So what do I do? (advice sought)

Hello!

I am looking for a job in northern China. I finally found a job that seemed good, I had an interview with the Chinese recruitment manager, then a second interview with the foreign head of staff. So everything looks good, they offer me the job, and then the recruitment manager wrote:

Normal procedure is We apply a invitation letter for your from (northern Chinese city) Foreign affair office, and we send it to your address,when you get the letter you can go to the embassy to apply a "Z"visa,i have all your certificate copier,i am not very sure whether your nearest embassy need one of your medical examanition report.would please contact the embassy first to ask?And also because of the olympic games ,beijing would be very hard to entry,that will takes a little bit long,i also suggested if you can apply a "L"visa directly in the embassy,and find a flight to come directly that will be more effetive,and also our school can difinitlly change a "L"visa to "Z"visa here.

To which I responded:

I am a little worried about entering into China on an L visa and
transferring it to a Z visa. I have heard that these days it has
become more and more difficult for foreigners to exchange their L visa
for a Z visa.

To which the recruitment manager responded:

if the teacher arrived (northern Chinese city) with a "L"visa will no problem.since last year we have 8 teacher came with L visa


So what do I do? Take them at their word? Everybody keeps telling me not to go on an L visa, but what about in this instance?

I don't want to be a jerk and add more work for another person, and yet I don't see how showing up with a tourist visa...yeah that doesn't sound like anything that will help me at all, except for maybe expiditing the whole process (?)

Respond to him that if he has all the papers already then it will be simple enough for him to send them to you for the z visa. It is easier to get a z right now than it would be to get an L visa as the new rules have tightened up on L and F visas. You would not want to come here 'if' there will be problems, and if you read the thread 'a hard rain is gonna fall' you will see enough comments about being here on the wrong visa this summer.

Tell him you contacted the Embassy and for an L Visa they require copies of your ticket with a return date within 30 days, confirmed bookings from hotels where you will be staying and any other complicated sounding documentation you can imagine. Let him know he should provide you with all this ASAP.

E-mail works. They don't have to send you the originals. Tell him to e-mail you the employment letter and authorization for a work permit.

What's apparent from this is not that this is a dodgy school, but that they don't realise how things have changed. They think they can continue to do things the old way. They just don't get it. And they're hardly alone.

You are out-of-country, yeah?

In the normal run of things, you get an invitation letter from the employer and a work permit from the relevant provincial foreign affairs authority.  The prospective employer sends both to you.  All of that plus your passport and a completed application form (and the fee) you send to whichever embassy or consulate covers your area for visa applications.  (Forms and which embassy info you get from the embassy website in your country).  After some time they send back your passport with a Z visa inside.  Then you catch a plane.

Where are you?  Oz, UK, USA, other?  In Oz I've never had to include a medical examination form in the visa application process.  Other country requirements may vary.

Now, things are different this year.  Hearsay says visa application processing times are increasing and the number of visas actually being issued is decreasing, and it'll get worse as August gets nearer.  Also, non-standard visa jiggery pokery (like transferring an L to a Z) is just asking for trouble.

Advice: do everything the way it should be done, and get on it quick.  Get your work permit and invitation letter, and get them soon, or start looking elsewhere.  The Olympic spirit is going to weed out a lot of dodgy employers (and leave stranded a fair few foreigners), so you're going to be much better off shacking up with someone who can get on top of the genuine legal requirements quickly.

What's apparent from this is not that this is a dodgy school, but that they don't realise how things have changed. They think they can continue to do things the old way. They just don't get it.

I think this may be what scares me most of all. I suspect a LOT of people are being told "no problem, don't worry" by schools who in truth have no idea what's coming down the road. This summer, as the main sequence of 2007/08 academic year permits start to expire, I fear there will be blood on the walls...

This is exactly why I am making it quite clear to all schools that, if they want me, they need to send all the documents necessary for me to obtain a Z visa from the Chinese embassy here and it must be stipulated in the contract that the school will guarantee getting me a Residence permit and a Foreign Expert Certificate.

This is so not the time to mess about with documents. Get it all sorted before leaving for China is my recommendation.

Good practice!
But not really what I'm talking above. I'm talking more about getting all the paperwork, everything appearing fine, only to get the documents to the PSB bureau and hear "Sorry...this employer can no longer issue residence or work permits."

This is what I think will really get the heads rolling later.