Job Discussion Forums

[Josh]

Hello,

I have recently accepted a job in China and I am to go on a tourist visa. Is this how most people get there? My Z visa is to be worked out upon my arrival. Do people encounter any trouble doing this?

Also, how is the best way to get money from China into a foriegn account? Is it at all possible? Any info would help.

Thanks,
Josh

[gerard]

Hello,

I arrived here on a 30 day travel visa. The colllege told me they would take care of everything and did. Within a month a new sticker was in my pasport and I had both the green and red book. You might want to post name of the school though. And read this board and the job info journal page.

The money question I dont know.

[Josh]

Thanks for the info. I am going to be in Europe a month prior to my arrival to China. Is it best to get the visa and ticket in Europe right before my arrival or get in done here in the States?

Josh

[Roger]

If I were you I would ask them to fax you a contract specimen so you can see what they have in store for you.
The contract would normally state:
- Work visa to be spnsored by your school (and at their expense);
- airfare;
- your remunerations as well as your duties.

On the other hand, it is common for them to apply for a work visa here in the country as this is the easiest way for China's bureaucracy to deal with international jobholders.
If your visa expires before they manage to secure your work visa, ask for an extension, as you would have to pay 500 RMB a day for overstaying.
Often they don't fix your visa in time! Better still, come on a two-month visa (if that is available in your country).
You can easily get multi-month, multiple-entry visas in Hong Kong!

[arioch36]

I have nevr had a problem getting my z-visa before I came whenever I worked legally. These schools gave me the invitation letter needed for the z-visa. I agreed once to work for a school before getting a z-visa, with there promise they would get my z-visa and residence permit. They lied.
Many people come on a tourist visa, and their school changes it to a work visa. Other schools promise this and lie. You never get a work visa or resident permit. If you are going to do it this way (the illegal way, but very common) I would suggest that you contact another foreign teacher at the school to see if the really do have the legal ability to get you a work visa and residence permit

[Josh]

Thanks for everyone's info. I feel that the school I am going to is faily reputable. The only problem is that I will be in Europe for a month before my departure into China via Hong Kong. Can I get my tourist visa in a European country, or do I have do directly apply for it in America?

Josh

[davis]

I think you can probably get a tourist visa through a Chinese Consulate in the country you are visiting in Europe. If not don't worry. You can get one in Hong Kong the same day at the airport. If you turn in the app in the morning you'll have it in the afternoon. Be sure to have some extra passport size photos. Roger knows of some places near Chunking Mansions that are cheaper than the airport.

[Roger]

That was a good idea - getting the visa at HK airport! You can then take a bus to the border or across it, and reach your destination with no further delay.
Where in China is your place of work?
Otherwise, I would head to downtown HK, and as said before, overnight at the YH or at a guesthouse in CHUNGKING MANSIONS in downtown Kowloon. They cost from 50 HK$ a dorm bed to a bit over 200 for a single room shared with some fleas and bugs but otherwise alright.
The visa can be got the same day from a travel agent - one passport-size picture and a couple of hundred HK$ for a one-month or two-month visa.

My choice would be PHOENIX TRAVEL in 96 Nathan Rd., opposite the mosque in Kowloon Park.
Overnighting in HK will probably be helpful for a jetlagged traveller! The border is a annoying experience that costs you a lot of time! THis especially now with the SARS scare: They measure your body temperature now!

But getting a tourist visa in Europe should be no problem. THey are very eager to sell you a visa!

[lfclouds]

Hi,

I'm doing the same thing as Josh.
Only difference is, I am travelling China for 2 months beforehand so I will enter on a 90day tourist visa and then my school says it will sort out the work visa.

My confusion is that some people have said that you need an invite for anything longer than a 60 day tourist visa......any truth to that?

Thanks

[Roger]

"Invites" for a three-month (or longer) visa - that's strange! Tourists don't need any invitation (any more, thank you, Comrade Deng Xiaoping). But it is true that CHinese missions abroad offer visas of differing validities!
I think one to three month visas are commonly available; in Europe I saw one-year tourist visas, but the downside was you had to specify the exit and entry dates of every visit across the border during this long period (going to Hong Kong or Macau for instance!). If you did not leave the PRC on the specified dates (say once a month, on 30th and on 28th of February, for instance), you would probably run into some hassles because you failed to do your obligatory hop over the mainland boundary. I don't know if this type of tourist visa sold well.
You can also obtain a six-month tourist visa in Hong Kong (I have seen adverts offering this).

[Josh]

Thanks for your help. I figured that getting the visa abroad shouldnt be any problem, but I wanted to be sure. I am actually heading to Huizhou after I get to Hong Kong, and i also think I am being met by one of the directors in HK.

[JamesD]

Don't forget that the invitation letter (Z or F) must state the country in which you are actually getting the visa, NOT your home country. If a Canadian is obtaining a visa in Belgium then the letter will have to say "The Chinese consulate in Belgium". For an "L" this doesn't matter.