Tourist Visas & Airline Tickets

[Brantavius]

(1.) I just found out that if a person wishes to enter China on a tourist visa, that person must purchase both a departure and return ticket before the departure ticket will be issued. I found this out while attempting to check in at the airport; I was supposed to leave for China today. For those of you who have entered China on a tourist visa and then had it converted into a work or student visa, what did you do with your return flight ticket once the visa conversion was done?

(2.) So, basically, I am very screwed. I was planning to stay in China for quite a while, so naturally I got rid of a few things: my job, car, computer, and apartment. Does anyone know of a reputable school in Beijing (or anywhere else in China for that matter) that (a) can obtain work visas for English teachers while they're still in their home country and that (B) might be willing to actually foot the bill for a flight to China BEFORE the flight rather than providing a reimbursement (unlikely, I know)? I'm really close to the end of my rope, and I haven't even made it to China yet.

[roddy]

1) This is not Chinese policy, it's airline policy. They're worried you will be refused entry and they will then have to cover the cost of getting you back home. Not all airlines do this, but I've heard reports of it happening a few times (mostly on the Thorn Tree). Way round it? Either fight with the airline, find another airline, or buy a fully-refundable ticket, which you then cash in when you get here.

2) You are very unlikely to find a school both able to arrange a work visa, and willing to pay your flight expenses up front, at short notice.

Good luck

Roddy

[phbriggs]

Q1 - Agree with Roddy,

Q2 - There are some unscrupulous agencies that will pay for your flight to get you to China, upfront. They then pay you about 50% or less of the standard salary (i.e. around 2500RMB per month), make you work for about twice as much as a standard SAFEA contract (around 25-30 hours per week), which in effect makes your salary about 25% of what it should be. They also will not offer all standard SAFEA employment contract conditions. But if you are short of cash, need to desperately to get to China to teach, don’t care that you are filling their pockets and don’t care much about where or the conditions of your work and are willing to sign your name to a contract which has a lot of penalty clauses, go for it.

Alternatively, buy your ticket on your credit card, and pay it off over the first 12 months.