New Foreign Experts Certificate and new procedures

[Rincewind]

Yesterday I renewed my Foreign Experts Certificate. The appearance of the FEC has changed and there were some new procedures involved in getting it. This was done in Shenyang, Liaoning and other provinces may be different.

In the past, you went along to the Foreign Experts Bureau with the relevant documentation and photocopies, waited some time, paid some money and got the FEC. However, now, before going to the office, you have to complete a number of online forms. These ask for your basic details as well as you past employment details and education details. You also need to provide the name and address of a reference in your home city who can vouch for the validity of your statements. Once submitted, the FEB will check the details and only then can you go to the office with your paperwork to collect the new FEC. In contrast with previous years, when only my secretary went to the office, this year the requested that I attend with my secretary to collect the FEC in person.

The new FEC booklet is dark blue rather than burgundy. The pages inside the book contain the same information as before but the layout of some of them has changed. There are a number of extra security features built into the book to prevent forgery. The background of the pages now features a guilloche style Great Wall of china pattern. There is also now a metal strip, like on a back note, running down the middle of each page.

The FEB told my secretary that they are now being much more restrictive about who they give a FEC too. It will not be as easy as it was in the past to get one of these.