Can I go and work in Shanghai on a spouse's Z-visa?

[eh5257]

Hi All,

My husband has recently been told that he is being sent to work in Shanghai for 10 months and have a Z-visa sponsored through his company. My company has told me that I can have a job out there but I will have to "piggyback" on his visa as a spouse but express an intention to work for the duration still for my company on a UK contract.

Has anyone any experience with anything similar and can give me advice as to whether this is even possible to do or if I need to apply for a work visa separately.

Many Thanks

Emma

[Cat Jones]

I would imagine that you probably need your own work visa to work legally in China. It used to be that the spouse visa was actually just a tourist visa which you would not be allowed to work on. But I don't know if this is the case now.

Probably best to contact the Chinese Embassy in your country to get a definite answer.

Best of luck with your move to Shanghai! It's a great place.

[fanglu]

My understanding is spouses and children on Z visas aren't allowed to work.

The reason is that Z visas are associated with particular jobs - they aren't a blanket permission to do any work. The job in your case is your husband's job.

In practice, provided you aren't being paid in China, the chance of there being a problem is very small. This is particularly the case if you are working from home - how would anyone ever know? If you are working in the Shanghai office of your UK employer, however, there's always the chance someone could start asking questions about who you are and what right you have to work there.