Job Discussion Forums

[naturegirl321]

So I changed jobs three months ago. Got my release letter from my old school. Now, they are telling me that I have to go back to the province where my visa from my old school was issued, get a stamp, and then everything will be ok.
What is going on? Has any had to do this? My old school is 24 hours by train away. Is there an easier way?

[JamesD]

You need a stamp to officially release you from the previous registration. The first FAO should have known this so I see three options.

Mail everything back and hope the first school has enough guanxi to have the
stamp put in without you physically there (don't bet on this).

Go to HK and get a new visa from the second school.

Hop on a train and head back to the first city. This is probably going to be harder than you think with the holidays coming up. Tickets will be hard to find and government offices will soon be closed.

The release letter applies only to the contract, it has nothing to do with government registration.

[Just a guy]

If your contract, Z visa, resident & expert cert. All expire on the same day soon &
you�re planning on leaving China & `returning after they�ve expired & going to a new school when ya get back,

Do you need the stamp to officially release you from the previous registration?

Or does the new visa do it?

If I need the stamp, could tell me what to tell the FAO so he/she will not be able to play dumb?


Also�.
I�ve not got a good response on my release letter�
How important is it?

& again, how to get it across to a lazy FAO that fears the "leaders"?

I did get a pretty �gift� thanking me for my work here & the dates worked, it�s a nice Certificate with stamp in a nice red book. Will that do for a release letter?

[Roger]

Not to misinform you, but I have always thought that the release letter should be proof enough that you have discharged your duties and committed no crime that warrants your detention; the PSB in your new environment should CANCEL your old visa and issue a new one.

That's at least how it used to be done (if I remember correctly!) in the good old days!

Of course, if the rules have changed, it might be debatable whether it's worth the hassles of a round trip to your erstwhile employer; they might be smarting from your decision to abandon them, so they would perhaps refuse to do their bit. You would need to talk to them befor going there, to make sure they would do what you need.

Do you have a single-entry visa?
If so, your qualms can be put to a rst: just exit to Hong Kong or Macau, and return on a new visa.
Simple, more cost-effective. One day on, and you have a new tourist or business visa.

[JamesD]

......If your contract, Z visa, resident & expert cert. All expire on the same day.......Do you need the stamp to officially release you from the previous registration? Or does the new visa do it?

The new visa negates everything but technically you're supposed to notify the PSB when you leave housing at which you are registered. They may mention it when you return and go to register in new housing but it doesn't matter.


....If I need the stamp, could tell me what to tell the FAO so he/she will not be able to play dumb?

Remind the FAO that the release letter is only for the contract. The stamp you need is from the local PSB regarding housing registration, NOT the school. Again, if you're leaving and getting a new visa don't worry about it.

......I�ve not got a good response on my release letter�
How important is it?

VERY, if you're staying in the country and the new school is picking up your visa from the old school. The best thing to do is write a simple one yourself or have a friend do it in Chinese and ask the school to stamp it. All it says is that "So-and-so has finished their contract with School XYZ and may accept employment from another sponsor." The release letter MUST have the school's red stamp, a signature is not enough.


...& again, how to get it across to a lazy FAO that fears the "leaders"?

Easiest is to write it out yourself as noted above. If they are still hesitant then park yourself in their office until they get the stamp on it, bring a book. Or tell them it's no big deal, you'll just have to go ask the PSB what to do about it.

I did get a pretty �gift� thanking me for my work here & the dates worked, it�s a nice Certificate with stamp in a nice red book. Will that do for a release letter?

That may pass, I'm not familiar with trying to use that, but a release letter should specifically state that your contractual obligations have been fulfilled.

[JamesD]

[Just a guy]

Thanks for the info. technically is good.

I�ll write up a quickie letter releasing me from the contract for the school to stamp. Short & have it translated on the same page.
Thanks for mentioning the part about crime, I didn�t think about that, only money & my contractual duties.

I yes, my visa is single entry & I�ll be lee eaving, on a jet plane just prior to it�s expiration & returning just after,
` possibly returning before, I know leaving cancels the single entry visa, does it also cancel the resident & extort permits?

I�m living on campus & never registered with the PSB that I know of, if I�m registered, the school did it.
Or is my registration the resident permit.?

Sorry for double checking,
I�d like to have everything done by the book, to save future headaches & maybe make it look like I know what�s up in future negotiations.

What if I interview a new school in a different province before I leave & accept their offer?
Should I be able to have them set up & pay my new visa for when I return, before I return?

I should get a letter of invitation & what else from a new school before I leave / return?

If I do, then the letters & PSB stamps Will be necessary I take it.
Either way, my present stuff expires at the end of the month, my return flight isn�t confirmed `so �..

Thanks again for the help, this will be a good thread for future questions in the search function.

edit to add related link;
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?t=5478

[ESLteacher]

bb

[naturegirl321]

Well, I can't afford to go to HK. I'm all the way in the north. My old school just broke up, so there is no guanxi there. There was problems with the Chinese partner. Looks like I'll be taking the train. . .