009 Posts: 180

hz88 · Joined: 27 Sep 2015 Posts: 162

To all intents and purposes I agree with what Bud has said.

The OP's original question was about if it was doable to which I answered it is but with associated risks.

I do not advocate ducking and diving and Bud gives sound advice in that you don't want to be travelling half way around the world with a lot of if's but's and maybe's in your baggage.

Shenzhen is practically an extension of Hong Kong these days and schools and recruiters will play this card as a ruse to make you think all is okay. I mentioned that I have heard that it is no longer possible to get invitation letters for issuing in Hong Kong from anywhere in Guangdong but I am not certain. I said it is possible in the province where I am, Shanxi. However Shanxi is considered remote and less developed so they allow for this.

Out of nine invitation letters we issued last year, two were issued for Hong Kong, these being the ones I mentioned. It happened to be that these two new hires were in Vietnam and it was problematic for them to obtain a health check in English locally which matched the Chinese requirements (even in England this can be a challenge) so we asked them to come and we would deal with it locally. We did assure them that if they had to return to England we would foot the bill.

There is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to obtain invitation letters, a reason why few schools even have a licence to do so and try to circumvent the regulations. It can be further complicated by how far the school is from the provincial capital and endless other factors. In early September this year the system was overhauled and is pretty much linked China wide now so you have a unique identification number which will follow you anytime you apply for resident permits. Everything has to be uploaded online and approved before we can even go to the SAFEA office to begin the process.

Our province also has began asking for real document verification at the stage of issuing the Foreign Expert Books so we have to see the real copy of any documents that have been provided to us otherwise they will not issue the FEC book and we can't get the resident permit. I could go on and on but I won't.

Simply again as I said, it is your choice. Personally I would follow Bud's advice especially as you are referring to Shenzhen. If they want you and agree to your request they should be asking you to undertake a health check in England. You can't do this on the NHS and will need to go to a private clinic and expect to be shelling out in excess of £400. If they don't ask then they are not sending you a letter of invitation for a work permit, it will be for another visa which they hope you won't spot and will just take their word for.

22Yossarian · Joined: 20 Jan 2013 Posts: 68

The rules change week to week. I had a Z visa in Beijing. When I got my first Z visa it was only possible to get a Z visa in your home country. My second year, many teachers at my school were arriving on tourist and business visas before going to Hong Kong to change their visa.

We had a new teacher come on board in February of 2015 and he went to Hong Kong to get his Z visa. We had another new teacher come on board in March, after the Spring festival, and the rules had changed and she had to fly back to the U.S. (at her expense) to get her Z visa. She also exhausted all of her paid leave for the year, 6 weeks in, to get her Z visa.