Job Discussion Forums

Bakunin · Joined: 08 Jan 2009 Posts: 21

I'm about to quit my job. I've read a couple of other similar threads on this topic, but mine seems to be a bit different. I work in Guandong, but I don't actually have a visa. All I have in my passport is a residence sticker that was obtained in Nanning, Guangxi SAR. not even an F visa, let alone a
Z visa. But I do have a Foreign Experts certificate, also issued in Nanning. Technically, I shouldn't even be working in Guandong with my FEC. If I quit and find another job, what would be the best option ?
Go to Hong Kong and get a new passport ? My passport is going to expire early next year anyway. Or even get a new passport in Guangzhou ?
Or, can my new employer help me process a new visa ?
I've read some people say that you need a release letter, but a colleague of mine changed jobs without one to work where I am now, and then when his Guangzhou visa expired, they sent him to Nanning.
So, has anyone heard about this residence sticker in a passport ?
Any advice would be much appreciated.

hewlett77 · Joined: 17 Dec 2009 Posts: 95 Location: all over China

You have two options. Go back to where that sticker was issued and try get a L visa, then find a job, get a invitation letter, go to Hong Kong and get a Z visa from Hong Kong. Or go straight to Hong Kong, and apply for a L/F visa to buy you time while looking for legal work. If you do it any other way your asking for trouble. Stay away from agents. I learnt the hard way, now I'm being sent home. But I'm lucky it's my own choice. So the PSB have given me 5 days grace to leave china, thus allowing me back in china at a later date of my choosing.

be very careful with these visa issues, if you get sprung on the wrong visa, you will be sent to detention, deported, and not allowed back in china for 5 years.

ymmv · Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Posts: 387

ymmv · Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Posts: 387

deleted

choudoufu · Joined: 25 May 2010 Posts: 3325 Location: Mao-berry, PRC

get a new passport.

start over from the beginning.

new employer will sponsor your work visa.

do it legally.

Bakunin · Joined: 08 Jan 2009 Posts: 21

I really don't have any visa. I arrived in China on a Tourist visa. Then my employer sent me to Nanning where the Residence sticker was put in my passport. It isn't any kind of visa - L, F or Z.

chengdude · Joined: 13 Jun 2004 Posts: 294

Ignoring the (serious) issues of working for a different organization in a different province from the one that issued your current Residence Permit, there once again appears to be confusion over the terminology...

Legally, if you have a Residence Permit in your passport, then you have the right to reside and work in China until it expires. You also have the right to leave and re-enter China as many times as you wish, again until it expires. The Residence Permit, then, is your "visa". The fact that you entered China on an L-Visa is irrelevant at this point. The Residence Permit is all that matters.

Theoretically, you would find another job and that new job would file all the paperwork required to issue a new Residence Permit. You give them all the documents they need and perhaps take a physical exam. Done. Easy.

If, on the other hand, you have to leave China, then you start dealing with visas again. Legally, you should have paperwork from your new employer to apply and then re-enter China with a Z-Visa. Then, within 30 days, your new employer will issue your new Residence Permit. As is true for your original L-Visa now, your Z-Visa would be moot once you have your new Residence Permit.

The real issues are cleaning up the mess if your next employer wants a Release Letter from the organization that issued your current Residence Permit and then sorting out your expiring passport. You would want, then, to check in with your country's consulate to figure out the best procedure and/or timing for getting a new passport since, no matter what, your current passport is going to expire before your next Residence Permit will.

hewlett77 and Stinky Tofu have the right idea.

tacoeater · Joined: 03 Jun 2011 Posts: 45

A Residence Permit DOES NOT allow you to work in China. Only a Z visa with a subsequent Resident Permit gives you the right to work in this country.

Anyone coming to China for longer than 30 days is required to get a Resident Permit - even if you have an L visa and stay here for an extended period, you are required to register with the PSB (obtaining an ARP).

The story by this OP sounds a bit hinky to me.

chinanoodles · Joined: 13 May 2011 Posts: 74

mike w · Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2011 7:23 am Post subject:

Also, let's not confuse Residence Permit with Residence Certificate.

The Residence Permit goes into your passport when you submit your passport to the Entry & Exit Bureau within 28-days of arriving on a 'Z' visa. This process is the responsibility of your school/workplace to instigate.

The Residence Certificate is a document you obtain when you register with your local PSB, which unless you are staying in a hotel or on-campus accommodation, is your responsibility to obtain. You may also be required to present this document when renewing your Residence Permit.

chengdude · Joined: 13 Jun 2004 Posts: 294

samhouston · Joined: 17 Jan 2007 Posts: 418 Location: LA

The Great Wall of Whiner · Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Posts: 4946 Location: Blabbing

Lobster · Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 5:42 pm Post subject:

I believe he meant that the visa must be converted to the RP within 30 days of arrival. It doesn't matter what visa you arrive with if it can be successfully converted to an RP by your employer. The RP replaces the visa and can be used to obtain a new FEC within 30 days if your employer doesn't act to try to revoke your RP.

For a teaching position you must have:

A valid work RP or Z visa that is being converted.
An FEC from the province in which you'll be working.
The police registration certificate (PRC) issued by the local PSB.

So you don't need a new passport or RP. Your new employer will apply for your new FEC and then renew your RP when it comes due. You must obtain your new PRC within 24 hours (working days) of arrival at your new address.

RED