FWP (Foreigner's Work Permit) Overview

[MangoESL]

I just spent way too long modifying and updating this to let it live as a response. My goal is to keep this updated and reply to any questions in responses.

I'll use the first reply slot for FAQ's.

 

FWP (Foreigner's Work Permit) Overview

 

The new FWP (Foreigner's Work Permit) card system replaces the old FEC and AEP booklets, combining them into one card.

 

 

The requirements under the new system are pretty much:

 

Always Required (Pretty Much) - Investors and low skill work may not require this

• A Bachelor's degree or higher

At least one of:

• 2 Years post graduation work experience (preferably related)
  You will need to provide letter(s) of employment to prove you have at least 2 years relevant work experience. The letter should include your name, period of employment, employer information, your position as well as the name and current email or phone of the person who wrote the letter. This should be stamped with the company stamp or signed.
• Masters Degree
  A Masters degree or higher
• Related Degree
  University degree in a directly related field to the job you are applying for. For English teachers this could be English Language, Language Teaching, or such.
• Certification
  Appropriate certification for your field of work, for example English teachers may use a TEFL certificate.
  This should be authenticated in the country of issue.

Profession Specific

• Language Teachers
  Your native language must be the language you are going to teach. Nationalities eligible to teach English can be found here.
  Note: Dual nationals, you should be able to use either passport, though the English may be simpler.
  
  You must be using the passport of one of the native English speaking countries OR have proof of growing up in one of these countries, which is: Primary school, high school graduation certificates authenticated by the embassy / consulate.

When applying, you will need the following documents

Primary Documents Required

To apply for a Foreigner's Work Permit you will need to supply the following documents:

• Bachelor Degree or Higher + Authentication
• Criminal Background Check from home country or the last country you've lived in for more than 1 year (not including China) + Authentication (Shenzhen may accept a Chinese police check). Police checks are valid for 6 months and you will need to provide a new one if you let your Working Class Residence Permit expire.
• Proof of Qualification (probably needs Authentication)
• Medical Checkup
• Release letters / recommendation letters from previous employers with stamp/signature including their current contact information.
• Release letter from previous employer if applicable and cancellation of contract letter from SAFEA if your current contract is not complete and you're changing employers.
• ALL NON-CHINESE DOCUMENTS must be translated to Chinese and stamped by a translation company or your school if it has the legal right to teach the translated language.

Authentication Overview

The Chinese government requires many foreign documents to be authenticated. This requires the document being authenticated / stamped by an authority whose stamp is recognised by the Chinese government.

The Chinese government recognises the stamp of all Chinese embassies and consulates around the world, as well as all foreign consulates and embassies in China.

The goal then is to find out the requirements of that embassy

Authentication must be done in the country the document was issued in.

 

Where to apply?

This is all done through SAFEA and has nothing to do with the PSB.

Applications start online at http://fwp.safea.gov.cn where first a business account is created by the employer, after which they add employee information inside, upload all your documents.

The employer will later need to show the originals of all documents when collecting your card.
IF OUTSIDE CHINA the process is similar, but you get a NOTIFICATION LETTER pdf file that you take to the embassy to get your Z-Visa. Your original documents only need be shown after you enter China when collecting the physical card.

 

Residence Permit

Now we're to the PSB part.

So you're in China, you've got your FWP card, you've registered your residential information with the local police, you're ready!

Go get a photo at a photo shop and make sure they know it's for a visa and give you the appropriate printed out form with the bar code.

Bring your passport, your residential registration form, photo print out, 2 actual photos, print out of the page shown after scanning the QR code on your FWP, photocopies of your current visa, entry stamp, passport information page, residential registration, possibly medical booklet again depending on location.

In some locations the PSB may require your business to register online with them or do online bookings. Check ahead!

 

Conclusion

It's that simple, and that hard.

 

Any more questions just reply and I'll answer.

