johnelliott99 Posted August 31, 2009 at 03:59 PM Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 at 03:59 PM I'm travelling to Chengdu on a 3 month tourist visa in September. Is it possible to find a job in Chengdu or elsewhere in china teaching and then change my tourist visa to a year working visa whilst i am there? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boubou Posted September 1, 2009 at 09:58 AM Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 at 09:58 AM Legally speaking, no. Practicly speaking, yes. Most big schools have enough guanxi to get your visa upgraded, odds are you may have to leave China and come back though. (For example, going to honk-kong on a day trip) Personally I have had my visa upgraded from L to a working permit. Have your certificats and diplomas on you to make your life easier. Make sure the school can ACTUALLY change your visa. Make sure you get a foreign experts certificat and a real workers residence permit (for that you will have to go to the PSB and meet an officer) An F visa is not a working permit. (just a general by the by) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liuzhou Posted September 4, 2009 at 03:56 PM Report Share Posted September 4, 2009 at 03:56 PM There is no such thing as a year working visa. The Z-visa (working visa) is only issued outside mainland China and is merely an entry visa which expires within 30 days of entry. It has to be changed to a residence permit. This takes the place of the visa and allows you free exit and entry from the mainland during its validity. It is only possible to obtain the Z-visa and subsequently the residence permit if the employer is authorised by the provincial Foreign Experts Bureau to employ foreign staff. If so, this enables you to get the Foreign Expert's Certificate without which you cannot get a residence permit. A health check may also be required. It may be that, as you are already in China, the locals may be able to pull strings and go straight to the residence permit from the L visa, though it's not strictly legal. I certainly wouldn't bet on it. Working on any other kind of visa is illegal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammie101 Posted October 13, 2009 at 08:25 AM Report Share Posted October 13, 2009 at 08:25 AM Good luck to you! I would love to hear how you got on with this as myself and my partenr are planning on doing just that in January! We would like to travel around and find someone we would be comfortable living before we apply for jobs and we're worried about the hassle of changing visas, particularly having to pay twice! x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammie101 Posted October 26, 2009 at 08:08 PM Report Share Posted October 26, 2009 at 08:08 PM Me and my girlfriend are flying to work in China in January from the UK. We decided the best bet was to get a tourist visa, find a job and then get a new work visa. However it's looking now like it won't be that easy. Have to apply for a work visa in your home country I gather? For example can you pop to Hong Kong and process a work visa from there? Or is the only way to avoid returning home starting a course and getting a student visa? Would really appreciate any help or advice offered, getting a tad worried... P.S. Oh also does anyone know if you get a discount upgrading to a working visa for say a 6-month tourist visa compared to a 30day visa?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdavid Posted October 27, 2009 at 12:37 AM Report Share Posted October 27, 2009 at 12:37 AM (edited) Prior to the Olympics, the documentation needed for procuring a Z visa could be issued to (almost) anyone in (almost) any country. For example, if you're a Brit traveling in Thailand, the issuers could draw up paperwork for you to get the visa issued in Thailand. Now, however, or at least the way it's working here in Harbin, the visa office will only issue documentation for you to get the visa done in your home country. So, a Brit must get his/her Z visa issued from a Chinese embassy in the UK. It's very possible that this is different in other cities throughout China. The bureaucracy in China is massive and largely unnetworked. The result is that the left hand rarely knows what the right hand is doing. As for going to Hong Kong, I'm not sure. I don't know anyone that has tried recently. You should ask the school you're going to work for and ask what options you have. Also, though most people in China will tell you it's impossible, many schools in China can and do convert tourist visas to work residence permits in China with no problems, eliminating the need to leave the country and re-enter on a Z visa. Again, see the bureaucracy statement above. Edited October 27, 2009 at 12:51 AM by kdavid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted October 27, 2009 at 02:48 AM Report Share Posted October 27, 2009 at 02:48 AM You do see agencies offering to do this, and I suspect that it can be done by an employer that has the necessary status, and if the local PSB cooperates. However, if you don't have an actual employer, then have a plan B which would include lots of money for plane tickets to at least Hong Kong. For reference, there are reports here of getting Z visas in HK. I seem to recall one member, Senzhi, went directly from an L visa to a residence permit, but I could have that wrong. Oh, and merging Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeovisa Posted November 2, 2009 at 05:53 AM Report Share Posted November 2, 2009 at 05:53 AM In Beijing it is possble to get a work visa finally without leaving China mainland. But you have to go through some agent. It works like this: Apply for Employment license Convert L to 2-month Residence Permit Apply for Alien Employment Permit Get a 1-year residence permit Or you can go to your home country or HK to apply for a Z visa, with original Employment license and Z visa notification letter. http://www.cn-visa.com/zvisa_application.asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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