Job offer in China - z visa application in Hong Kong?

[SimoneB]

Hi all

 

My friend has been offered a job in Beijing with good terms and conditions and I would like to take it. He is Mexican and is currently in Mexico City. He was previously in China on an X visa completing his Masters. He has never held a Z visa for China.

 

The company has advised him to travel to Beijing on an L Visa. They will do the work to get him an Alien Employment Licence and then he would travel to HK to apply for the Z visa. He would then return under the authority of his Z visa and convert it to a residence permit within the first 30 days.

 

My questions are:

1) The L visa has a first entry period of 60 days as far as I know. Does anyone know whether this is long enough for a company (acting reasonably) to obtain the Alien Employment Licence in time to then travel to HK for the Z visa application? Might an S2 visa (me as friend inviting him) be a better option as I understand you get 90 days first entry period? I know people who have invited friends on S2, even though the regulations seem to quite clearly focus on inviting family members....

 

2) Can he realistically apply for the Z visa in HK? I always thought one had to apply from their country of citizenship. It would not be a great situation to travel all the way from Mexico, only to have to return soon thereafter to get a Z visa!

 

I am a little concerned that the company is not really aware of the rules and he might end up stranded in HK after a stoney faced migration officer rejects his Z visa application.

 

Grateful for any advice!

Cheers.

 

 

[roddy]

I'd be wary. If the company can legitimately employ him, there's no reason they can't get the necessary visa when he's in Mexico. Putting it off until he's in Beijing indicates either they want to check he actually turns up before they go to any hassle (which is not unreasonable) or they're not really sure what they're doing, or will string him along. Are we talking a big company he has a long-standing relationship with, or some teach in China agency? Is he their first ever foreigner, or their hundredth? Is he an engineer in a high-demand specialisation, or....

 

It is possible to get a Z visa in HK - case from June - but you need to have it specified on the invitation letter or whatever it is.

 

I don't think there's any risk of being stranded in HK - once you've got the documentation from the city of employment, HK's job is just to issue the visa. The risk is being strung along in Beijing - 'oh, we can't get the visa at the moment, we'll get you a tourist visa extension...' or the company discovering that actually, it can't employ foreigners yet....