Can anyone help me out? (No Z visa per contract)

[Jazz]

Hello all,

Well so far my victory lap teaching in China has been quite a trip... from fires, to car accidents, to NEVER knowing what's going on (although the latter I can deal with now ....well my new perdicatment I would really appriciate someone, nay, anyone advising me towards my pending actions.

Okay, here it is. When I came this septmeber to China my papers went missing with my school along with my friend's who is also teaching at the same school as me. Big Problem.

So anyways, what the school decided without asking us was to get an "F" visa for 3 months and then figure it out later.... 2nd mistake... Beijing passed that law making it EXTREMELY, if not impossible, to change an "F" vias to a "Z" visa.... its becoming clearer eh?

So when Dec. 1st came around, our visas expired and we had to renew for another 3...the max you're allowed to have in one stay.

*breath* hahaha, ok so where my perdicament lies is that I don't know how liable the school is, meaning, is this completely my fault and I should immediately fly to Hong Kong on my bill and grab another visa? or should they incurr the costs seeing as its stated TEXTvaguelyTEXT in my contract and they practically screwed me without my inexperienced knowledge?

My thoughts on this issue is to confront them about it, tell them the situation requires me to fly to Hong Kong or somewhere out of the contry for a couple of days (which can easily be done during Spring Festival) and we split 50/50...fair or unfair? I welcome any critism or new light please.

Thanx

[Raoul Duke]

Jazz, this matter is very important and you must pursue it with all speed.

I'm going to assume that your contract states you will be provided with a fully-paid Z visa, residence permit, and foreign expert cert. If the wording here is muddy that may open up new problems.

If I were in your position I would start with the school. Arrange a meeting with the highest ears you can get. Be friendly but firm: Show them your contract and point out their obligation to provide you with legal documents. Tell them that you like teaching for them, but that if you cannot stay in China legally then you will be unable to continue. Ask them if they will make good on this, and if so, when.

Things to NOT do: Don't be conned into paying for the documents if the contract states that they will pay for it. Don't let them string you along- set a schedule and expect them to follow it. Note that this country will come to a screeching halt when Spring Festival season arrives! Don't let them convince you that anything short of a residence permit is legal- it isn't.

If they don't help you, contact your Consulate. Ask their advice and also consider a complaint to your city's PSB Foreign Affairs Office. There's a link in our Library that has contact info for most Consulates, or they're easy to find online.

Also, if the school doesn't honor its obligations, move on. Find another job or head home a little early- whatever your plans are. If they've broken their contract, then they have no further hold on you. If you want to stay in China, you may have to go to Hong Kong or Macao yourself and re-enter on a new tourist or business visa to get you through until you locate another job.

I'm interested to know when your contract expires- the sooner it ends the less likely your school will probably be to help you. Any other details you can provide might help us, too.

Good luck!

[burlives]

To get a Z visa by yourself you need in your hand two documents: an appropriate invitation from the school or company in question and a work permit from the appropriate authority. (The work permit may come from Beijing or from the provincial capital office, it depeneds on where you are.) Both things should be placed in your hand and paid for by your legal employer.

Now, your papers went missing? Do you mean the invitation and the work permit? As I recall, this is your second year in China and your second employer. Did you go to this new place direct from your old place? What visa were you on at that time? If you didn't leave China and you were on a Z and the new guys couldn't renew it, you're being cheated. If you left for a holiday and came back on a tourist visa and the new guys couldn't change it, maybe you're not being cheated and they just didn't have the local guanxi to get it through and maybe they can still get you enough paperwork to let you go to HK to get something for yourself. I'd follow Raoul's advice on how to get the paperwork, and you can negotiate something for the price of the ticket to HK. Hold out for the full price unless it becomes counterproductive, bearing in mind that your boss becoming angry and saying No a lot is not necessarily a sign of something counterproductive. He or she may just be letting the poo roll downhill. Whoever is squeezing the boss is encouraging the boss to squeeze you.

Work with the other teacher and present a united front. Be together in meetings whenever you have them. Negotiate a compromise position but be sure that the compromise reached includes a legal visa and no need to pay for travel expenses.

One serious question: are you sweating on the F? Is there something that you need that an F doesn't get you (apart from appropriate legal status and the protection it provides)? Your boss will be asking the same question, and probably will be saying to him or herself that you have nothing to sweat about. For the boss, it's not a big deal. That means if you are asking them to move mountains to get legal papers, they'll resist. As always, you may have to "make friends".

It may be time to issue a supper invite and make sure it is accepted. If you do, don't go overboard fawning or spending money. Be as upstanding and pleasant as you would if you expected to be respected in the end. Make friends in your own way. But, please remember to be careful about making friends in the western way, letting the boss into your confidence -- that can be a disappointing move. Just be pleasant and pass the time well, and then call in the marker.

ps. It's not guaranteed that you have to go to HK to get a legal Z. If you end up making friends and your boss actually does have some contacts, he or she may pull the finger out and get the F changed. If you make HK an essential part of the bargaining, it may undermine your position. But if you are going to try to play it that way, make sure you get a timetable accepted for receipt of whatever. And be aware that you will be dabbling in the dark side of the force.

If I do in the end have one piece of advice, it is that Chinese get their back up if there isn't some perceived quid-pro-quo. Demands for things by right stick in Chinese craws. Firm persuasion about reasonable and appropriate things -- like legal work conditions -- combined with some sense of a respectable relationship work better. (And that's when they'll turn around and ask you to tutor their child for free or work extra hours or do some monkey dance at some event that ostensibly has nothing to do with the school.)

Good luck!

[Jazz]

Thanx for the quick responces guys, I really appriciate it.

Okay, so here's the situation. I have absolutely no problem staying on with an "F" visa but the end of my 6 month allowance is up at the beginning of March....and according to my research you MUST leave the country for at least a day before you can stay on for another 6 months....I don't know.

Well my school is extremely considerate and I have a meeting with my FAO this morning to see if we can reach an understanding, so I will update afterwards.

The situation about my visas is that last year I came on a L visa and my old school upgraded it to a z visa. Then I went back to Canada without changing my Z visa to a mulitple entry....so I had asked my new school to send the invatation letters to Canada so that I could get a Z visa there. They didn't do that so my friend and I had to enter China on L visas. Then they misplaced our medical forms so we would have to pay another 700 yuan to get another check-up. I said no, that I could get my doctor in Canada to fax another one, but by that time they had just issued us F visas.... not impressed.

So anyways, here I go!!!!

[Juggler]

JAZZ

Get out of that school! it sounds like they are playing games and there is too much work to be found here in beijing. I am in shi jingshan district.

also there is one more thing you can consider.

corruption.

you can buy a visa straight out if you want to but it will cost you.

shhh

big brother is listening.

[Raoul Duke]

Be wary of buying a visa etc. Sometimes the documents you get are not valid. Sometimes no documents are ever received at all. This is a dodgy business; caveat emptor.

[con's fly is open]

Jazz, GET THIS DONE! Once you have a Z, you're invulnerable. Until then...

[Jollyjunklass]

See how well I did Rauol,

I hunted down the via thread ;D Hey Con, did you get a multiple entry visa when you went there?

[con's fly is open]

Naw, just a single. The multi- one isn't that much more money or hassle, but I figured to spend the whole year in-country, building some kind of a future. Any other countries can wait a year.
But if I were you, with your lead time, I'd get a multiple-entry. Gives you flexibility.

[Lager]

What happened Jazz?

A re-entry is good in that it leaves open the option of going to HK or Macau----or anywhere I suppose...

[acjade]

A re-entry is good. So's an F. But bubblewrap is best.