Job Discussion Forums

voodikon · Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 1363 Location: chengdu

ok, after much arguing and hassle, my school finally extended my visa to cover the duration of my contract. unfortunately, they claimed that they could not extend it as a z visa and that they had to instead just get us two-month L visas. i told them before they actually got these L visas that i NEEDED a multiple-entry visa, but when they handed them back, they said, "sorry, we tried our hardest, but we couldn't get multiple entries." i don't really buy it, but in any case, they're 0-entry visas. i'm going to raise a fuss on monday with the boss (as opposed to with her underlings, with whom we've been dealing so far) to get her to put her guanxi in gear and do what needs to be done to change it to multi-entry (yes, i think i'm going to quickly run out of pages in my passport what with the numerous chinese visas in there), but in the event that she can (ahem, WILL) not, what are my options given that i'm planning to visit thailand next month and then return to this blessed and hassle-free country?

are re-entry permits still in use? if so, how and where does one obtain one?

or am i going to have to get my own new visa in thailand? or can i somehow convert the 0-entry visa to multi entry while i'm still here? advise, please.

Sinobear · Joined: 24 Aug 2004 Posts: 1269 Location: Purgatory

I don't think there is such a creature as a multiple re-entry L visa...only F and Z visas as far as I know.
Why not go to HK and pick up a multiple re-entry F visa?

Cheers!

mike w · Posted: Fri Jun 30, 2006 2:05 pm Post subject:

voodikon · Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 1363 Location: chengdu

there's gotta be multi-entry L visas. otherwise, what would travelers coming to china, leaving and re-entering the country, do?

HunanForeignGuy · Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 989 Location: Shanghai, PRC

Dear Mike,

I think that Voodikon's contract probably runs through the end of the summer. I do not know if he is in a language mill or a government school. If he is in a government school, then the summer months are paid holidays, or perhaps not even paid. If he is in a language mill, then you are perfectly correct.

In any case, this is not good for many reasons. They are really playing with him. They have replaced his working resident permit (forget about the Z nomenclature, it doesn't exist anymore on resident permits) with an L tourist visa. That is deady because when he transfer to his new school, he may have to exit the country to process his new Z visa and subsequent permit and some provinces are actually saying that to this do, he might have to go home.

You are perfectly right -- he goes right back to the school on Monday and demands a two-month extenson of a working resident permit to match the duration of his contract. He does not sit at all for working on a tourist visa. They are playing with him and it is obvious and they know that they are playing with him.

Voodikon, friend, a few precious more details might help -- like in which province are you, and when when does your contract actually end, and are you working for a language mill or a government school.

Looking forward to your answer, I remain, with best regards,

Hunan Foreign Guy

I got off topic.

1. There are multiple-entry tourist visas. They are available in Hong Kong. They are available on a reciprocity basis -- meaning if your country grants Chinese nationals multiple-entry tourist visas, then they will grant you, etc.

Otherwise, on a the new in-folio working permit, it functions automatically as a re-entry permit for its duration. But only for the working permit.

Other forms of visas will specify the number of entries.

kev7161 · Joined: 06 Feb 2004 Posts: 5880 Location: Suzhou, China

Why didn't your school get you a Residence Permit back whenever instead of getting you a Z-visa? Or, did you get the Z-visa yourself and how long has this visa been in effect? You should already know this voodikon, but the Residence Permit allows multiple reentry as long as it is valid. How long have you been at this school?

