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LarssonCrew
Joined: 06 Jun 2009
Posts: 1308
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 Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 10:13 am Post subject: So many hoops to jump for visa. |
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So I decided to return to China and a few things popped intoh head:
Contracts are getting worse - half pay for holidays?4000 RMB for a return air ticket? 9 month contracts.
Anyways beside that I also saw that many many offers come with a housing allowance rather than provide housing. The only
Problem is most offer way below what can get you a good house. 1000 RMB in Shanghai?2000 in Beijing? Isn't a decent apartment 5000
Minimum in these places?
Anyways I found a good offer in BJ and accepted and have now just received the 'things needed for visa' and there are so many hoops.
I have a police check. Except it isn't stamped. I applied online and got it. The psb says it must be stamped. There is no where that will add a stamp. And if I reapply they will simply send it again.
Need a medical report which I know will cost 500 usd and then have to redo in China.
The next is comic. My degree doesn't mention my middle name so the psb said I am supposed to go to the embassy to get a letter saying it's mine. Will a letter from my univerisity do? Nope.
Need reference letters proving I've worked for 2 years even though I've worked 5 years in China previously. Shouldn't the PSB know that?
Need my former residence permits even though the UK embassy retained my old passport. Shouldn't the chinese govt have these?
There were even more things. Like me mailing 5 passport photos to a physical address. That's 20 dollars and may take months or not appear just to give them 5 passport photos.
Seems that China is making it even more difficult. I was offered an australian 5 year work visa on a lawyer scheme and even that ( which is notoriously difficult) required less
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hdeth
Joined: 20 Jan 2015
Posts: 583
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| Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 10:23 am Post subject: |
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A notarized criminal background check is usually required and pretty easy to get. Check with the state patrol.
Medical check I got 2 years ago or so for about $150 if I remember right. Call a local family doctor and make a deal.
Most of the rest seems kinda strange, like mailing the passport photos. There was an error on the topic review section so I don't remember the exact things but I've never heard of most of them.
I had a problem with the Beijing PSB because my name was the shortened/nickname version on some stuff and the formal/longer name on some other stuff. Confused the crap out of them apparently. Eventually the school I was working for signed something saying their story was true and that was accepted. |
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LarssonCrew
Joined: 06 Jun 2009
Posts: 1308
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| Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 10:46 am Post subject: |
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What also annoys me is that they say 'you need this' with no help/indication where to get it.
'Stamped as shown' doesn't tell me anything
Beside they know I'm not in the UK but continue to ask me to do things as if I were there ( go to embassy for a letter?!?!) there isn't an embassy of the UK in the country I am in! |
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The bear
Joined: 16 Aug 2015
Posts: 483
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| Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 11:41 am Post subject: |
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Offers have been stagnant for a while now. Go back a few years on this forum and you'll notice posters saying the same thing, 'Not as good as before'.
It may be fair to say 'the good old days are over', but there's still options out there. |
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7969
Joined: 26 Mar 2003
Posts: 5782
Location: Coastal Guangdong
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| Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 12:21 pm Post subject: Re: So many hoops to jump for visa. |
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| LarssonCrew wrote: |
| So I decided to return to China |
Excuse me..... while I  |
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Banner41
Joined: 04 Jan 2011
Posts: 656
Location: Shanghai
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| Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2015 7:09 am Post subject: |
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| The rules in Shanghai have changed. You no longer need to apply from a foreign country. You just show up at the airport with the invitation letter and the process begins from there. I figured they would have rolled that out in Beijing first. Perhaps not. |
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JB140767
Joined: 09 Aug 2015
Posts: 135
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| Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2015 11:16 am Post subject: Re: So many hoops to jump for visa. |
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| LarssonCrew wrote: |
Contracts are getting worse - half pay for holidays?4000 RMB for a return air ticket? 9 month contracts.
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One in a hundred contracts might possibly be as bad as this, tho I never heard of any 9 month contracts, methinks youse r looking in da wrong place |
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JRJohn
Joined: 21 Jun 2006
Posts: 175
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| Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2015 1:46 pm Post subject: Well |
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Well, I can tell you that sounds almost as bad as getting a visa for Korea! Are you sure that the job in Beijing is worthwhile? I am asking because getting the Z VISA for Beijing is much harder than the rest of China. Beijing is the capital, and I suppose that's why they want to be strict. What happens in Beijing has a higher public profile, and you are always "in the Emperor's shadow," so to speak.