 

 

[MangoESL]

FAQ

 

1. I don't meet the new requirements, will I be grandfathered in?
   Unfortunately not, if you don't meet the new requirements you'll likely not be able to get a FWP. If in education this is certain. In other fields there may be exceptions for investors and such. If an employer says otherwise, be wary!
2. I'm a student in China and have just graduated, I heard I can work without meeting the other requirements.
   There are some new rules related to this, I don't have all the details yet, but if you've just graduated in China certainly look into it and share with us what you find out.
3. My passport is expiring...
   You can get a FWP and visa which will expire one month earlier than your passport expires. In some cities (Beijing) you need to apply for a new visa within 10 days of getting your replacement passport according to the date of issue on the passport (I'm still confused about receiving it more than 10 days after that date). In other cities you only need apply for a new visa before your current visa expires, carrying both.
4. I'm married to a Chinese person, how does this help me?
   You don't need to leave the country to get a FWP when applying under any visa.
5. Can i change from a tourist visa to a working residence permit?
   No, unless you're in Shanghai and possibly Hainan, still be wary! Don't come to China without your Z-Visa.
6. I'm being told I need to leave the country to change professions!?!?
   As of early 2018 this is true! You'll need to leave the country and apply for a new FWP if you're changing professions. This may not apply in Shanghai or Hainan, check locally first always!
7. Is there a blacklist?
   Yes! Under the new system there is now an official blacklist. If you break contract and vanish your employer can apply to have your FWP and visa cancelled and have you blacklisted from working in China. SAFEA is actively informing employers to report missing employees, as the employer is legally responsible for the teacher and and crimes or medical issues that may fall upon them while under their sponsored visa. We were told about a school had to have a teacher fly up north to handle an issue and pay expenses of an ex-teacher who had an accident after running away from the job and going skiing. He was under their visa, they had to go personally and fix/pay everything.
   If you're breaking a contract under the terms of the contract, paying related expenses, being responsible and everything is amicable you shouldn't have any troubles and should apply with your employer to cancel the contract visa SAFEA. You will receive a receipt for this.
8. I want to teach English what nationalities are allowed to teach English?
   You must be a native speaker, so you must have the passport of one of the following countries OR have proof of growing up in one of these countries. Primary school, high school graduation certificates authenticated by the embassy / consulate.
   The native English language countries list is in post 3
9. I have another question you didn't answer...
   Ask below....

 

[MangoESL]

 

Nationalities for English Teachers

 

阿森松、英属南极领地、福克兰群岛（即马尔维纳斯群岛）、英国格恩西岛、马恩岛（英属爱尔兰海域领地）、泽西岛、 塞浦路斯的亚克罗提利与德凯利亚的英属地区
Ascension Island、British Antarctic Territory、Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)、Guernsey、Isle of Man (British Irish Sea Territory)、Jersey Island、Cyprus's subcrotti and the British region of Dekalia （Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia？？）

Anguilla	安圭拉
Antigua and Barbuda	安提瓜和巴布达
Australia	澳大利亚
Bahamas	巴哈马
Barbados	巴巴多斯
Bermuda	百慕大
British Indian Ocean Territory	英属印度洋领地
British Virgin Islands	维尔京群岛（英属）
Canada	加拿大
Dominican Republic	多米尼加共和国
Gibraltar	直布罗陀
Grenada	格林纳达
Guyana	圭亚那
Ireland	爱尔兰
Jamaica	牙买加
Montserrat	蒙特塞拉特
New Zealand	新西兰
Pitcairn Islands	皮特凯恩岛
Saint Helena	圣赫勒拿
Saint Kitts and Nevis	圣基茨和尼维斯
Saint Lucia	圣卢西亚
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	圣文森特和格林纳丁斯
Singapore	新加坡
South Africa	南非
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands	南乔治亚和南桑威奇群岛
Trinidad and Tobago	特立尼达和多巴哥
Turks and Caicos Islands	特克斯和凯科斯群岛
United Kingdom	英国
United States Virgin Islands	维尔京群岛（美属）
USA	美国

This is the list SAFEA gave me. I also expect Dominican Republic is a mistake and should be replaced by the other Dominica.

[Ryan]

Hi! 

 

I am currently trying to change employers from one school to another. My current contract, visa, and FWP all expire on june 30th 2018. My new school has requested that my current school cancel my FWP so that they may begin the 30 day application process and I can transfer to my new employer seamlessly. My current employer is refusing to do this as they believe it is 'not proper' to cancel my FWP while I am still under contract with them and are concerned that it would be illegal for me to finish my contract with them if my FWP is not tied to their school.

