Job Discussion Forums

[johntpartee]

A teacher is on the mainland with an L visa. His new school is sending him to Hong Kong for a Z visa. What documents are required?

[johntpartee]

I know somebody knows! There's a new FAO at this school and I'm trying to earn some Brownie points by helping him.

[Lamentations]

It's very simple John T. Partee. As I'm sure you've read on this website before, the school needs to take the new employee's resume and copy of their degree and passport to the local Exit-Entry PSB office with a letter on school stationery with the very important round chop in red ink. The letter should basically say that they want to hire x to be a "Foreign Expert".

As you may know, a "Foreign Expert" has the skills needed to fulfill a duty that a local can not = be a native speaker of English.

The letter should specifically indicate that x will apply for his/her Z visa in Hong Kong. As written on this website in the past, some less diligent PSB folk may just look at the passport copy and state that the Z visa could be obtained in whatever country x is from.

After the application the PSB will eventually issue an "Official" letter of invitation about 1 week later. This letter will most likely be written in Chinese and have a perforated stub on the bottom. That is the receipt as far as I know. The official letter I had did have the address in English; the rest was all Chinese. With the official letter and his/her passport, x would then need to go to the official visa place in either HK or Macau and apply for the Z visa.

Personally, I would ask the school to say that x will apply for the Z visa in Macau. The lines there are much shorter. You could arrive in Macau the night before and check into the Holiday Inn.

http://www.holidayinn.com/hotels/us/en/macau/qmpch/hoteldetail

The next morning, after a nice breakfast buffet, x could leave the hotel on Rue something and turn right. After walking around 10 minutes down the street the road will basically come to an end with a swing to the left. There is a small "park" there. Just before the park turn left. It is the 2nd to last turn. Walk to the next street = front of the building. You'd be in the back of the building when you/x turns left just before the park. The place opens at 9am.

In the past, I got there around 8:45am. I was back in the hotel at 9:30am. x could then spend the day exploring Macau. The Z visa will be ready the next morning at 9am. It cost Americans 1200 rmb, 1.5 years ago.

[johntpartee]

So what the teacher needs is the letter of invitation and the passport and that's it? Nothing else? It's been so long since I did it, I don't remember what I had to take. As far as seeing it on here, we all know what we see on here. Lots and lots of incorrect information.

[Lamentations]

I was changing my answer to also indicate passport when you responded.

I could be wrong, but 1.5 years ago, my school did the above. 1 week later they received the "official" letter.

I took that letter and my passport to the Macau visa office, paid 1200 rmb and picked up my passport with the Z visa in it the next day at 9am. Very easy.

I did not need my health exam report. That is needed when the school applies for the FEC and RP/Residence Permit. Basically, after x has the Z visa, the school has 30 days to convert it to a RP. Positive health exam results (do not have AIDS) are needed for that. With a RP the school can then get an FEC, as far as I know.

Good Luck!

[roadwalker]

I don't know which bureaus that your school FAO needs to apply to but they must give the applicant original copies of 1. a Foreign Expert Work Permit; and 2. a Visa Notification Letter (aka Invitation Letter) which, as mentioned, should specify where the z-visa is to be applied for. S/he should download from the Chinese Embassy website a visa application form which covers every visa, and be sure to have passport photos to append.

That is good info. Now for murky info: I think the school needs to obtain 1. in order to obtain 2. and I think it is at two different bureaus. Check on the stickies here at Dave's and also at Middle Kingdom. http://middlekingdomlife.com/guide/preparing-arrival-china.htm

[ryanwhistler]

Information widely available online

[carpetgirl27]

Lamentations, you sound like you know what you are talking about. . .every forum discussion and website I read I get more confused.

if X was currently in Asia and going to apply for the Z Visa in Hong Kong
would they only need the invitation letter, working permit and application form?

[Lamentations]

Thank You Carpetgirl. Finally, some one who appreciates my contributions to this forum. As stated above, in order to get the Z visa in HK, the school needs to get an official invitation letter from their local PSB. That letter should specifically state that you will apply for the Z-visa in HK.

After you have the Z-visa and enter China the school has 30 days to apply for your Residence Permit. In order to apply for the RP you need to pass the health exam and have a FEC.

Now I'm confused. Personally, I have just done what the school told me to do and it all worked out! But, sometimes the school doesn't know what it is doing.

For example, I once lost my passport and did not receive a new one until after the winter holiday had begun. So, the school told me that in order to be in China I needed a visa in my passport. Since the school was closed they couldn't process it, so they said I should apply for a L-visa, then when school began again they'd start the whole process over again = get a Z-visa, take the health exam again, new FEC, new RP etc...

I didn't think that sounded too wise considering the fact that a computer in 1 city could easily identify who I was and where I lived. Whycan't the PSB just print another one??

Either way, I went to apply for the L-visa. A person at the PSB looked in my passport for my old visa but there wasn't any because it was a new passport. She asked me where I lost my passport and said that was where I needed to apply for the L-visa. That city was far away and I questioned her. She then called another lady over and she asked where I got the new passport and I told her in a city 2 hours away. She said I had to apply for the L-visa there. I questioned her. Finally, they sent me into the back where a "leader" who could speak English asked me a few questions while looking in his computer.

He said everybody, including the school, was wrong! He said the computer indicates that I have a RP, FEC and passed the health exam. All I had to do was have the school write a letter saying I worked there and lost my passport. That official letter with the all important chop, the police report concerning the lost passport and 400 rmb = new RP, FEC etc...

[mat chen]

Lamentations what you say about sending you back is so common here. If the can't figure it out they put it aside and forget about it. You think they track people with the computer like the cell phone? Maybe that is why some many people stop posting on this site.

[carpetgirl27]

Lamentations, thanks for that.

It seems no one ever knows what is going on. . .

[Teatime of Soul]