Job Discussion Forums

psychedelic · Joined: 11 Feb 2003 Posts: 167 Location: China

Hi,
I have a job lined up in China. The Chinese authorities said that I had to fly back to the U.S.A. to apply for and obtain my work/Z visa. I'm now back home and I missed my flight back to China last Nov. 2! This is NOT my fault at all as
the document processing,etc. was too slow Sad

.....the ***** recruiter waited three weeks to send me my original doc's that the Chinese Consulate here in San Fran (I'm staying in the South Bay Area) want for my work visa application...another Chinese contact should have made my flight reservation for going back after 6 weeks instead of 4!, etc. etc. Sad

The school and recruiter still wants me to go back and start the job, but they expect me to pay the airfare!!! Sad

In China, I already paid 10,000 RMB for the round-trip flight! Sad

* Why should I have to pay MORE money to go back to China and start the job? I don't have it!!! Sad

Advice please??!! * Yesterday, an American friend of mine said that maybe American Airlines or one of their partner airlines will still honor my return flight for last Nov. 2. I called just before last Nov. 2 to delay my flight..and spoke with an American Airlines rep. and was told it would cost me $872.00 to delay my flight.. Shocked

...and that my flight itinerary was only good for 30 days. (I flew from China to the U.S.A. on Oct. 1. * What do you think? This ORDEAL has been VERY stressful and upsetting for me!!!!! Sad

Thank you

Zero · Joined: 08 Sep 2004 Posts: 1402

What's the question? As you see it, what are your options? Maybe you could find another job, one that would provide airfare reimbursement. You'd still have to come up with the airfare up front, though.

Tasmanian_Tiger · Joined: 27 Oct 2011 Posts: 3

I would assume you have a significant amount of leverage to get them to pay your airfare back to China. If you think about it from their perspective: they can either pay for a one-way ticket, so they can have a teacher immediately. Or they can start the hiring process all over again which could take a lot of time. Besides, I�m not sure how much money they have invested in you, but applying for your work visa for you isn�t free I�d assume. And I would assume they have already trained you while you were in China? If you stand your ground, I would think they would choose to pay for your ticket. Then again, I have no experience teaching yet, so I have no clue how things like this typically work out. I�m looking for my first teaching job and one of the jobs I am interested in wants me to come over on a tourist visa, then convert it to a working visa. I�m making it very clear in the contract that the school will pay all costs of obtaining the work visa, including transportation (airfare/train/bus) and hotel costs up front. I�m curious as to why you couldn�t get your working visa in Hong Kong?

Guerciotti · Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2011 1:24 am Post subject:

I don't know what to tell you, besides fly there ASAP.
Here is an economy flight on November 29th from San Francisco to Shenzhen for $944.

http://book.eu2.amadeus.com/plnext/airchina/Override.action

Or try here, for example:

http://www.airchina.us/en/index.html

I flew to China on - I think it was Korean - a non-United States based airline and I'm still alive. Or I'm dreaming.

Or find work and save until you have flight money?

Good luck to you.

Edit:
Try:

Cheapflights.com - this will lead you to half a dozen flight search sites. Do it.

For example:

Cheapoair.com
Webjet.com

Cheapoair has better deals than the above. Webjet still has not loaded. Love the China internet.
G Cool

roadwalker · Joined: 24 Aug 2005 Posts: 1750 Location: Ch

dean_a_jones · Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 1151 Location: Wuhan, China

Also agree that you should be honest/firm with them on the flight situation and see what you can leverage, especially if they were slow in getting documents to you and booked the return ticket early. You keep mentioning a recruiter, are you in direct contact with the school or just via the recruiter?

I also find it a bit odd you had to return home, and the situation sounds like a bad one. If you want this job badly (or don't want the trouble and expense of finding another) then you may have to stump up the cash for the flight and reach some sort of agreement in terms of other ways to get compensation via your contract.

Keep in mind you should negotiate directly with the school and get everything in writing, or they may promise a lot to get you to buy the flight and come over, and then try to back out of it.

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

So... what do you want us to do/say?

big_big_bang_theory_fan · Joined: 10 Aug 2011 Posts: 105

YOU, my friend, should have been more prepared and smart on such an issue. There are dozens of issues that can affect your plans. The consulate losing your passport, you filing out an application incorrectly that is caught only after a week, thus delaying things by another week, and so on.

Nobody should make definite plans until you have that visa in your passport.

what do you expect everyone to say? This is hardly the employers, recruiters, or anyone else's fault exclusively. I think everyone can see where things will go when you finally arrive in China and then have more issues; you'll just blame everyone else and accept no responsibility yourself.

It's WIDELY known that you have to obtain a visa in your home country, or if you can convince the authorities to put another location in the location to obtain visa line of the visa issuance form, in said country. Everyone knows this (well apparently not).

Accept some responsibility in such issues. If it is so distressing, it's clear you cannot live here peacefully and all will fall apart when the dozens of other issues that can arise do.

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

DosEquisX · Joined: 09 Dec 2010 Posts: 361

An expensive lesson learned.