Transfering Work Permit

Can anyone tell me the procedure for transferring a work permit from one employer to another? I understand that you need a release letter but after that, could an employer take your old work permit and use that to apply for a new one, or will  you have to provide all that "original work experience" documentation bullshit all over again?

Gah, no answer?

This is not gospel, but my experiences said the latter. I was never able to "transfer" an existing permit to a new employer. These occurrences were from one school to another in the same city and again from one province to another.

That doesn't necessarily mean you can't. School levels, gov't involvement, tiered cities, etc influence decisions. Good luck

I have been able to transfer a still current permit to another employer in the same city, with the appropriate paperwork. It can be done between provinces but is a little more difficult.... But if the permit has expired then you have no choice but going through the paperwork again. It does require a certain amount of cooperation between the two employers to transfer it, but if you are leaving one employer in good standing and they are happy to help you then you should have not too much trouble... but of course anything is possible and it can be more challenging in some provinces.

Hmm... I'll see what I can do.

When I left Hubei Province in June, the local PSB/police insisted that my RP be cancelled at 3pm the day before I left, and I was issued with a 30 day L visa to travel to Shandong. When I got to Shandong, the whole process had to begin again. Make sure that your Foreign Expert's Certificate is cancelled OFFICIALLY in your former abode, otherwise the new FEC in your new city can't be issued.
When a colleague's contract finished, he and his wife had a week in Shangers before returning to their home country and at the airport they were charged (but let off with a warning) with being on overstay as their RP expired on the last day of their contract!! So no more of a week's grace. It pays to check and double check with your local PSBs.

Going through the hassle of changing employer (another province) now.  My contract and residence permit with present school ends on 14 July. I only got a new offer last week and my new school started to process my paperwork. They were told by SAFEA and PSB that the process has to start from zero, as my residence permit is ending very soon.  The new rule states that residence permit has to be extended 30 days before expiry.    So now, I will be looking at a short holiday to HK for a new Z-visa.  Hopefully, it can be processed in HK. 

Advise to those wanting to change employer, do it at least 2 months before to avoid any hassle.

It's good advice to do it early but just FYI, you often can't get a new FEC any earlier than 30 days before the expiry of the current one - the same goes for the Residence Permit.  In many places now though, the PSB are asking for you to submit your RP for renewal or transfer north of a week in advance of its expiry, so it can be a little tight. 

The medical, in most places, needs to have six months validity left on it, so you can do that bit a few months early. 

The new rule states that residence permit has to be extended 30 days before expiry.    So now, I will be looking at a short holiday to HK for a new Z-visa.  Hopefully, it can be processed in HK. 

I am also changing jobs, going to a new province. I was told that if you change provinces you can NO LONGER get a new residence permit but instead must do the entire Z-visa process again. All the paperwork, the background check everything. And of course u gotta leave the country to do it.

And I started this process more than 2 months ago so it's not just a last minute thing. But the new school I'm going to says it is a very new law and my current school said they haven't heard of it. So, ya know....TIC.

I think the rules differ from provice to province.  Like Borkya, moving to another province means entire process all over again (btw, which province is it that requires you to do the process from zero?).  My experience is from Zhejiang, the PSB there told my FAO to do a new z-visa for me as it was too late to extend/transfer the current one. Just don't understand the Chinese rulings, just too complicated. 

I think the rules differ from provice to province.  Like Borkya, moving to another province means entire process all over again (btw, which province is it that requires you to do the process from zero?). 

Fujian province required me to start from scratch.

Update on my situation. I extended my Residence Permit without leaving China on my last day of my permit despite being told initially that I had to.    My new school in Zhejiang managed to complete the FEC and work permit application within a week and I had to make a trip to Zhejiang for medical before the application process started. Well all is done now and I will start my summer classes tomorrow!