Why Your “Work Visa” Won't Work
The Linguistic Division of Labor
Both Chinese and Western philosophical traditions have spilled great quantities of ink on problems of what is really what and how that relates to the names we use for things. In some respects Confucian concerns over the Rectification of Names mirror Western concerns over developing a robust theory of reference. The late Hilary Putnam's concept of a linguistic division of labor is useful here. Like most of us, Putnam could not tell a beech from an elm. Being a philosopher, and not a forester, this worried him little. Knowing there are those who can make these distinctions, and if need be, can be consulted to clarify what is really what in the forests of knowledge or the knowledge of forests, is enough. That is the linguistic division of labor, the way the knowledge that there are expert practitioners who can make vital distinctions allows others with less exact notions to have faith that what non-experts know is sufficiently grounded.
But what happens when the experts whose knowledge authorizes the system do not act in good faith or are themselves not really in possession of expertise? While natural kinds and proper names are not the same as legal documents, Putnam's concept, and its difficulties with an environment suffuse with bad faith actors, can help us explain the prevalence of terminological confusion when talking about the legal documents underpinning foreigners' work status in China. In this area, the "experts" that most foreign workers have contact with are Chinese employers and agents. These actors are generally not renowned for forthrightness and candor, especially in the education sector. Thus foreign workers in China who leave expert understanding to these agents and employers thereby leave themselves at the mercy of these presumptive experts. This is not an argument that you, the foreign worker, need become an expert on Chinese bureaucratic processes, rather it is an argument that the less you know the more you are dependant on others and their good faith for this important aspect of your well being. So, if you don't trust that employers and agents in China operate in good faith, you owe it to yourself to at least know the basics of what is what and what it is called when it comes to the documents that let you legally work in China.
The Z Visa is Not a "Work Visa"
The foreigner work Wechat-sphere is awash with questions and complaints about "work visas," and comments about having or needing a Z visa to work legally. And to be honest, many Chinese employers and agents in the education sector are no better in their terminological rigor. But China does not now have a "work visa," and people who only hold a Z visa cannot legally work in China. The Z visa allows entry for those who intend to work in China, but the Z visa is only valid for 30 days after entry. (There is also an R visa for high end talent but it functions differently than the Z visa in that is also allows multiple entry for visits up to 180 days for business trips though not work, but that is a subject for another essay.)
The Document Application Process: WPN and Z Visa
The best place to start the story is not with the Z visa, but with the work permit (WP) application. When an employer applies for a WP for a prospective employee, that employer uploads the required materials to the employee's profile now established on the employer's account on the Foreign Expert Bureau (FEB 外专局) online system (http://fwp.safea.gov.cn/). (The FEB is also know as the State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs [SAFEA], and sometimes even the 科技局 [Technology Bureau] as it is now part of the Ministry of Science and Technology [MOST]). The specifics of the materials required will vary somewhat with the specific position applied for and rules/practice in the employer's location. However, applications in the education sector, where most foreigners are employed, usually require authenticated higher education credentials, an authenticated criminal background check showing no criminal record, proof of at least two years of relevant work experience or professional/educational credentials that can substitute for that relevant experience, a full work history, as well as a medical exam report or, more commonly, a promise to submit such a report after arrival in China. Basic materials such as select information from the applicant's passport and labor contract with the employer must also be uploaded to the FEB system.
The FEB then checks the uploaded documents. While there are certain objective requirement for approval, this check is a bit of a black box. Those objective requirements include being at least 18 years of age and in good health, having skills and experience relevant to the position being applied for, having no criminal record, having a passport or other international travel document, and having a clear employer (RAEFC 7). In addition, as is the case in many countries, foreigners employed in China must fill posts of special need that cannot be filled by domestic candidates (RAEFC 6). This last requirement leaves wide room for interpretation and autonomy at the local level.
If the materials uploaded by the employer to the FEB online system are approved, the FEB will issue a Notification Letter of Foreigner's Work Permit in the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国外国人工作许可通知) which, for the sake of English, I will call the WPN (Work Permit Notification). The WPN is now a purely digital document that the applicant will likely get by email, usually in both English and Chinese versions. The applicant then takes the WPN to the appropriate Chinese embassy, consulate, or China Visa Service Center and applies for the Z visa.
It should be now apparent how there are two intertwined halves to this process. In the first stage those are the WPN and the Z visa. In the next stage they will both transform, but before we get to that, a few words about the Z visa itself. The Z visa is a fleeting thing. It has an "enter before" date three months after its "issue date," but it is only good for a single entry, and to stay in China for 30 days after that entry. This should be apparent from the text near the bottom of the visa sticker that reads: "请于入境之日起30日内办理居留许可 Required to apply for residence permit [sic] within 30 days from the date of entry." So the Z visa has two timelines, one is the three months from the visa issuance during which it can be used, only once, to enter China. The other is the 30 days it can be used to remain in China after that entry, and during which one must apply for the, as yet still mysterious, residence permit (hereafter RP; EEAL 30). So when people say that they are working on a Z visa, they are making an error equivalent to calling a chicken an egg, or perhaps more aptly calling a butterfly a caterpillar.
