Hi my names is Grant...
A typical story heard a million times before...but I will add to it the official solution as to have it dealt with properly.
Situation:
Teacher gets job, but no visa.
School lies to the teacher indicating that they are indeed getting the visa, but after a time the teacher learns he/she actually has no visa at all.
I was in this situation and this is what I did....
Step 1: Call your Embassy. They cant do much but now it has been officially reported to your government.
Step 1a: Write to the Foreign Affairs Bureau Beijing. (I wrote everything (as listed hereafter) in English just to remind them how dependent they are upon foreign teachers.) A simple letter...."Teacher needs help" and why.
Advice: Do not give away any contact info other than your email address. This process takes some time to achieve and you will need all of your time to complete these actions without interuption in order to make the process successful.
Step 2: Write to the Governor of the province in which the school of your employment resides. (same letter as in Step 1a)
Step 2a: Write to the Provincial Foreign Affairs Bureau. (same letter)
Step 2b: Write to the Provincial Education Bureau. (same letter)
Information interjection before I continue:
1/ One does not need to take these letters to the govt. in person. All of these bureaus (Departments) have online complaint's submission forms at their websites. And these complaints do get read and are answered; albeit in Chinese.
2/ With each new letter: At the bottom of the second letter I had indicated that I had already sent the letter to the Foreign Affairs Bureau in Beijing. Every letter thereafter I added to this list with the previous recipient's details. So this list got ever longer as I continued this process. This is helpful for both you and the government workers, as it gives a clear indication of the paper trail.
Step 3: Write to the Mayor of your province's capital city. (same letter)
Why? Provincial government handles laws but local government enforces these laws. In such a situation one can be certain that the office of the provincial govt. will call the same office of the province's capital to seek advice before determining the next action.
Step 3a: Write to Foreign Affairs Bureau capital city. (same letter)
Step 3b: Write to Education Bureau capital city. (same letter)
And the paper trail gets longer.
Intformation interjection #2:
1/ Do not expect a reply for these letters (but you should recieve a reply). All one is doing here is building a knowledge base for those that need to know. If one recieves a reply then...."well isn't that nice." and "Thankyou"
2/ I changed the letter slightly for each scenario from this point on. I will explain as I go.
Step 4: Write to Foreign Affairs Bureau (Local Govt.) Here I changed the main topic of the letter to "I have come to make a complaint against my employer."
Also this is the first office I went to in person. I kept the conversation simple..."I want you to recognise this letter, file it, and keep it as a reference for when another department asks for it." All was agreeable.
Step 4a: Write to Education Bureau (Local Govt.) Here I changed the letter's topic to..."I have come to report a school that has acted wrongfully against my employment contract."
Then I concluded this letter with "I think because of this school's misconduct the costs of getting a new visa, the responsibility for the crime, and the fault of the events listed lie with the school."
Again in the meeting keep it very calm and very simple.
Step 4b: Wait....wait for the government's and the school's phones to run hot.
Wait for the government heads to have their meetings.
Wait just long enough so that the school is nearing panic stage (in my scenario about 2 days from Step 4a.).....Then go to the local PSB office. Public Security Bureau.
Walk in to the PSB and show your letter at the front desk (with the long paper trail list attached) and ask to see the boss.
Wait....
When you get your entry permission to see the boss of the PSB say to the boss in a respectful but firm voice; "Here is the problem. I would like it fixed......(grrrr)....Please."
And sometime later....
"Thankyou for my new visa and have a nice day
"
The worst possible scenario from performing this process is repatriation.
Ok, but it aint a black mark, and the school has to pay for your repatriation.
A week later you can re-enter China...if you would still want to
Steps in brief:
Write your Embassy.
Write Beijing.
Write Provincial Govt.
Write Province Capital Govt.
Go to Local Govt. with your paper trail on display.
Smile
and this is very important.
Hope this helps, but then again I hope that you never need to use this.