Would a "reputable" school/recruiter allow a Z visa from HK?

[alwaysstriving]

My only concern about doing a Z visa run to Hong Kong/getting my Z visa done by the Chinese embassy in Bangkok (currently I'm in Thailand) is that I worry that I may only get a job with a really dodgy school in China. Do the "reputable" schools in China do Z visa runs?

[liuzhou]

Schools don't do visa runs, reputable or not. Illegally employed teachers do.

 

Your question is not clear at all.

[catherineak]

May I understand you say about  "reputable" schools in China do Z visa runs?is that you mean the chinese school which have the qualification to provide working visa for foreigners,and some of small school they do not have qualification to provide working visa for foreigners .

And for working visa ,maybe need back to own country finished it ,or another way finished for you in HK .

[roddy]

Schools don't do visa runs, reputable or not. Illegally employed teachers do.

Your question is not clear at all.

 

That seems deliberately obtuse. He's clearly not talking about running back and forth getting repeated tourist visas, he's specified Z visas. 

 

There's nothing wrong with getting your Z visa in Hong Kong, Bangkok or New York - a Z visa is a Z visa, and any school which can get you one is going to be legally set up. That doesn't mean they're good to work for, but that's a different matter. 

[liuzhou]

 

That seems deliberately obtuse. He's clearly not talking about running back and forth getting repeated tourist visas, he's specified Z visas. 

 

Deliberately obtuse? Excuse me. He says "Z visa runs" What are they?

 

No one mentioned tourist visas.

 

You are only telling me what he doesn't mean (which I already knew). I still don't know what he does mean.

[imron]

If they're asking you to get a tourist visa first and then expecting to convert it to a z visa after you've arrived, then exercise caution.

If you are qualified, there are plenty of schools that will sort out the z visa paperwork for you before you arrive.

[roddy]

Perfectly ordinary to get a Z visa in Hong Kong - less common elsewhere, as other places aren't as close to China. Someone comes as a tourist or student, sorts out job, conversion can't be done in-country, so you go to Hong Kong. Or maybe you're switching jobs, or you arrange your job from a beach in Thailand. Here's one recent example. It's a visa run because you run to Hong Kong to get a visa.

 

Check for up to date info, as rules change, but asking you to do this doesn't mean a school is dodgy, or that you're doing anything illegal. As Imron says, watch out for schools that promise to convert a tourist visa but can't follow through. I'd make sure you speak to someone they've done this for previously.

[anonymoose]

As for legality, you can only work on a Z visa.

However, it takes a lot of time for the school to arrange the paperwork for you to get a Z visa. A lot of schools thus make you go on something other than a Z, and once the paperwork is ready, send you off to Hong Kong to convert to a Z.

So I wouldn't use the school asking you to go on something other than a Z to judge whether the school is dodgy or not. But whether the school is dodgy or not may affect whether you will be able to get the Z visa.

[maomao2014]

A real case happened on my husband two years ago. He went to China with tourist visa with several entries. Once he arrives in China, we started to look for a job. A private college  which had qualification for recruiting foreigners offered him a job. We started to apply for the visa. We thought we could apply in HK, but the local department did not allow us to apply in HK and asked my husband to go back to the UK to apply for Z visa. Luckily I had a friend who was working in the government helped us to apply for the Z visa. The procedure was very complicated. First we needed to fill a form asking for the permission to apply visa in HK, then the form would be sent to Guangzhou foreign issue department, they approved it then sent the form back to my local foreign issue department. With the form, then we went to HK to apply for the Z visa. Normally the local government won't let you apply for Z visa in HK.

[zhouhaochen]

If the school gets you a Z visa (I assume the paper work is from them) then they are getting you the right permit and at least from that perspective they are reputable.

That you might have to go to Hong Kong is not a visa run, but the immigration authorities requiring you to apply there. A visa run is if your visa expires in China and you regularly go to Hong Kong to get a new one.

In my experience they could also require you to apply in your home country or not having to leave China at all, depending on loads of factors that nobody understands (well, mainly the mood of the person at the counter I assume). Once you have the Z visa (or residence permit as it is called now) it can be renewed in China without problems (as long as you stay with the same employer).

[liuzhou]

 

Once you have the Z visa (or residence permit as it is called now)

 

A Z-visa is NOT the same as a residence permit. A Z-visa is an entry visa only, allowing you to enter China to take up authorised employment. It must be exchanged for a residence permit within 30 days. When you get your residence permit, your Z-visa is cancelled. 

 

This has been true for decades. I haven't had a visa, Z or otherwise, for 19 years. Only residence permits.

[Angelina]

A reputable school would:

 

a) tell you to go back to Canada and get a Z visa there;

 

or

 

b) do what maomao described in post #9