I've been here for most of the past 5 years and never even seen one of these "foreign experts" cards. I've heard of them and I think they may make it easier to get a visa but really all you need to continue to stay here year after year is a job. Teach English in a reputable school and they PSB will keep renewing your visa as long as you have a contract at a place legally authorized to employ foreigners.

That's the big catch. A lot of fancy private schools want to have foreign teachers to justify the outrageous tuition they are charging their kids rich parents. But there's an enourmous number of them that don't really have any offical authority from the PSB to employ foreigners. They won't tell you though. They will just tell you your visa is "no problem."



Which is only a white lie.....for THEM it really isn't a problem. So it's vital that you have a passport with a work visa in your hands before your first day of work.

No visa---no workee...

It doesn't matter if classes start tommorow and the visa will take a week. There is an official 500 yuan/day ($40) fine for working illigally (without a visa). Any and all work you do for the school .. . if they don't want to pay you and you worked illegally then you have no recourse. If you tell the PSB/police you have just told them that you commited a crime during your stay in China.

The thing a lot of people don't get....and I chalk it up to American/western arrogance...is that this time YOU are the Mexican in LA with no green card. A lot of people are too flip about the regulations. Everyone kisses your a$$ because you are a westerner but that doesn't mean the police have to kiss up. The respect should go both ways. Their laws AFAIK, regarding illegal work/immigration are no more draconian than ours in America.

You just need to remember you are still a GUEST in someone elses country.