My previous post about Applying for the China Work Visa (Z-visa) seemed to generate some interest, so I thought I’d post a quick follow-up on transferring your visa/work permit over to another company when you change jobs.

If your company doesn’t handle it for you, you’ll most likely want to go through a visa agency. Apparently the process is a bit complicated, so you’ll probably want the guanxi that an agency has on your side to ensure that it goes smoothly.

You’ll need the following documents:

• Your passport (original and a copy)
• Five 2-inch passport sized color photos
• Work permit application form (stamped with your company’s seal/chop)
• A copy of your new labor contract
• A copy of your CV/resume (English and Chinese copy)
• List of your skills, qualifications, references, and any other relevant documents (English and Chinese copy)
• Copy of your academic qualifications
• Copy of your company’s Business License
• Copy of your company’s Enterprise Code License
• Copy of your company’s Approval Certificate (only for foreign investment companies)
• Temporary Registration form (that you receive from your local police station)
• Letter of Dismissal from your previous company (this is VERY important – your previous company must give you an official letter of release, stamped with their company seal/chop)

The process can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months, so be prepared to be without your passport for a while. The government fee for this is about 600 RMB, and agencies will add a service fee of anywhere from 1000 – 1300 RMB on top of this. It seems like a lot, but it definitely beats paying 8000 RMB or more for an F business visa.

When all is said and done, you’ll have a new work permit good for another year, and a new residence permit in your passport (that takes up another page, so be sure you have at least 1 or 2 available).

Testing out the iPhone’s video recording capabilities, I decided to record my new commute to work.

Would have been more interesting if I sped it up, did some editing, and put music to it, but I guess this sort of gives an idea of what taking an uncrowded city bus in Shanghai is like.

Some highlights:

- PLA marching band! (1:58 mark in first video)
- Fire off of Shunchang Road (1:30 mark in third video)

So I just started my new job, and sitting at my desk waiting for me was this little surprise followed by a, “Well you are going to need one for testing, and it wouldn’t make sense to let the phone features go to waste.”

That’s right – iPhone 3GS straight from Hong Kong! What’s cool is that in HK, it’s illegal to sell phones locked to carriers (as it should be), so you get all the benefits of a jailbroken iPhone without all the nasty problems that come with jailbreaking your iPhone like inadvertently bricking it, being unable to update your phone OS, etc.

I’m just getting the hang of the interface which is pretty different than most mobile phones, but pretty damn cool nonetheless. I have to admit I’m not a fan of the seemingly forced integration with iTunes, but it’s still another world compared to my old Nokia 2630.

So I finally accepted a job offer and now it’s time to go through the fun-filled work visa process. The whole visa situation in China is arguably a bit of a grey area. The restrictions have been getting tighter every year and the process more confusing.

Long gone are the days when foreigners could easily get 1-year, multiple entry “business invitation” F-visas in Hong Kong for $80. These days you’re lucky to get an F/business visa at all, and most L/travel visas are single entry with a maximum stay of 90 days per entry. This results in costly visa runs out of the country every few months, not to mention the whole illegal alien status thing.

Here are the steps I took to get my Z-visa. As with many things in China, not everything is set in stone. Depending on your hiring company, your miles may vary.

Also see ShanghaiExpat’s guide to getting the Z visa.

Step 0: Initial Health Check

This initial medical check-up is not actually necessary for the visa, but some companies require it before they waste their time and money on having you complete the rest of the process.

The medical exam took place at Shanghai Ren Ai hospital on Caoxi Road, across the street from IKEA. As instructed, I didn’t eat anything and arrived at the hospital for my 9 AM appointment. After paying the 100 RMB fee, patients are given a book of receipts. You then go to each test station and give the doctor/nurse the receipt for that station that they fill out and keep. When you are out of receipts, you’re finished. The hospital will courier the results to you in a day or so.

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Last week I pointed out some of the health coverage exclusions I was concerned about with my new company’s health contract.

Well, upon inspecting the contract a little further after a fellow employee pointed out, I now have no reason to be concerned.

Why, you may ask? Does that graphic in the middle look a bit familiar? Let’s take a closer look:

Yes it does! It’s the Starship Enterprise! If this contract is good enough for Starfleet, it’s surely good enough for me.

Going over my employment contract, I was browsing the Employee Benefits & Health Coverage section. Some of the exclusions were a bit confusing and/or disappointing:

2）被保险人殴斗、醉酒，服用、吸食或注射毒品；
The insured assaults, gets drunk, takes, sucks or injects drug;

No getting drunk or sucking drugs?

10）战争、军事行动、暴乱或武装叛乱；
War, military action, civil commotion, or armed rebellion;

This doesn’t leave a lot of room for activities outside of work.

11）核爆炸、核辐射或核污染。
Nuclear explosion, nuclear radiation or nuclear pollution.

Now that’s just unfair.

My job is (for now) in the Xujiahui 徐家汇 technology/electronics district in Shanghai. To get there, I have to take the metro every day and change trains at People’s Square 人民广场, which is the busiest station in the city.

I never realized how busy it actually gets until it became part of my daily commute. During rush hour, the station platforms and stairwells are completely packed (see the 3:00 mark in the video below). The day I took this video actually wasn’t that bad. On most days I’m waiting several minutes just to be moved with the sea of people down the stairs.

On the bright side, during peak hours trains come every 2 minutes like clockwork. In all my time in Shanghai I have yet to experience any serious delays or (worse) service outages like those that seemed to happen every other week when I lived in Montreal.

In my quest to find a job, I’ve gotten into the habit of routinely checking a few expat job sites. There are many out there, but not so many that are actually worth while. Here are are the sites that I keep an eye on when actively searching:

1. EnjoyClassifieds

This is the site I check the most since it’s updated the most frequently, and has a lot of great results. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be enough moderation so a number of the postings are mis-categorized, repeat ads, or just plain spam. It also has an email interface that deters direct contact, although employers can post their contact information in their ad.

That said, some of the ads are so funny that I can look past these short comings:

…

2. Shanghai Expat

Next best, but it tends to favor ‘featured’ (i.e. paid) job listings over most recent. It also has a clunky email and text editor interface to deter direct contact, I’m assuming to show employers how many applicants they get through the site.

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