Job Discussion Forums

[dave_merk]

Look in the inside front cover. Is it SAFEA or the province FAO? I'm confused...

[arioch36]

No, look at the back cover

Note

a. The Certificate can only be printed by the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs


The real beauracratic question is what to call the office, and who they are "under", which changed about two years ago, duties being realigned. Does what is said there mean anything in reality? Part B says it is to be used as are identiy card while in China. Ever try doing that?

Many Chinese call this the "Waishiban" office, though if you arbitrate a dispute in your contract via the office mentioned in your contract, it is a different "Waishiban" office, also referred to as the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs

But at this point we are probably just boring and confusing a lot of people

The school applies ofr your work invitation letter from "The Bureau That takes care of these things" and sends it tou you inyour home country, where you must take it to the Chinese consulate nearest you (which virtually never asks you for a medical first if you are in UK OZ US Canada). And the PSB is not consulted about the work letter (unless you have previously worked in the province and have had big troubles)

Perhaps the problem lies in.. what does FAO mean to you? There are countless such people. I mean it to be the generic term it is, the person or office that is administratively in charge. The PSB has their own "FAO office"

[HunanForeignGuy]

Dear Dave,

When I was in your neck-of-the-woods, perhaps owing to the kind of institution at which I was employed, the Foreign Affairs Officer was actually part of the PSB and he did the work of both the FEB and the PSB but when it came time to issue the actual visa, that was done at the Entry-and-Exit Control Police. The FAO arranged for the FEC, though.

When I moved to a different province, a little bit further south, it was more standardized -- there was a provincial Foreign Experts' Bureau that truly had power of life or death over the FT's. They issued or did not issue the Foreign Expert Certificate. The resident permit was handled by the PSB, locally, strange enough, not at a higher level.

When years on, I moved to yet a different province, the province had a great and very proactive Foreign Experts Bureau and they issued the FEC. Again, to my great surprise, the neighborhood PSB issued the resident permit...although I should tell you, however, that at the school where I was employed, the FAO at that point in time was reputedly both a PSB man and a part-time FAO. I think the truth was borne out when he left the school at a later point and went to work in another city for guess who????

Moving on to yet another province at the end of the previous contract, the FEC was issued by the FEB and the PSB on a much higher level handled the resident permit.

I am still working on understanding the process where I am now.

All the best,

HFG

[dave_merk]

[tw]

As HFG has been saying over and over, each province and autonomous region now has its own local branch of SAFEA/FAO. The FEC is issued by the particular local branch of SAFEA.

[arioch36]

Hey, maybe SAFEA is taking back their turf? I just got my first new FEC in years. Same school even, but they were told they had to get me a new one (I have never actually used it for anything in China)