My Company wants to prematurely cancel my Visa
Posted in: Forums > Living in Chengdu • 12 posts • Newest
- Euni_9
August 1, 2012
21 posts -
So I'm 'interning' at an English training school on an F visa that my company helped me get. My F visa expires in November, but my contract with the company ends in mid-August, and I would like to travel for a month after. My company says they must cancel my visa on our last day of employment. Can they do this?
Yes, they helped me with the documents and whatnot to procure the visa, but I paid for it all on my own. What is even more frustrating is that they have given me many different reasons for having to cancel it... First, they said since my company is 'sponsoring' my visa they don't want me as a liability, then they said it's not the company's policy, it's actually the PSB's policy..
So I called the PSB and spoke to someone in Visa Services (a phone number which my company's HR dept. gave to me) who said that most companies DO NOT cancel visas on the last day of employment, and in fact, the PSB recommends that companies do not. But then my HR rep called me this morning, after I had told her I called the PSB myself, and told me she called 'a special number' at the PSB, and spoke to someone who now says they will fine both the company and me if the company doesn't cancel my visa on my last day of employment. I asked her why we had gotten different information from the PSB, and she said it's because they misunderstood me and thought I was going home to the USA immediately, and not traveling. But that doesn't make sense... if I was just going to go back home as soon as my contract ends, then this visa thing wouldn't even be an issue so I'm almost positive that the PSB person I spoke to and I were on the same page.
So I'm frustrated because I'm getting a lot of different information and I already paid 1,000 yuan for this F visa they want to terminate early, and now might be forced to leave the country to get an L visa. I'd obviously have to pay for that flight and visa on my own, as well. It's a big pain in the ass.
Has anyone had a similar experience or know anything about this?
It would be a tremendous help. Cheers.
- Euni_9
- Euni_9
August 1, 2012
21 posts -
TL;DR Does my company have the right and reason to prematurely cancel my visa because my work contract is over?
- Euni_9
- invisible
August 1, 2012
828 posts -
i'd contact those guys
http://www.gochengdoo.com/[...]
i don't think anyone else really knows
- invisible
- clayuk
August 1, 2012
98 posts -
Legally they are in the wrong. You should not be working under a F visa. The psb is currently clamping down on schools employing teachers on F visas and student visas.
- clayuk
- ELMNAF
August 1, 2012
4 posts -
Ask your chinese friend to call psb for you to get right information.
- ELMNAF
- iraglassismyhero
August 1, 2012
91 posts -
there's absolutely nothing they can do with your visa unless you hand over your passport to them. i was in a similar situation in 2005 and simply refused to hand it over and left the country and then came back on that same Z visa. however, when it came time to change my visa to my new employer, the previous disgruntled employer refused to provide the release letter necessary to start employment with a new employer and i ended up having to go to hong kong to apply for my new Z visa there. so if i were you, i'd do what i wanted but make sure i was planning on leaving the country before coming back to work. or, you could try to get some legal counsel and approach it that way. either way, it is totally illegal to be teaching on an F visa, so feel free to let whoever you can at the PSB know about your current employer's shady business practices if you're not concerned about fallout. best of luck!
- iraglassismyhero
- LA Redneck
August 2, 2012
7 posts -
To paraphrase the Bible, "You reap what you sow." How can any American complain and whine about shabby treatment from an employer in China who knowingly worked illegally in their host country?
Any contract you had as an "Intern" was illegal on its face, so forget any attorney advice. If for some odd reason you didn't know earning money in China on an F-Visa is a BIG NO NO, have you not heard or read the much publicized news on multiple English websites and CCTV English, to include GoChengdoo, about the Beijing 100-Day crackdown on illegal and undocumented foreigners living and/or working in China? This crackdown has spread to other cities in China and is rumored to soon spread to Chengdu.
Those sh*t private "English training centers" with no ability to get a proper Z-work Visa for teachers will not get busted as long as the Red Envelopes continue to be exchanged. Calling the PSB probably placed you squarely on the PSB and Labor Bureau radar screen, as well as the Tax Bureau if no taxes were withdrawn from your earnings. To continue complaining to the PSB could possibly get you deported and blacklisted from China for five years.