The Document Application Process: Work Permit (WP) and Residence Permit for Work (RPw)
Before we get ahead of ourselves we have to return to the other half of this symbiotic paring, as the WP side is what moves the process forward. After entering China with the Z visa, the applicant's employer completes the WP application process. This involves showing the documents already approved online to get the WPN at the FEB office in person. Since the health check is usually substituted with a promise to do a health check at a locally approved facility, that local health check is first done and then the paper health check forms are submitted along with the paper versions of the materials already submitted online. The FEB only needs to check the passport and does not need to keep it. In most places, most of the paper originals are returned most of the time. However, some FEB offices, notably Beijing, do keep the originals of authenticated academic credentials and background checks. So be careful and only authenticate copies of academic credentials like degrees or diplomas.
After the in-person document check at the FEB office, the FEB informs the employer if there is a need to resubmit or add any documents. Once this in-person document check has been passed, the FEB approves the WP and informs the employer of this approval. Then the employer can go back to the FEB to pick up the WP card and the approval document (准予行政许可决定书). Note that in response to the pandemic many FEB offices have allowed employers to skip the in-person document check and some FEB also send out the WP card and approval document via mail or courier.
Once the employer has obtained the WP card and approval document, those, along with the employee's passport, an application from, and other needed paperwork are submitted to the Exit Entry Administration (EEA). The EEA then will issue a receipt for the passport and within 15 days issue a residence permit for work (RPw) or explain what further documents must be submitted in order to obtain that RPw. You, the foreign worker, should make sure to keep that receipt personally as it is needed to pick up the passport and it stands in for the passport and thus is proof that you may reside in China legally while your passport is retained for processing at the EEA (RAEEF 18).
Once you have received the passport with the RPw in it, then you can legally work. If you work prior to receiving both the WP and the RPw the authorities may consider you to be in violation of the law (EEAL 43, RAEFC 8), and you may be subject to fines, detention, and even possible deportation (EEAL 80, 81). If you work after the WP has been issued and the RPw application submitted, but before the RPw has been issued, it will be up to the authorities to decide if your behaviour is in violation of the law. And remember, though acceptance of the RPw application in most cases leads to approval and issuance of the RPw, one does not automatically follow from the other. Thus submitting the RPw application is not the same thing as having received the RPw nor even as the RPw having been approved. If you are moving from one employer to another in China and processing a domestic update of employer application for a WP and then an RPw application based on that WP, there is a slightly stronger argument that once the WP has been reissued with the new employer and position, that even while the new RPw is being processed you technically have an RPw, but final enforcement and penalty decisions rest with the EEA/PSB (EEAL 81).
Conclusion
By knowing the actual names and related characteristics of the objects we rely on, we can make the distinctions needed to guide our decisions, flexibly confront problems, and avoid getting bogged down in the confusion, or even deceptions, of others. While a philosopher need not know beech from elm, a forester who doesn't is but a fool. As a foreign worker in China, you do not need to develop the expertise of a visa agent or immigration lawyer, but if you can't tell a residence permit from a visa or a work permit you may get lost deep in the dark woods of Chinese bureaucratic process and find yourself at the mercy of the sometimes less than benevolent creatures you encounter there.
Types of Documents
Now that we have covered the process we can have fun with colorful images
1. Notification Letter of Foreigner's Work Permit in the People's Republic of China | 中华人民共和国外国人工作许可通知 which we call the WPN (Work Permit Notification)
2. Z Visa | Z 签证
3. Foreigner's Work Permit (WP) | 外国人工作许可证
4. WP Approval Document | 准予行政许可决定书
5. Residence Permit (RP) 居留许可
There are five types of RPs, Work, Study, Journalism, Reunion, and Private Affairs, We use RPw for the Residence Permit for Work.
References
Hilary Putnam. (1975). The Meaning of "Meaning"
h ttp://hdl.handle.net/11299/185225
外国人来华工作许可服务指南（暂行）
h ttps://fwp.safea.gov.cn/attached/file/20170418/20170418182639_469.pdf
Rules for the Administration of Employment of Foreigners in China (RAEFC)
(warning, the 2017 revisions have not been fully incorporated into this translation so be sure to check it against the Chinese version cited below)
h ttp://english.www.gov.cn/services/work_in_china/2018/08/02/content_281476245886934.htm
外国人在中国就业管理规定
h ttp://www.mohrss.gov.cn/SYrlzyhshbzb/zcfg/flfg/gz/201704/t20170413_269433.html
Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (EEAL)
h ttp://english.www.gov.cn/archive/laws_regulations/2014/09/22/content_281474988553532.htm
中华人民共和国出境入境管理法
h ttp://www.gov.cn/flfg/2012-06/30/content_2174944.htm
Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners (RAEEF)
h ttp://english.www.gov.cn/archive/laws_regulations/2014/09/22/content_281474988553545.htm
中华人民共和国外国人入境出境管理条例
h ttp://www.gov.cn/zwgk/2013-07/22/content_2452453.htm
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