the spouse visa and working

i collect my one year spouse visa tomorrow. i know its a residence permit, rather than a 'long term L visa'
so my question is this: to work legally, as the spouse thing is a residence permit, am i right in thinking all i need is a work permit in addition to this? i am in china so dont need to do the z visa route, i can simply get a job where they will then apply for my work permit (and maybe foreign expert cert).
when i was at the psb, they mentioned i can work on my permit after 6 months. i dont know if they meant i can only apply for a work permit on this residence permit after 6 months, or that after 6 months, i can simply work, without getting a work permit. i know that would be a very interesting development, i will get a clear answer tomorrow and let you know. they also said to make sure i get it before july as it gets harder to get the permit, tho im thinking you will just need an extra document as my application was easy and one thing i was suprised they didnt ask for was proof of savings, they have no financial info on me but are still giving me a residence permit? ok, ill take it!

I have a spousal residence permit as well, and my new school (starting in August) also says that all I need is a work permit and I can work without changing visas. This is actually the first I've heard of this, because usually work permits are issued in conjunction with visas/residence permits. My new school is a public school so I don't think they're full of it, but we'll see when August rolls around. This could be a new (and awesome) development for those of us married to Chinese folk.

yup, my thought too, as the spouse residence permit is a residence permit, you dont have to get that cancelled or changed to anything else, just get the school or employer to get a work permit only. like i said, i will ask the helpful people at the exit entry bureau tomorrow. looks like i will never know the joy of hopping over borders for visa issues (unless mine is a 180 day per visit visa, or less)

i will get a clear answer tomorrow and let you know

please do!

What is the cost to companies for only the work permit part?

well, like a noob, i got my hopes up, and the exit entry bureau shot them down! you cant do what i hoped was possible, the reason being the RP states 'family' so you cannot simply get a work permit as they wont issue a work permit to a family RP. i need to get the work RP, which, as you guessed, needs application in my own country with z visa as we know. the guy on the desk was informative but didnt want to discuss it further, i still get the feeling i 'could' apply for a work RP within china as he said the company need to give me the offer then i can get it.
as i only just picked up my family RP today, i didnt want to gather attention so left it at that.

so to work, still need to do it the old way, luckily working is only a possibility for me, not the reason im here so i may just not work at all until something changes. im sure even the exit entry bureau may have policy changes down the road as we know rules can 'bend'.

LD, if your school is right, it could be possible but im not going to be the test case, unless a school does it all for me, so ill let you find out in august! i had a good business gig lined up at 300rmb/hour as well, state company so ill steer clear if they cant do the permits.

the costs ive paid are:
577rmb for medical cert
400rmb for family RP.

the one bonus to the family RP is that there is no limit on duration per stay, i can stay the full 365 days if i want without leaving and coming back, and i can reenter at will if i do ever feel like going abroad.

That's too bad EG! My school may very well be just making assumptions because they've never dealt with someone on a family RP before. We'll cross that bridge when it comes I suppose and if I have to go to HK to get a new visa then so be it, although I do love the family RP because it is cheap and easy to get and the rules don't ever change, there's no release letter or schools making trouble, it is just a very straightforward kind of visa to obtain.

I wonder if anyone, ever, has been reprimanded/fined/deported for working while possessing only a family resident permit. Law enforcement is seriously spotty around here as can be observed daily.

im pretty sure that, if a school got me a work permit on my family RP i could plead ignorance, the rules just changed jul 1st, i have a RP, not a tourism visa (so by there own standards, not working on a tourist visa), and if the school can do it, either the school is to blame, or the labour dept let them do it. my chinese mother in law is going on about not having a job, but i want to let the dust settle for now, anyone else here on a family RP and no intention of working in any capacity, or just me? the thought of going to hong kong and z visa issues is too daunting for me, like you say, family RP means no funny business jiggery pokery from devious schools!

Frankly, I would never consider living in China for over 6 years and working for multiple companies on my family resident permit and never getting caught or hearing a single issue about it, or anyone even raising an eyebrow one way or the other.

I would never!

It would be interesting though, you could technically walk out of any crappy job if you landed in one at any time and no one could really do anything about it.

Frankly, I would never consider living in China for over 6 years and working for multiple companies on my family resident permit and never getting caught or hearing a single issue about it, or anyone even raising an eyebrow one way or the other.

I would never!

It would be interesting though, you could technically walk out of any crappy job if you landed in one at any time and no one could really do anything about it.

It would be interesting indeed. No release letters, no worries about handing over your passport to your employer, no taxes, no mad dash to get paperwork at a new school sorted out before your visa expires or whatever....

that issue regarding 'no release papers' et al is probably why this wont work, the chinese government cant have foreigners free to roam the country and leave jobs on a whim, without their constant surveillance, that would be far too helpful!
if and when i apply for a job, ill tell them i have a RP, they just need to get me the work permit, then (i hope) the onus is on them to tell me 'oh no, we need to get you the work RP, you cannot use the family RP' then i can say 'really?, oh, ok then'. surely this 'misunderstanding' of the rules the schools use to screw you over works both ways? either way, its going to be wait and see, hopefully i can survive on private lessons when the time comes to look for a (ugh!) job so i wouldnt even have to bother with any of it.