Shanghai Daily: Foreigners caught without work visa

SHANGHAI police are warning expats without work permits not to find jobs in the city, which will cause them to be fined or deported if they're caught.

The Exit-Entry Administration Bureau of Shanghai police said yesterday that they had found some foreigners with travel visas illegally working as English teachers in the city's language institutions.

"We'll crack down on the illegal working of foreigners in Shanghai, as always," an officer surnamed Li said yesterday.

The bureau did not say how widespread the problem of illegal employment of foreigners is, but it's known that the city's expat population is growing quickly.

In a recent case, a 19-year-old man from the United Kingdom visiting Shanghai on a travel visa was caught by the police while teaching English to Chinese children in a local foreign language institution, police said.

Officers said the Briton looked very young and attracted their attention, so they checked his passport. The man said he was traveling from Britain and had no qualifications to teach, according to the police. He did not even go to college, police added.

Through the investigation, the institution was also found unqualified. The names of the man and the institution were not disclosed.

The exit-entry bureau reminded that foreigners have to get a residence permit from it and a work permit from the city's labor authority before they are allowed to work here. For those who want to teach, they have to apply for a foreign expert certificate from the foreign experts bureau of the city and they must have at least a bachelor's degree, two years or more of teaching experience and the certificate of TESOL or TEFL, police said.

Shanghai has the largest population of foreign nationals among all mainland cities and provinces in China, with more than 143,000 expats living in the city, the Shanghai Statistics Bureau announced this week. Nearly one in every four foreign residents in the country lives in Shanghai.

The city is home to a total of 208,300 overseas residents, which adds people from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan to the foreign nationals population.The overseas population constitutes nearly 1 percent of the city's 23 million residents.

...just because some people (this can and often does include teachers) are telling you that no one in xyztown have legal visas and no one cares doesn't make it true.

I call shenanigans, this "new" article on Shanghai daily is a copy of an older one written last year.

Coppers showed up at my door yesterday too. Young. They asked if i had my papers, I said yes and gave them some smokes. They didn't bother looking at my passport but just asked questions about my iMac and filled my house with smoke. Then they invited me out for drinks Thursday night. They'll send a car.

I like the cops here, hate them in Canada.

CHINA aims to curb illegal entry, stay and employment of foreigners, something which has developed into a "prominent problem" in the world's second largest economy.

The State Council yesterday submitted a draft law on exit and entry administration to the National People's Congress Standing Committee, the country's top legislature, for its first reading.

The existing law on exit and entry administration, established 26 years ago when China was far from "the world's workshop," barely mentioned illegal employment of foreigners in China.

Under the draft, foreigners must get work permits and residence certificates before being employed.

Foreigners who work illegally in China will be fined between 5,000 yuan (US$792) and 20,000 yuan, and may be detained from five to 15 days for serious violations.

Those who illegally provide job placement services for foreigners or illegally employ foreigners would be also fined.

"We shall put forth efforts on regularizing foreigners who are working in China, do better in visa issuing, and strengthen residential management of foreigners," Yang Huanning, deputy minister of public security, said yesterday.

As a populous country, China would like to introduce more high-end professionals and limit the inflow of low-end workers, Yang said.

If a foreigner holds a visa allowing a maximum stay of 180 days, he or she will not need to apply for a residence certificate. If the visa allows a stay longer than 180 days and indicates that a residence certificate is needed, he or she must apply for it within 30 days after entering the country.

According to the draft law, the period of validity of a residence certificate will vary from 180 days to five years.

During their stay in China, foreigners should carry valid identity documents and submit to police inspection, according to the draft law.

It also stipulates that foreigners can apply to the police for a permanent residence certificate if an individual makes a significant contribution to China's economic and social development, or meets relevant requirements of permanent residence.

Foreigners who apply to stay in China as refugees will be granted a temporary-stay permit during an investigation and receive a refugee identity document for living in China after an application is approved.

An article about the collection of biological information for the use of border control is in the draft. It grants police and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the right to issue regulations on the collection and storing of biological information, such as fingerprints of travelers entering and exiting China.

Collecting biological information will help identify travelers, improve the efficiency of border control and protect state security, Yang said.

According to the government, the number of people entering and exiting China has increased by 10 percent annually since 1990. In 2010, the number reached 382 million, including 52 million foreigners.

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CHINA aims to curb illegal entry, stay and employment of foreigners, something which has developed into a "prominent problem" in the world's second largest economy.

Reading between the lines- this is clearly being brought up again as a bit of forewarning to expats. ...

I can easily imagine the central government is looking forward to when they can implement something similar for general registration of all citizens.