Thanks for the update. I think the only kind of passport available at the Beijing visa office of the UK is the temporary(emergency) one-year passport, which is non-bionic, and therefore a lot cheaper and can be issued in a few days. I got one issued in Ulanbator some years ago. I can recall being asked by the Chinese PSB visa clerkess what 'FCO' stands for, of course I told her, 'for crown office', which she couldn't make anything of either! Previously, the place of issuance appeared, eg Ulanbator, but now it's 'FCO'.

The above url explains the new procedures for British nationals residing in China, as to how to get a new passport.

That details the procedure necessary for British nationals in China who choose to apply to HK for a new passport. But you needn't apply to them. I believe you can still get a new passport from the Beijing visa office. I got one there about 3 years ago.

Interested on how this could be done, as when I was in Zhejiang, I was told by the consulate in Shanghai, it was not possible to get a passport from them directly and that for east asia HK was the place to apply. I was able to post a bankers draft and the form and IIRC the full passport, and receive back a new one from HK promptly, so I did not have to go in person.

Regards on getting new passports, cheers and wines,
SMGS

Thanks for the information, Foxy.

. No need for visa runs!

However I think this is just mental madness. If you are filling your passport pages up, even a 48 page UK passport won't take so long to be filled up, meaning a trip to Hong Kong or the UK will be necessary. No, it is high time for a long term residence card, thus saving your passport pages from having visa after visa stuck on them, imho.

This morning after reading an answer to me from poster Turnoi concerning Yuncheng IELTS, I decided I would be wasting my time and accepted the subject had been "sat on" However, I was just going to switch off my machine when I noticed your post.

So, you wouldn't accept that Yuncheng IELTS is a GW private pretend school any longer-or if ever at all? Turnoi has a close friend who has told him that they are now swell guys, and has indicated that they are off-bounds for criticism.

From what you say, it doesn't sound like the place has changed very much at all. You still have warring underpaid Chinese assistants? You still get moved around like churns around a dairy from one troublesome middle school to another? You still must spend much of your piddling 4000 rmb on eating out because many FT's have to share one kitchen in the teachers' compound?

When Mr River returned to the company-I assume this followed recovering from his injuries after he was beaten up by the heavy employed by the bid boss to beat up FT's who got out of hand? I understand that Mr River persuaded his boss to sack the bruiser(the heavy) I would say that if MR River falls down on the job in the future the bruiser may be asked to return. I would say that a leopard doesn't change its spots and that Yuncheng IELTS is just as bad as it ever was.

Unfortunately Turnoi you may be discussing the point with people who benefited from the existence of these useless entities. Of course they will not agree with viewing all of these pretend "schools" as illegitimate and the fact that they need to be shut down, period. For me, I gave these businesses one chance after another, and the more "schools" I went to the shorter I stayed due to their inability to respect me as a person and treat me with dignity. I do not believe they will all go away anytime soon, but that is because their business in my mind aren't being hurt enough. We must continue to expose these places no matter where they are in china and drive all of them out of business, period.
I frankly don't care if these places gave older teachers a chance to visit a new country and have a change of pace. What chinese people in general need to know is that expats will always put hope in going to a foreign country, and china seems attractive on paper due to her industrial development. But in the end you can either make your own culture (I am talking about china) better by getting expats to stay/settle down in your country and gain confidence in the world community or you can continue your crappy modus operandi across all business types and isolate yourself from the rest of the world.

Of all the years I have posted on the board Turnoi, you have been the most supportive and consistent. I haven't had the will to post as much recently but I should devote myself more to giving out a voice of opposition to these crappy businesses. I hope you are enjoying life wherever you are at :)
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The older teachers go to state universities and not the English Centres you want to close down-so, those teachers are safe from your chopper there, yes?

Although some older teachers are given opportunities by private companies like Yuncheng IELTS who don't actually teach on their own premises but send FT's to Middle schools to teach. Yuncheng IELTS was justifiably pursued and given short shrift by posters still posting on this forum. Is there any reason we should stop pursuing Yuncheng IELTS?

The "crappy businesses" to which you refer never give older teachers a chance.

That is a noble thing to say-you should leave no stone unturned for any "crappy business" to wriggle under.

Yuncheng IELTS School was my final gig. Now I'm retired. I haven't posted for a couple of days as I've been busy ridding my laptop of errors using variois computer cleaning tools so that I can view movies and sports without annoying interruptions due to buffering problems. Now I've time to go into detail re Yuncheng IELTS, one of the three agents of Yuncheng.

1- IELTS School, second stint: I was sent to one of their client schools. Most are state-run senior middle schools, some are state-run junior middle schools or private senior middle schools or state-run primary teachers' colleges or state-run vocational colleges. The last-named have very low ability students of senior middle school age - the students are even lower in ability than those of an average senior middle school! Among the state-run senior middle schools, some are key. Lazy or ineffective FTs could be fired too easily there! A word about accommodation, the compound in Yuncheng belonging to the company has had central heating for some years to date, which it never used to have. I suppose it's ok for single people who prefer dining out to cooking for themselves - the cooking facilities are shared! The infamous curfew is a thing of the past. Working for this agent suited me very well. During my second and last stint there I worked in three counties, one semester in each. I lived in an unshared flat rent-free each time. My first school was in Ruicheng county. The teacher in charge of grade 1 sat in my class every week, and Ada checked my teaching on no less than three occasions that semester! One of the two FTs at the vocational college next door wasn't teaching well nor getting along with his teaching assistant. So, Ada had to check out his teaching, and took the opportunity to check out mine too, as it was convenient for her to do so. My school just had one FT, me! I taught grade 1. 16 classes a week, no making-up of holiday classes as many students were boarders. No English salons, etcetera - fine for a lazybones like me! That school had fired 7 FTs in just over a semester before me. My next semester was in another county, Hejin. The school was Number Three of Hejin. I was the only FT. I taught grades 1 and 2. 16 classes a week, but 2 lessons a week to prepare instead of one. Just like Ruicheng, but the students were of lower ability. My class was only checked once by a teacher, and Mr River, who had rejoined the company after Ada left, checked my class once that semester. Last term I was sent to Wenxi Middle School. Wenxi also has a Number Two Middle School. Both schools are very average. Another recruiter, Yuncheng EV, had two FTs at Number Two, and one at my school. He taught grade 1, I taught grade 2, 16 classes a week, one special event that term, a debating contest. The school checked out my teaching once, and so did Mr River.

IELTS School, first stint: one semester at a private senior middle school in Yuncheng city, Yanhua. Spoiled and lazy students of low ability there too many of them insolent. 19 classes a week, making-up of holiday classes. English corners! I didn't like it there, largely because I had to work too hard, so I asked Mr River to transfer me. Next term I was sent to Jishan, a county. It was a state-run Primary Teachers' College. There was an FT there who taught grade 2 students, but he wasn't with any agent. A teacher acted as his teaching assistant. I taught grade 1. I had a t/a. I didn't like it there, worked too hard, 22 classes a week including English corner and training local teachers!

As for my teaching assistants, I had 7 in all. 2 were quarrelsome, both girls. 2 were just so-so to get along with, 3 were great, one of which was a male. The other 6 were females. Without their help, my teaching would have been very tiring and less efficient and effective. I prefered teaching in the counties, less stress at work and more spare time, as a rule. That's all. As for Ruicheng, the company sent an FT there who was the longest server to replace me. As for Hejin, a young Portuguese lady was sent there to replace me, but she had to return to her homeland due to her mother being seriously ill, so it was said!

I think I was paid well for doing very little during my second stint at River's!