Job Discussion Forums

[johntpartee]

A recruiter told a colleague that he could enter Hainan with a tourist visa and then the school would do the Z visa in Hainan. I was under the impression that a Z visa had to be obtained in Hong Kong. Anybody know anything?

[LanGuTou]

A recruiter said.....

nuff said.....

[johntpartee]

Yeah, I know, but......

[randyj]

Right. I would hesitate to accept a recruiter's word, especially for something so important, without independent verification. In some provinces, like Jiangsu, foreign teachers have had their L visas converted directly to an RP without benefit of a Z.

[smutbagdisco]

Perhaps the recruiter simply meant the school would manage the visa/RP stuff for him instead of the recruiter?

I was under the impression PSB's couldn't issue the Z visa, just give you some of the paperwork to get it from Chinese embassies and consulates outside of the mainland.

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

[johntpartee]

[LanGuTou]

I suspect the next step is the school denying any knowledge of "julia's" conversation and then concocting some BS related to their inability to get either an invitation letter or residence permit!

Why even take the risk?

Firstly, try contacting the school directly to see if they will provide the invitation letter. If they can't, it's time to get suspicious and knock it in the head IMHO.

[smutbagdisco]

[nickpellatt]

There is a suggestion on Middle Kingdom Life that Hainan PSB can convert L visas.

In at least one province that I am personally aware of, Hainan Province, government officials see no legal contradiction or prohibition in converting a tourist visa into a Z-visa. In fact, I was told this directly by the director of the Haikou municipal PSB.

http://middlekingdomlife.com/guide/china-english-teacher-visas.htm

[KarenB]

yes, in Hainan you can do this -- you can enter on a tourist visa, and then the school can apply for your resident permit (this is what is pasted into your passport and is commonly called the "z" visa)

Even tho the Hainan PSB will permit this, I do not recommend it. I did this last year, along with the other FTs, with Qiongzhou U, and the school was so disorganized that they didn't get all the paperwork processed in time before the visitor visas ran out. Two of the FTs had to go to the PSB office and get an emergency extension on their visitor's visa (at their own expense) because of the uni's inept administration.

[Teatime of Soul]

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof.

I would insist on the email address of current/former teachers who could confirm this.

[Miles Smiles]

I know of it having happened about two years ago for another FT. We had the same recruiter who bragged that she could "get anybody a teaching job in China" when I questioned her about the guy. I had a lot of doubts about him because he seemed not to understand the application process for a Z visa, though he claimed to have entered with a Z visa. He contradicted his qualifications on several occasions. A quick look into his passport (which he handed to me to look at a few months later) indicated that he entered on an "L" and had a residence permit affixed to his passport page. I don't think that he even LOOKED into his passport after he arrived at the school. I think that he believed that he had entered with a Z visa.

Last year, I worked with another FT whose description of the entry process did not match any of my experiences. He said that he had to submit school transcripts to enter China and "to get a new visa to teach at another school next term." His passport was on his desk, so I asked to look at it. He too had only a canceled L visa and a residence permit on opposing pages.

As far as I could tell, neither of these guys had undergone a medical exam before OR after their arrival, and if they had, they had only vague recollections of the procedures.

I won't go so far as to say that they deliberately circumvented the requirements, but someone surely did something to get them in sideways. I'm not too surprised that something like this could have happened in the case of the second guy because the school was a fleabag. In the case of the first guy, I am surprised because the university was a pretty good public one. Both schools were in Jiangsu.

Like all second-hand and anecdotal information, one has good cause to be wary of what I am saying, just as I am wary of what others say. I just know what I saw.If it's happening in one province, it's probably happening elsewhere.

[johntpartee]

So what's happening (as far as I'm able to discern) is that these teachers are here illegally. Isn't it possible that somebody might notice this when they try to leave China?

[Mister Al]