Ask Headmaster Ken

I'm a little confused about this situation. Arrived in China on a work visa and had a residence permit renewed on a yearly basis for a few years now. Have never been issued a foreign expert certificate in that time period.

However when applying for different positions, potential employers say they must have a copy of my foreign expert certificate otherwise they cannot renew my residence permit? Why do some employers need this and other don't?

I understand that there is a close relationship between the foreign expert certificate and a residence permit so then why are some people's residence permits not issued with the foreign expert certificate? If the name presented on the residence permit is spelt incorrectly, could that have some bearing on this issue?

Also my present employer seems to have problems processing my foreign expert certificate. The procedure has changed and the application from what I understand is made online before it is processed with written documentation. They say that when they process it online that the application has been rejected as I have worked for different employers. When consulting the foreign expert bureau on this matter, they said it's not a reason for the application to be rejected.

Why would my present employer find excuses not to process a foreign expert certificate? On what grounds could a foreign expert certificate possibly be rejected?

Your advice would be extremely helpful.

Thanks.

A Foreign Experts Certificate, (FEC) is required before one can be issued a Residence Permit.

The FEC process has moved online, over a year ago in our city.

Typically, the employer submits all the requisite data online to the local SAFEA (or whomever processes it in your city) Office and they then make a determination of qualifications.

This usually only takes one day if they deem the employee qualified to be a "Foreign Expert". If all is approved, the employer then submits all the hard copy paperwork for processing the FEC, (which takes about a week).

The online submission process is quite straightforward. One simply types in data and uploads files (photos, for example). The database system has the usual error trapping one might expect; mandatory fields, etc. I am unaware of any glitches that would be caused by entering different employers.

Many schools do not issue FECs to the employee. The employees never see them. A while back the FEC needed to be carried for identification and to get discounts on lodging, travel, etc. That has long gone away.

The FEC is supposed to be returned to the employer when the employee leaves. Many never did that. Thus, some employers, perhaps out an abundance of caution, or an excess of need for control, no longer provided them to employees.

I can't explain your school's position. They should have you current FEC.

Now, some employers have skirted the FEC process by hiring "alien workers" under the labor bureau, but those are rare cases.

If your school has access to the database, (SAFEA licensed schools have a password protected account) then it should have no problem entering the data unless there is some employee operator error.

I hope this helps.