Is the medical report required for your visa? Or is it merely the school? The school itself may be paranoid and may be giving you a raw deal. Ask your recruiter. I went to Beijing last September, to teach in a state school, and I DIDN'T need to see a doctor beforehand. Nor did I have to get the criminal record check stamped. But that was last year. Things seemed to have changed. At a job interview last June, a university said they could not sponsor my visa unless a previous employer had already decided to hire me for the next academic year. I only found out that I neded to look for a job at the last minute. |
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hz88
Joined: 27 Sep 2015
Posts: 162
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| Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 3:16 am Post subject: |
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You are referring to Beijing which is renowned for being far stricter than elsewhere. Things have gotten stricter this year so that has probably made Beijing seem super strict.
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| Contracts are getting worse - half pay for holidays?4000 RMB for a return air ticket? 9 month contracts. |
That surprises me and I would consider other options. I would expect at least full pay for Spring Festival. As for July and August, its rare these days to get any pay except for renewals especially in Government schools and Universities.
4,000rmb for a return air ticket? Look elsewhere. You are being done. I think you should not accept less than 6,000rmb and that is on the low side.
9 month contract? Not sure why. It should be at least 10 if based on an academic year. It could be that they have coincided the end date to fit in with the end of a semester. I mentioned this in another post.
| Quote: |
| I have a police check. Except it isn't stamped. I applied online and got it. The psb says it must be stamped. There is no where that will add a stamp. And if I reapply they will simply send it again. |
China love stamps. Politely explain that in England the police do not stamp things and there is no way of getting it stamped. Explain it is an original copy. If it becomes stalemate tell the school you have found another school that don't need a stamp, if they want you it is highly likely that 'rule' will evaporate...
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| Need a medical report which I know will cost 500 usd and then have to redo in China. |
Ah. That again. In England it is a pain in the neck to deal with. It is not available on the NHS. Your local GP will not do it as for one they do not have the equipment in surgeries to cope with the requirements and will refer you to an independent clinic anyway. As you said the cost is horrendous. Depending on where you are you maybe able to reduce the cost but it has to be done. As far as I am aware the majority if not all provinces now require a health check and yes it has to be redone when you arrive in China.
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| The next is comic. My degree doesn't mention my middle name so the psb said I am supposed to go to the embassy to get a letter saying it's mine. Will a letter from my univerisity do? Nope. |
I had the exact same issue and I graduated in 1996. I did what you said and got a letter from the University registry and they stamped it with their official stamp and it was accepted but our FAO had to translate it into Chinese. I think they are being over zealous here.
I also had this last summer with a new hire who had married and then divorced in the interim but had not reverted to her maiden name. The marriage certificate was eventually accepted but had to be translated into Chinese first.
| Quote: |
Need reference letters proving I've worked for 2 years even though I've worked 5 years in China previously. Shouldn't the PSB know that?
Need my former residence permits even though the UK embassy retained my old passport. Shouldn't the chinese govt have these? |
Yes they should know and can find out if they so wish. You could contact your previous employers and see if they will give you them. Yes, the UK do retain old passports now unless you specifically ask for them back. Just explain you have had a new passport and that is what happens. Again there is nothing you can do and if they want you then they will find a way to get you. As I advised another poster you could simply just say you have never been to China before, if they assumed you had not then they would not be asking for these documents anyway.
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| There were even more things. Like me mailing 5 passport photos to a physical address. |
This could be true. I see no reason why they could not accept a digital one and print it themselves at the local photo shop. That is what we did this summer. We need at least two for the online side of things and three for the paperwork side of things before you even arrive. I would suggest exactly that. Scan a passport photo and mail it to them as a .jpg file and ask them to get their own copies. Infinitely quicker and simpler.
Perhaps you should consider looking beyond Beijing if it is this problematic. Just my opinion. |
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hdeth
Joined: 20 Jan 2015
Posts: 583
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| Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 3:28 am Post subject: Re: So many hoops to jump for visa. |
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| JB140767 wrote: |
| LarssonCrew wrote: |
Contracts are getting worse - half pay for holidays?4000 RMB for a return air ticket? 9 month contracts.
[/list] |
One in a hundred contracts might possibly be as bad as this, tho I never heard of any 9 month contracts, methinks youse r looking in da wrong place |
Yeah. I just got a contract and it is 4k for airfare but that's each semester, so the same as before.
Some universities are offering higher salaries but lower pay or no pay during vacations. It's more of a marketing move than anything. Get people excited about a high salary so more people apply. 10k per month looks a lot better on a job post title than 7k per month.
One big change I've noticed since I started working here is that more and more schools are advertising for themselves. This has some pros and cons but seems to be a trend. |
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