KGB
- 2008-09-24
FAO = Foreign Affairs Officer
FT= Foreign Teacher
KGB
- 2008-09-24
Vista,
You wrote in your posting:" No longer is going to Hong Kong an option, it must be in your native country.( where your passport is issued )"
This new regulation is valid only until 17th. of October, isn`t it ? ( it was one of the changes caused by the Olympics in Beijing ).
I used to come on a tourist-visa to China, to check several schools before getting a work-visa. In my opinion, this way is safer for the foreign teacher.
GREEN EYES
- 2008-09-23
It will probably come to me later - but what do the abbreviations FAO stand for?
Thanks.
Green Eyes
Vista
- 2008-09-23
I work on processing visa applications for companies in China, and what KGB says here is absolutely correct. Current regulations in China absolutely require a RELEASE LETTER from the organization sponsoring your current visa if you wish to change to another company.
Whether your current or prospective employer(s) are public or private schools or universities is irrelevant.
Without a release letter the only other option is to return to your native country and apply for a new visa. To do this you will need a hard copy of an invitation letter from your new company. No longer is going to Hong Kong an option, it must be in your native country (where your passport is issued)
Employers in China are not required to provide specifics or details stating their reasons for withholding a release letter, and teachers have little or no recourse in the matter. Be on the good side of your FAO and school manager - the law is most definitely in place to protect schools.
Also be aware that a school is well within their rights to pull a visa from an employee for gross contract violation - and most would consider running away at midnight to be such a circumstance. Should this happen you could have extreme hassles and possibly hefty fines (Y500 per day) when trying to exit the country.
beentheredonethat
- 2008-09-22
Things have changed recently in terms of being able to successfully pull off a "runner." If you're working for an unlicensed training center or private school, your chances of employment elsewhere are pretty good. If you're working for a public school or university, it may be a better idea to hang out and demand that contractual obligations are met due to the fact that you could get black listed - assuming, that is, that your employers are aware of the new laws. You do have legal recourse in China, but proper representation is a must. At any rate, the times they are a'changin,' so be careful before you hot foot it on outta there.
Generally, contractual agreements are meant to protect the Chinese side. Again, it is wise to seek counsel. Communicating with the FAO without said counsel's advice may not be a good idea as the FAO of the particular area where you live may be in the pocket of your employers. Grief could therefore follow. Well, no matter what, it's a pity you've ended up in what for you is a seemingly untenable situation. Finding a way to communicate your discontent in a non threatening manner would seem to be the best course of action. Chinese employers do understand the meaning of compromise; however, push too hard and they'll just push back harder.
KGB
- 2008-09-20
I know a FT, who ran away from his school in Gansu. He told the FAO about his plan to leave and got a release letter from the Foreign Affairs Office of that particular college. Shortly after, he got new job in another province and extended his work-visa there.
You need that RELEASE LETTER from your present school, if you want to teach somewhere else in China without any problems. Otherwise, another FAO from a different school cannot help you out.
Do you have a good relationship with your FAO ? What will you tell him ? Why do you want to leave his school ? ( some problems in your family at home, a bad health because of the climate in that specific province,... )
I'll try to keep this short. I'm in China, in a province and city that I will not name for obvious reasons. I know some other FT's from my school who monitor this board and they can't be trusted. I'm contemplating packing up and doing a runner from here, that is I'm going to take off, probably on a weekend when I'm off so I'll have a head start of a couple days. This isn't the sort of nutjob place that would send the police after me, I'm pretty sure of that. There have been runners here before. My concern is mostly what will happen when my current residence permit expires at the end of this term. Will I wind up more or less "banned" from ever legally working in the country again? When I try to get another visa will I have been "flagged?" Anyone have any experience or knowledge of this?
One more question: My contract has a clause about both parties terminating the contract through "mutual agreement." If I decided to go to the FAO and attempt to be honest is it even possible to leave in such a way as not to jeopardize future employment possibilities here? The new term has just begun and I simply hate what I'm doing and I don't think I'll survive the entire term here. Can these folks actually be reasoned with? Has anyone does this before?
Thanks.