X Visa part-time remote work

[lewbomear]

Hi guys

 

I am coming to Beijing to study Chinese. I've been accepted for a one year course but was given an x2 visa - I was told I can extend it when I reconfirm that I'll be staying a second term. 

 

The company I was working with asked me if I wanted to continue working part-time while I am studying but I find the visa question a bit murky. The only official source I found only mentions the student visa as a prerequisite for part-time work/internship. No specific information is given about x1 and x2. The company has a branch in China and I told my manager that it would be best to contact them and see what they say. 

 

If that doesn't work out, I guess it would be an option to remain on a contract in my country and get paid in my country while studying in China. The work I do is entirely remote, so I would effectively not be an employee in China. Is there anything I should be wary of? Has anyone been in a similar situation? Another question I have is whether this sort of arrangement would be recognised as work experience if I later decide to apply for a working visa after finishing my studies? Could there be repercussions? 

 

Cheers

 

 

[mungouk]

Tricky on several levels perhaps. 

 

1 - tax. How does being in China longer than 6 months (X1 vs X2) affect your tax situation?

2 - double taxation - are you a citizen of the USA or the one other (IIRC?) country that taxes citizens overseas?

3 - are you planning to do this "under the radar"?  Not sure about X2 but for X1 you're supposed to have written permission from your university if you want to work. 
 

There are many websites out there now catering to "digital nomads" who travel the world while working online and "earning in other countries".  They might be better places to get sensible answers.  From the limited research I've done myself, many people prefer to keep this quiet, in other words "under the radar".

 

Some links:

 

http://alexbenderonline.com/what-digital-nomads-wish-they-knew-before-starting-on-their-journey/

https://nomadlist.com/

 

[NinjaTurtle]

As an American citizen, I pay taxes in China. America allows me to subtract the taxes I pay in China from the taxes I owe in America. Because of something called a Standard Deduction in America, my taxes paid in China are usually larger than my taxes owed in America, so I usually don't have to pay any taxes to America for income earned in China.

[ChTTay]

You mean you’d have to go to this companiy’s office and work there? 

 

If so, you’d have to seek permission for part time work and work under a set number of hours.

 

If you could just work on your laptop from home, a cafe, etc like a “freelancer” then no one would know. Then it would just be a question of taxes in your home country. If the company continued to pay into your existing account though then it would be straight forward, no? It would be like China has nothing to do with it. 

[lewbomear]

Thanks for the replies! 

@mungoukThis is exactly what I need. Cheers, I did know these forums exist.

 

@NinjaTurtlewere you employed on an American contract or a Chinese one?

 

@ChTTayI'll be doing it entirely from home and I won't have any physical contact with the Chinese office. My direct manager will be in Bulgaria. I guess what I'm trying to figure out here is whether that is legal under Chinese jurisdiction. I know that under our jurisdiction this is not a problem.

 

The other thigh I'm trying to figure out is whether this work would be recognised by the Chinese as valid work experience, should I decide to apply for a work visa in the future (I still only have about a year of formal experience at the job and the Z visa requires 2). Unless anyone has indeed been in a similar situation, I guess the digital nomads forums might be the place to ask, as mungouk suggested. 

[NinjaTurtle]

36 minutes ago, lewbomear said:

were you employed on an American contract or a Chinese one?

 

I was employed on a Chinese contract at a Chinese university. But tax considerations do not change whether it is a contract at an American or Chinese company/school.

[ChTTay]

I mean it depends on you how much of a risk you think it is.

 

If it was me, I would just work remotely and leave China out of it. That is assuming you don’t have any connection with the Chinese branch of the company and literally just work on your laptop with your home country's office. 

 

If you’ve not lived in China for any length of time yet ... Another aspect to this issue is tryig to actually find out what the Chinese stance on this is would likely take you on a frustrating merry-go-round of misinformation and contradictory statements. Maybe I’m wrong and this one is clearly defined ... but I’d be surprised. 

 

For the work experience thing, they don’t usually check. As long as the maths doesn’t look too fishy, it should be fine. If a company really wants you they might tell you that 1 year is fine then just edit your CV before they apply for the visa to make it fit. 

 

Again, it all depends on how much of a risk you think it is. Do some research first and then make an informed decision. 

[Baby Charlie]

I think this will only become a  Visa nightmare if you tell people about it, just do it and keep quiet about it. It isn't anyone's business! Good luck and welcome to China!

[roddy]

I would happily just do this and don't tell anyone. Don't have any contact with the China office, keep getting paid into an overseas bank, and withdraw money via card as you need it.

 

How it counts for work experience probably depends on who's looking at your application and what the current rules are and how they're being applied at the time. I'd not worry about it for now. 

 

That's a pretty good situation to be in, anyway. If your work is reasonably well paid and you can keep your costs in China down, you can fund study, live reasonably well, and quite possibly save up quite a bit. I remember with fondness my earning pounds and spending yuan days. Course, that was when a pound was worth something.

[lewbomear]

Yep, upon further investigation and given your advices, I'll try to keep my contract here. 

Sadly, the pay is nowhere near enough for the type of work I'm doing but I'd rather have it on my CV than hustling ESL jobs. 

 

Thanks for the replies guys! If there's any development, I'll update the thread for future reference. 

[edelweis]

On 8/27/2018 at 12:30 PM, lewbomear said:

I'd rather have it on my CV

But won't you get some embarrassing questions if your CV shows both being a student in China and working for an overseas company in the same time period?