Job Discussion Forums

[JRJohn]

I am teaching in a university in Henan. I am coming to the end of my contract, and a few weeks ago I requested to fly home on June 14th, because my residence permit runs out on the 15th. I said so more than once , and also in writing. The staff in the office accepted this. But the flight hasn't been booked yet. I will be working in a different university after the summer, in a different province. I asked about my flight home again on Friday and one staff member a Mr. Zhao objected that if I don't complete ALL the paperwork for the new school before I leave China I will have to start from scratch and later I realized it was a delaying tactic, because he hadn't dealt with the issue.. I realised this after I left the office. The new school will reimburse visa costs anyway -unlike the current one. Should I speak to the boss of the office staff about it? He tends to get results.
I asked about getting a written reference. Well, the staff in the facultyI work in are happy with me, and wanted me to stay here another year. But so far no reference letter. Mr. Zhao recently told me that the PSB in Henan says that all references are to be in Chinese and he will send it to my new employer. This seems shifty to me, but is it true?
I am also concerned about my student loan. I am earning too little to repay it, but I need to show proof of earnings. But I don't get payslips. However, a letter would suffice. Am I right that I should just keep going to the office everyday and asking, politely but persistently for what I want?
The office staff have been unusually spaced out and impractical recently-and all of us see this. People told me Mr. Zhao is in a foul mood too. I know these people work long hours including the weekend, and their salary arrives very late. But I am within my rights, to ask for what I need. For the record, we often get paid late, though not this month.

[flyingscotsman]

Few places actually give "pay stubs" that's surely a Western concept. My job sometimes gives me a printed excel spreadsheet but it's not legal or official or anything like that.

The MUST give you a release - reference letter but actually getting them to do it is another story.

I worked at a school and I had to ask them 12 times to get me a ticket home - and they waited till about a week before to do it. of course the price is higher than but...

Bottom line is, YOU NEED TO KEEP AFTER THEM and stick to your guns. All these things are coming to you - ticket, pay, letter - but now that you are leaving you are of no use to them so they have no incentive to go out of their way to do anything for you. Fact of Chinese life - they have no use for you, so why do anything for you?

Sad, but true. I have seen it before many times. You are there, you do your work, they love you. At the end, you tell them you are leaving, they do nothing for you.

Unfortunately, in China there is no one to come to battle for you so you need to assert yourself.

[dog backwards]

How experienced is the FAO? My observation is that the younger ones have little concept of the importance of booking ahead of time. Once, my FAO waited until two days before my departure to book my flight. Of course, there was the complaint about how expensive the flight was. She couldn't grasp the concept that the longer one waits to book the ticket, the more expensive it is.

You've got about three weeks left. Give it another week without saying anything. The chances are that your FAO will wait until a few days before your departure before booking the ticket. If you accompany him to the travel agent (some actually bypass the official government agency in an attempt to save money) you can help to assure that your flight will be booked ALL THE WAY HOME rather than the nearest point from your residence in China to your home country. Sometimes, the agents actually speak English (as was the case when the FAO waited until the last few days). I told the agent where I was going and asked for an itinerary that would bypass known bad airports. It worked out fine.

I know that it's difficult to be patient at times, especially when you expect the same amount of diligence (and response) from your Chinese employers that would be accorded to you in your home country.

The FAO understands the ensuing hassles in not booking your flight in time if he has been in the job for awhile.

Be aware of this: Chinese administrators tend not to be very communicative at times, preferring to keep their cards close to their vests so that they don't make promises that they can't keep.

My bet is that you'll get your ticket in time. You just won't get the assurance that you expect.

[Salvatore]

For what it's worth - Mr. Zhao is correct, as far as I know. But, I'm not a visa/RP expert.

If you must return home in 2 weeks, then the easiest thing to do would be have the new school send you a "Letter of Invitation" before you leave. Then, when you are home during the summer, apply for a new Z-visa, then when you return in August, the school would basically "start over" = take a physical etc..

If you wait a bit, you could give the new school the Release Letter, a copy of your FEC and Health Certificate, and passport. They would then need around 2 weeks to get a new Residence Permit in your passport.

What's the rush? Most schools will allow a new teacher to move into the school provided apartment in the summer before they begin working in September. Ideally, you could move to the new school around June 10th with the needed documents. They then would need to apply for the new RP at the PSB before the 15th. 2 weeks or so later you could be on a plane home. If you're from the USA = just in time for the July 4th barbeque and fireworks!!

When does your current contract expire?

This is the 2nd time I've read of people's contracts expiring in mid/early June. Mine have always expired 6/30 or 7/1. Basically, 9/1 to 7/1.

[mat chen]

They are also trying to avoid paying for something they don't have to. If you decide to go to your next job instead of returning home they don't have to pay you in Henan. It happened to me there. So they are probably afraid you will take your ticket and get a reimbursement. Henan looks at foreigners as being like farmers. You are honest. Like the farmer you are easy to trick. You get ahead by tricking the farmer in this province. As the previous poster also noted they will try and book a ticket to the cheapest place in the country you are from. I saw this trick at the school I worked at. So if you are from say Toronto they will book the ticket to Vancouver.
This is the new delema. They say they will give a certain amount for your ticket but it is not the actual amount. Now they want to see a receipt showing you have purchased the ticket.