As Ira mentioned, Letters of Release from a former legal employer are necessary, but you were illegal with no valid or proper work contract, so forget this necessity. I would tend to agree with Ira, the school has no power to cancel an F-Visa.
OK, so what to do? I would suggest from my personal experience that you call Nick Xie at SSIC who is well known among many of the Chengdu expat community who have been here for more than a few years. He is very reputable and knows all the horror stories and is accustomed to cleaning up messes such as yours created by Sh*t "English schools". His company also advertises in expat publications. His information is below:
Shanshui Investment Consultancy
1-1-1804, Fushan International,
28# Shangchizheng Street
Chengdu, China
Tel: +86-28-8621 0044
+86-28-8621 0440
Fax: +86-21-8621 0044
Email:ssic_info@163.com
web-site:www.shanshuivisa.comBTW, I am not an employee, nor affiliated with this company other than being a very satisfied client. I have used them two times for an F-Visa and more recently for a non-teaching Z-Work Visa and a Foreign Expert Certificate (FEC). You can believe whatever he tells you, good or bad, about your personal situation AND his company will do what they promise since they are abreast daily of the constantly fluid foreign visa situation in Chengdu. Their prices are reasonable for professional visa services.
If he cannot help you and you need to leave the country for an L-Tourist Visa, I would highly suggest Bangkok instead of Hong Kong. I found the Bangkok Chinese Embassy Visa office very efficient when my Z-Visa expired in late 2010. No long waits and I did it myself without an agent, however, I also had a "Letter of Invitation" from a friends company in Chengdu. They issued me a 30-day F-Business Visa and then Nick was able to get it converted to a 6-month F-Visa and later get it renewed for another 6-months. He then was able to convert the F to a Z- Work Visa (non-teaching) when my F expired since I had a company to sponsor that is authorized to employ "Foreign Experts".
The Visa process changes often in China, but one thing that has never changed is to work and be paid in China without a Z-Visa is foolish and a crap shoot at best. Good luck!
- LA Redneck
- clayuk
August 2, 2012
98 posts -
To paraphrase the Bible, "You reap what you sow." How can any American complain and whine about shabby treatment from an employer in China who knowingly worked illegally in their host country?
LA redneck are you not being a bit condescending working on a dodgy Z visa.
Like many of us when we first arrived in China. Its difficult to no whats what.
- clayuk
- LA Redneck
August 2, 2012
7 posts -
Dodgy? I do work for this company, as well as able to do other things which is all written in the contract.
I knew what I needed regarding Visas BEFORE I asrrived in China five years ago. I'm not sure about you Clay.
- LA Redneck
- clayuk
August 2, 2012
98 posts -
Quote
BTW, I am not an employee, nor affiliated with this company other than being a very satisfied client.
Dickhead
- clayuk
- Euni_9
August 2, 2012
21 posts -
LA Redneck, you can do all the research you want, but sometimes you run into unforeseen complications or situations. I didn't come here to bitch and moan. I'm completely aware of the illegality of working on an F visa and shady work practices on the part of these English training schools. I didn't come to China expecting to work illegally on a F visa either. I had no other feasible choice though at the time and I rather not go into why because it's really not that important and it'll just be too long to read. But you don't know people's situations, so you shouldn't be so quick to judge. I just wanted to gather more information about this, and see if anyone had gone through something similar which might help me out.
@Ira - That's so badass. I'm thinking about doing this, but I'm worried my company will alert the PSB and they'll record it in some system, making it difficult for me to get a visa if I ever want to come back to China.
Thanks for ALL your help though (La Redneck included). You all have some interesting insight and experiences. I will definitely call Nick and ask for his opinion. I'll update y'all with what happens, in case this information will be of use to someone else.
- Euni_9
- guychengdu
August 13, 2012
2 posts -
tl;dr just another person that got a shady visa from a shady unlicensed language school that doesn't want to be responsible for any activities after your departure.
you haven't been in china for long if you didn't realize right away that they're lying straight in your face which is common practice, especially when you work for a shady employer.
the advice regarding getting in touch with a visa agent is spot on, if he can't help you it's time for a relatively cheap trip to HK if you really want to stay in china some more time.
- guychengdu
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