End of contract legalities

[zhameng]

I was hoping someone might be able to give me some information / advice on legalities regarding end of contract separation letters. I'm sure many of you are chuckling hearing this, having been through this countless times before, but would appreciate any ideas so that I can understand how to proceed.

I have finished my contract with a company in Beijing and am now returning permanently to my home country. I wish to ship out my belongings and to do that I require my foreign experts certificate and a letter of separation from my company. The company has refused to provide these documents. Of course, there are other ways to ship belongings out, but at considerable extra cost. The company says that they will provide the letter only after they have cancelled my Z visa, but Chinese customs require a Z visa to process a shipment. LOL

Could anyone tell me:

Are companies by law required to provide these documents?

Is there any point paying a visit to the Work Bureau or the Foreign Experts Bureau, or is that just a futile exercise?

Any information gratefully received...

[anonymoose]

Sorry, I can't really help you much with your question specifically, but how much stuff do you have to ship? Other people have asked questions on these forums before, and as far as I recall, the concensus was that shipping by China Post was the cheapest way. I know that there are no visa limitations shipping this way. Of course though, this may not be an option if you have large quantities of belongings.

[Senzhi]

Legally (and I know that doesn't always mean much), you should be issued with an Exit visa when your residence permit gets cancelled by your employer.

That way you'll be able to transfer any goods and currencies from China to your country of destination without too much hassle from customs.

If your employer is not aware of the procedure, they should contact the local Entry and Exit bureau.

[roddy]

Exit visa? Why have I never heard of these? What is it in Chinese?

[Senzhi]

From the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai (after a very quick Googling):

http://shanghai.usembassy-china.org.cn/chinese_visas.html

EXIT VISAS

American Citizens who lose their U.S. passport must immediately report their loss to the nearest Exit-Entry Administration Bureau. After obtaining a lost passport report from the local EEB office, Americans may apply for a new passport at the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. After a new U.S. passport is issued, Americans can then go to the Shanghai EEB office to obtain an Exit Visa. No foreigner will be allowed to depart China without a valid Chinese visa.

This is not only for U.S. citizens. I just did a quick search on Google and this came up first.

Not many people seem to be aware of this, but it is in fact very important if you'd like to transfer a big amount of funds legally from China back to your home country after your residence permit expires.

EDIT: an exit visa will only be issued after a permit has expired, so here: after the residence permit has been cancelled by the employer. Simply because without a valid visa it's impossible to leave China.

[kdavid]

I bet if you offered to give the school some cash for the letter they'd sign it. Sit down with whoever is responsible one-on-one and say something along the lines of, "Is there anyway the two of us can solve this problem privately? I'm open to any suggestions. I'd even be willing to pay for it."

Chinese themselves do stuff like this all the time. It might work.

[roddy]

I've never heard of anything called an exit visa actually being issued - either you leave on your residence permit, it expires, and you need to get a new visa to come in, or the PSB issue you a tourist visa - which might be for the purpose of exiting the country, but it's not an exit visa. I suspect you'd get blank looks if you turned up at the PSB asking for one. Still, if anyone can show me such a thing exists, I'll believe in it.

As for the OPs circumstances, it's a pity the employer is being such a pain in the arse. Would it be possible for them to issue a letter specifically referring to the shipment of goods home, rather than a general 'has finished his contract'? That might keep the shipping folks happy and it means the employer hasn't actually given you a document severing all ties.

You could try contacting the Foreign Experts Bureau, etc, but I'm not sure how far you'd get. They might ignore you, they might leap at the chance to actually do something for a change.

[Senzhi]

I suspect you'd get blank looks if you turned up at the PSB asking for one. Still, if anyone can show me such a thing exists, I'll believe in it.

Which is how they manage to keep private but foreign funds into China. Business as usual.

Most people leave on their current visa, as what they're leaving behind is not worth the hassle.

But if you add many small things together ...