And a general statement for everyone: Don't let your school "push you around" as it were with your visas/residence permit. If they don't get you the proper documents for the ENTIRE length of your contract, then move on. No school is so great if you are not able to not only work here legally, but be able to come and go as you please during holidays. AND it's up to you to get these things taken care of right at the start. No vague promises . . . make sure your school has a clear date set for when they will complete your papers.

voodikon · Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 1363 Location: chengdu

here's the story (sorry for leaving out the details the first time around; i'd explained most of it on another thread). i'm working at a state-run college in sichuan. i've been working there since september 2005, at which time i signed a contract with them through august 28, 2006. the school obtained my residence permit/z visa (i thought they were the same thing?) back then but (i see in hindsight) intentionally had it run only through july 10, 2006.

the reason they had the FTs sign contracts through the summer was because originally they thought they would have work for us--they thought they would run an "english training program" for the students who wanted to have that extra english edge. i guess they forgot that the large majority of their students come from the countryside, might not have the money to spend on such frivolities, and want to go home during their vacations. they found this out during winter vacation when we had about seven weeks off instead of the contract-specified two. so obviously they were just thinking they wouldn't have any obligation to us once this semester ended, and maybe were hoping we'd just go quietly away. well, we didn't.

anyway, so probably there won't actually be any work for us after july 10, although now that we've raised such a fuss they might make sure that there is, just to be evil.

HunanForeignGuy · Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 989 Location: Shanghai, PRC

Dear Voodikon,

Indeed you are being played with.

The dates of the residence permit should match the dates of the contracts plus about two weeks.

Kevin is right -- you go right back to insist that the work residence permit match the contract -- this L thing is only a source of problems, although less so in Sichuan than in other places, but again depending WHERE you are in Sichuan.

Actually the PSB will allow one extra month on a residence permit after the expiration date of the contract.

Good luck next week, but frankly this is a battle you should do, if for no other reason than to allow a smooth transitioning to the next job.

All the best,

HFG

voodikon · Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 1363 Location: chengdu

an L visa can't simply be canceled like my others before it have been when a new school provides me with a new residence permit?

i'm in chengdu, by the way, but the school is just outside the city, in a town called 文家场/wenjiachang. anyway, another tidbit is that the school was insisting that we FTs had our foreign experts' certificates, and that they needed them in order to extend our work visas. but they'd never given us any foreign experts' certificates, so if they did indeed ever exist, the school lost them, not us. anyway, i'll get to the bottom of this on monday i guess. what a headache.

Sinobear · Joined: 24 Aug 2004 Posts: 1269 Location: Purgatory

Dear HFG: voodikon is female.

Cheers!

mike w · Posted: Fri Jun 30, 2006 5:49 pm Post subject:

If you now only have an L visa, then the school cannot extend your FEC. The FEC can only be issued / extended when the holder has either a Z visa or residence permit.

JDYoung · Joined: 21 Apr 2003 Posts: 157 Location: Dongbei

I do understand a bit about Z visas, I think. A Z visa is issued to you from outside of China. It says that you have been invited to China as a foreign expert by a school authorized by the appropriate provincial government to hire such people. It is only good for 30 days. Within that period your school must apply for two other documents. One is your Foreign Experts certificate which allows you to work for the school that invited you. It is in the form of a little booklet. The other is your residence permit. It allows you to live in China at the residence provided by your school. Now it is in the form of a sticker in your passport. The foreign expert certificate and residence permit are normally issued for the duration of your contract. Once you have these two permits the Z visa is no longer an issue. Remember that your Z visa expires 30 days after you enter China. You can exit and enter China without further documentation, your residence permit acts as a visa, until your residence permit expires or is cancelled if you should pull a runner or do something else that causes your school to head back to the police and cancel it. Both the foreign expert certificate and residence permit can be extended by your school while you are in China if you extend your contract.

By the way, if you are traveling and checking into a hotel that follows the rules and requests your passport and visa information on the registration, use your residence permit number and expiry date rather than your Z visa number and date. Remember that your Z visa expired 30 days after you entered China.

chengdude · Joined: 13 Jun 2004 Posts: 294

Ugh, what a mess.

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

voodikon · Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 1363 Location: chengdu

because when i exit the country on july 21 to go to thailand, i won't be able to get back in on august 1, when i plan to return, on my current 0-entry visa. unless i spend half my time in thailand trying to get a chinese visa, which i'm not inclined to spend either the time or the money to do.