Getting a Visa in a country that is not your home

I would like to mention again that Chinese will say any-frickin-thing they feel like if it saves them one nano-joule of effort, so I wouldn't get put off by what you've described. That's a normal interaction.

Doing the visa paper work can be a pain, especially the first time, but try to take it in stride and just keep pluggin' away and blowing off steam here. The other fellas are giving great advice. If you stay in China for a second contract, you will most likely not have to go through very much hassle like this as the permits can be renewed easily by the same school or transferred with little trouble to another school under ideal circumstances.

Don't take being lied to personally in China or you won't have such a good time. Ya might look at being lied to like catching a 3 y.o. with his hand in the cookie jar. In fact, I pretty much put everything here through a 3-5 y.o. filter in order not to get upset so much. And I'm thinking of recalibrating down another year.

Unless things have changed, i think the Invitation Letter for a Z Visa is issued by the local FEB which is not the PSB. So you need to contact the Changshu FEB to see if they will issue an Invitation Letter naming the Chinese embassy in Turkey as the place of issuance for a Z Visa, not the Changshu PSB.

The three Chinese agencies are separate (yet everyone likes to amalgamate them into "The Chinese".) The PSB may not like it, but it's the FEB that issues the letter and once you're in China and Changshu under a validly issued Z Visa from a Chinese Embassy, the PSBs only job is to issue a Residence Permit.

So run this through (or have your school/agent run this through) the local FEB.

The replies have been great..really useful, thanks 
We have the same bullshit in Turkey as well, so should be used to it:)
Will update tomorrow , after hopefully speaking to the school Director.

Unless things have changed, i think the Invitation Letter for a Z Visa is issued by the local FEB which is not the PSB.

Good point actually, and this is true as well.

But this has nothing to do with official regulations, this is just somebody who doesn't know how to do their job.  It might even be something as basic as a crusty old director somewhere who doesn't understand that "issued in Turkey" does not mean that you are Turkish and noone has had the balls to correct him.

Well, seems we have some success 

Spoke to the Director of the school, and using the terms you guys have given me ..FEB etc, she must have realised I am not straight off the boat, and has agreed that she will ask the FEB to put TURKEY EMBASSY...wow
AND she won't apply until June, so the agent was talking out of her  No surprise there!
Thanks for all your help.
I have a feeling the drama is not over yet though 

Well, seems we have some success 

Spoke to the Director of the school, and using the terms you guys have given me ..FEB etc, she must have realised I am not straight off the boat, and has agreed that she will ask the FEB to put TURKEY EMBASSY...wow
AND she won't apply until June, so the agent was talking out of her  No surprise there!
Thanks for all your help.
I have a feeling the drama is not over yet though 

You are learning to snatch pebbles from hand, grasshopper   

Good luck and you're right, it's not over yet

Any one else, recently, applied and got a Z Visa in another country?
Thanks Guys

I did.

I am from the U.S.

I had a z visa issued to me about 1 year ago while I was in South Korea.  If one has more than 7 months left on their ARC, then one can obtain a z visa in South Korea.

I am Australian, and we were living in Thailand last year. My current school in Hubei Province said I had to go back to Oz to get the Z visa, but I said I did not have the money to do this, so my invitation letter had "Thailand" on it, and got my Z visa in Chiang Mai.

Both the wife and I are US citizens.  We went to Hong Kong for our visa run.  I don't know if the letter said Hong Kong, but I didn't care.  Now our residence permits are renewed through my company Human Resources department.  The next time we will have to deal with it is when we take our first trip overseas with baby Lexi.  Mrs. Casey is thinking about going to Japan to visit friends so we will probably have to get a Z visa for Lexi then convert it to a residence permit.

@CaseyOrourke  A Z visa for Baby Lexi?! She's earning her keep at such a young age? Good for her! But I have a feeling your child would probably be covered under a different visa.   

The baby would be an accompanying family member. The visa would still be a Z but when she gets it converted to a residence permit it will say "accompanying family member" on it in the "reason" box, rather than "work." Since both Casey and his wife are US citizens that's the right visa for the baby.

Not clear exactly why you think she needs to get a z visa. I have had friends who had babies born in China who did not need to get z visas for them. they simply got RP's in country for them.