Re: Work Permits FEC in Chongqing

Chendu FT is quite right on the Chongqing juristiction as it is a special economic area and it enjoys, or abuses, the priviledge of "governing itself" and then it's answerable directly or only to Beijing.

Following up on;

I am not sure if this is 100% accurate, but a Chinese friend was expaining how the chains operate. Generally only one of the schools is full licensed and registered and can arrange visas. So what goes for Meten is probably the same with NDI and WEB.

Your observation is mine as well. Moreover, I'll support this by my very own experience with a company called the "Century Bridge Education" that operates at least a couple of GAC centers and language schools in, both, Guangzhou (Guangdong) and Nanning (Guangxi). There have been some foreign teachers getting their work permits in Nanning rather than Guangzhou before as this company's ownership's permits to hire foreigners on an off frequently EXPIRE. A couple of times, they forced me to work on a two month F..i had little choice then..was with them for 4 years.
Back to WEB, and I am just recalling a foreign academic that has been largely recruiting foreign teachers for WEB schools, this guy under the name Pascal Scot that also was in Chongqing's Web not long ago and advertised for them there, quickly move to Guangdong and advertised there about 6 months later. Another few months later and he is now advertising for Web Urumqi...just to suspect not to shoot :)

Cheers and beers to Residency Permits in the same location you work in as well as cheers and beers to all the authotities involved in that care about the foreign workers as much as they care about the local employers

Re: Work Permits FEC in Chongqing

As far as I know,Foreign Experts' Certificates for foreigners intending to teach in the provinces can only be issued by the Provincial Education Bureau of each province,based in each provincial capital.
That would mean that FEC's for Sichuan province can emanate only from Chengdu,not Chongqing nor anywhere else in said province.The problem is that FEC's that used to be issued to foreigners who had no Bachelor's degree from the West are not issued any more by several Provincial Education Bureaus to such foreigners,in line with Beijing's policy on the issuance of FEC's.
In your neck of the woods,I'd expect that the goons at GAC/Owens School have got a 'special relationship' with the Provincial Education Bureau of Sichuan province that operates out of Chengdu.As you probably realize,no FEC means no Residents' Permit.And as you have rightly said,it's illegal to work in a province with an RP from another province.It seems that the goons at GAC/Owens School have no special relationship with the Provincial Education Bureau that issues FEC's for Guangdong province,based in the capital of said province,Shenzhen.
If I were in your shoes,I'd get out of Sichuan - it's likely that the GAC/Owens goons will use their special relationship with Sichuan Education Bureau,based in Chengdu,to ensure you cannot get an FEC for Sichuan province.Plenty of jobs elsewhere!

Work Permits FEC in Chonging

My recent experience as well as a few others that I have spoken to suggest that there is an ongoing scam processing your work permits in this city. Not that you will have any difficulties getting a work permit there, but you sure will have troubles dealing with the local authorities should you have issues with your employers there.

Having worked at OWENS in Chongqing, I got my work permit processed no pro, although I questioned the company's "easy ride" at the local PSB with my very own eyes. Aside the fact that no documentation for the visa was necessary, the Foreign Expert Office participation in was highly questionable as well. My rep from the company had the SAFEA contract handy in front of the PSB officer although it was not needed at all either. On the end, and after I resigned from the company prematurely, the local Foreign Expert Office questionably dealt with my official complaint on OWENS there. After having made numerous phone calls to an apparently empty office, I got lucky finding the officer that only wanted to brush me off by saying he'd investigate. He'd say in his rather inadequate English that he'd invite my employer for talks "what happened" and only when I asked for his email I could further send my evidence about the poor company there. At no point the officer showed any interest inviting me for talks/interview. Moreover and interestingly, after I'd sent my email to him, he disregarded the overwhelming evidence about wrongdoings on the part of OWENS prompting me to doubt the office.

Further more, and after searching for prospective employers in the area, I came across a company called Meten in Chongqing and a story of a couple of foreigners with work permits from Chongqing that were caught working in Shenzhen. The story of these two foreigners has reappeared on daves forums
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=68012&sid=423ee245286c5612a738a989c17853f5
and it goes like this

Some of the full-time FTs are also not getting their work visas processed as the company does not have good relationships in Shenzhen (or perhaps legitimate licenses to get such visas...who knows). So all the visas are processed in Chongqing and sent back to Shenzhen (but this is illegal...in China you can only work in the city where your work permit and visa were processed). As for teachers who work on tourist visas and are charged tax (there are a few of them in METEN Shenzhen)...a long term FT said that the money they skim off the top for "tax" is cash that will be given if the place ever gets raided by the cops again...as a payoff...which it did a few months back.
In fact, I know of a couple Chongqing Meten fts that ended up in Shenzhen and then caught by cops there.
Further more, I have seen similar behaviours of yet another Chongqing language mill and fts elsewhere, working for the same mill, so the evidence points out to the city's officials and these language mills on it all together.

Normally, I would not post such allegations that could even go against me now as I am on a Chongqing work visa elsewhere myself, although I'd like to warn all job seekers coming to teach English in Chongqing for its highly questionable officials in the Foreign Experts Office as well as at the PSB that eihter does not seem to care engouh or is a part of this scam that just protects the local employers and generates the local authorities some income.

The bottom line is that once you sign your one-year deal anywhere in China, you are opened up to abuse. If a local authority does not treat you objectively, you might as well end up disgraced and on the plane out of the country and that regardless your effort at work...could hurt much more if you are married (with a child) on mainland. BE CAREFUL ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR CITY, ITS EMPLOYERS AND ITS AUTHORITIES!

Cheers and beers