100-Day crackdown on Foreigners Working Illegally in Beijing

[Tianjin42]

I felt it might be a good idea to post this up immediately:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-18068366

It is taken from the BBC website and was posted today. It seems that the authorities have launched a 100-day crackdown on foreigners in Beijing who are there illegally or working without the appropriate visa. I suspect this final point may be of relevance to a fair few foreigners.

Sanlitun and university campuses will be targeted, according to the report.

Original post: http://weibo.com/1288915263/yjg6G3oP0

[kdavid]

Insightful.

I wonder how many police will be turned away by bribes from schools.

It will be worth keeping an eye on this to see if they expand to other cities as well. I'd imagine you'd have more loafers in Beijing than other cities less Western-friendly.

[anonymoose]

But how will the police know if anyone is working illegally unless they actually catch them in the act?

[kdavid]

But how will the police know if anyone is working illegally unless they actually catch them in the act?

Block cops generally do the reconnaissance. They report to their precinct times which certain "hot spots" are busy.

For example, a block cop may see that an English school always has many foreigners on Friday nights. They'll then visit said school at that time and investigate what the foreigners are doing. If they see foreigners teaching classes, they'll ask to see passports.

If the passports don't have the proper documentation, there's trouble. If the teachers don't have their passports and/or the school is unable to provide them, the foreigners are taken to the police station and held until the issue is resolved.

[roddy]

To be honest, more illegal foreigners will leave as a result of reading this and thinking "Gee, this really isn't worth the hassle any more" than will actually be caught. Either way, result for the police I guess.

[icebear]

But how will the police know if anyone is working illegally unless they actually catch them in the act?

In 2008 they would choose office buildings frequented by foreigners and then go office to office asking for the documentation of any foreigners spotted.

[Lu]

Sanlitun and Wudaokou are good places to find foreigners, but they are mostly 玩ing or studying, not working illegally. It would probably be more effective to systematically check schools.

[liuzhou]

The Wall Street Journal has a bit more than the BBC, particularly on the background and response to the announcement.

[chinadude2006]

I suspect this will mean getting a longer term F visa through an agent in Beijing is going to get more difficult, if not impossible.

[sthubbar]

In 2008 they would choose office buildings frequented by foreigners and then go office to office asking for the documentation of any foreigners spotted.

Yup, happened to me last week.

As I was leaving a major multinational office near Sanlitun, in the lobby at the security gate was an officer in uniform as well as a plain clothes officer. The plain clothes officer motioned me over, identified himself as police and requested my passport. I don't carry it, though have a copy of it and my visa.

He looked at the visa, and said to his partner something to the effect, "See this is the proper type of work visa."

I guess he wasn't too concerned that it had expired.

[zhouhaochen]

any other stories of anyone being checked? It did sound quite worrying, but roddies comment that it will probably scare more people away than who actually will be sent away might be true. Any real life experiences? We (and our students) have so far not been bothered.

[icebear]

Any real life experiences?

The story I mentioned about 2008 was personally experienced - office to office police checks for documentation in the CBD. I'd assume they take a similar approach this time.

It did sound quite worrying

It shouldn't be so long as your employer is able to meet their obligations regarding provision of the correct visa. For your students I'd guess its no problem - aren't F or L visas both valid for short duration studies (i.e. "study tourism" of less than a few months)?

[Saxondale]

It's been quite an issue here in Qingdao. Last week 10 foreigners got caught modelling in Qingdao. Not sure what happened to them, but i know the police are still holding their passports.

[luozhen]

I was randomly approached on the street, asked to tutor part-time for a school. Not news, but I wonder about Chinese law: can they do sting operations?

[icebear]

I wonder about Chinese law: can they do sting operations?

Yes. Please see the posts above.

[edelweis]

http://en.wikipedia....Sting_operation

In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person committing a crime. A typical sting will have a law-enforcement officer or cooperative member of the public play a role as criminal partner or potential victim and go along with a suspect's actions to gather evidence of the suspect's wrongdoing.

[liuzhou]

I wonder about Chinese law: can they do sting operations?

They can do anything they like.

[edelweis]

is there a Chinese word to describe a sting operation? have there been reports of such police methods in the media?

(just curious)

Edit: google translate claims it's 卧底行动, but does that actually refer to "sting operations" or "undercover operations"?

[liuzhou]

Nciku gives 精心设置的圈套

[cultureyard]

Quite a few language schools are being checked up on and asked to show their registration and teacher information. So if you are working in a language school, high school or for a teaching recruitment company please be careful and make sure you have the right papers to be working. You can receive a fine of up to 1,000 RMB, let alone get 'asked' to leave the country.

Worst case scenario is if you are found on a 'student' visa or tourist visa teaching you will probably face the most problems - whereas for a business F-Visa it specifically says you are not allowed to be teaching, but there is a bit more flexibility around it since you are allowed to be consulting a company or working as an intern. So if you are employed at a school teaching and want to stick around longer without any risk of paying a fine or having to leave, request if it is possible for them to issue you a invitation letter to apply for an F-Visa.

We have just heard stories from people getting stopped in Sanlitun and taken straight to the police station for not having their papers on them, or plain clothed police men going into bars asking everyone to get out because the majority did not have their passport on them!

Just keep a copy on you at all times of passport and police registration and you should be okay.