 

Do you have any advice I can follow or know any way I can show my current employer that signing off my FWP so that I can transfer employment is ok to do?

 

I am obviously quite stressed as going back to my home country (U.K.) will cost a lot of money that I don't have and provide me with a lot of grief and difficulty.

 

Many thanks in advance!

[ChTTay]

MangoESL probably know more than me but I’ve encountered this issue before. Essentially, it seems like it is technically “not legal” to do this. However, in practice it seems there is no way around it due to timing! 

 

I know a few people who’ve been caught by this; where the current employer refuses to release them earlier due to fear of it being “illegal” and them being caught/fined. In the cases I’ve know the current employer has also been less experienced/smaller. 

 

However, if the companies/schools/HR department have more experience it seems to be less an issue!

[DavyJonesLocker]

Given you need to submit it within 30 days or you have to restart the entire process (verification needed?) id really push your employer to get on with this. Maybe ask your new employer to  give them a ring and dont take no for an answer.

 

Unfortunately you have to be a bit forceful in China to get things up and moving.

 

I'm a little unclear by some of the things MangoEsl stated such as leaving the country if changing from tourist visa to z visa. What about student visa . I changed from a student X1 visa to Z visa without leaving the country and I didn't have to product a police report. However I applied for category A so I think this has some bearing. Anyway questions for another day. 

[ChTTay]

@MangoESL

 

Any updates on the info here? ?

[S M]

Hello!

 

My work permit for a university lecturer position has been surprisingly denied. The university says it was rejected because I have industrial experience not academic teaching experience!

My question, if the employer is hiring me because they need industrial experience why the government refuses that?

 

The contract date has already started before the rejection decision, Does the university have to pay me the contract cancellation amount (2 months)? I guess its their responsibility to know their government requirements precisely before inviting someone to a role.

[roddy]

The government and the employer can often have different ideas. A government which wants to raise English standards might want all foreign teachers of English to have a certain qualification. A school which wants to expand quickly might not care about the qualifications. Industrial experience is obviously valuable, but it doesn't necessarily make someone a good lecturer. 

 

Where are you currently? Still at home, arrived in China?

[S M]

Being a good lecturer or not is not the question now as I have passed through enough selection steps before being offered the position.

 

Its just I don't have two years of experience in a similar position. The question is if the university knows these regulations, why selected me from the beginning. And if they don't know the regulations its a bigger mistake!

 

I am at home, though I don't think my location makes any difference given that I have no access to China.

 

 

[ChTTay]

12 hours ago, S M said:

I am at home, though I don't think my location makes any difference

I think the point being made is it would be a lot worse if you were already in China and this happened. As, in that case, you’d likely be forced to leave again. 

 

My guess would be they didn’t know. 

 

At least now you know you essentially cannot do this job in China as you don’t have the experience. If a company says they can hire you, it’s likely they’re going to get creative with your CV. 

[S M]

So back to my question, if they didn't know the basic government requirements, shouldn't they take responsibility for cancelling the contract and pay the penalty? 

 

its their mistake and I have wasted alot of time, effort and money in paper work in addition to quitting my current job!

[DavyJonesLocker]

2 hours ago, S M said:

So back to my question, if they didn't know the basic government requirements, shouldn't they take responsibility for cancelling the contract and pay the penalty? 

 

its their mistake and I have wasted alot of time, effort and money in paper work in addition to quitting my current job!

 

Understand your frustration but there will be a snowballs chance in hell they will be compensating you unfortunately .

 

 

[ChTTay]

Agree with Davy. There’s no chance you can get anything from them. 

[S M]

I agree too, specially that they are not responding to emails since 2 weeks.

 

In that case its worth mentioning the employer name so that other candidates researching them can be warned.

 

Bangor College China (BCC) in Changsha, China, jointly operated by CSUFT and Bangor University in UK. Both sides are not responding by the way

 

So for any lecturer applying there and google search brought you here, take great care while dealing with them as they are an unprofessional organization.