I realise this has been mentioned before in other places on this board but there does not seem to be a concrete answer.

I was wondering if anyone has any news or is abreast with the current situation.

Simply I am dealing with a new school in Xi'an who have sent me a contract which is acceptable but there appears to have been added an addendum which reads as follows:-

'Provision of documents
In order to process your resident permit the Public Security Bureau require that you produce the original or officially authenticated copy of matching degree and criminal record check which were supplied to us to obtain the initial 'z' visa. This also applies if you are renewing your resident permit or transferring your resident permit from another province. If upon arrival you are unable to produce the same documents your employment will be terminated forthwith and you will be charged a visa processing fee of 2,200RMB.'

I am currently in Harbin and we had none of this. It will be a big hassle for me to get the original copy of my degree. It is with my parents but they have moved house several times since and asking them to locate it is a nuisance. I already have a resident permit for here which simply needs transferring, the new school are insisting that this rule now stands.

Is this happening elsewhere. I now have to consider whether I really want this job bad enough to pay for a ticket home to find my original degree or look elsewhere.

Any ideas? What would you do in this situation?