Ask Headmaster Ken

Headmaster,

I arrived in China a little over three weeks ago. Ever since then things have just not gone well. I arrived into Hangzhou airport three hours late because my flight was delayed. Lo and behold I'm at the airport at three in the morning and the guy who was supposed to pick me up isn't there. Later on I start to move around the city with no real direction or assistance from the school, and I got salmonella poisoning and my digestive processes have not been in order since then. When I arrived no one was here except the guy who screwed up and didn't meet me at the airport. They told me that when I arrived, I would then go to Hong Kong and then proceeded to not give me any details about it for a week.

After about two weeks people showed up including other teachers and my boss was the last to arrive. When I asked him about Hong Kong he said that they had 90 days to send me, but in the mean time that I should work without a work visa. Despite my hesitation I still showed up to class and I have worked 4 days since then. The Chinese manager here has assured me several times that my paperwork has been approved and they are simply waiting to send me to Hong Kong for when there is a break. Last week I developed Strep Throat that I became susceptible to from stress and environmental conditions.

My boss gave me my contract to sign yesterday, and my father thinks that I shouldn't sign it until I have my work Visa in Hand. This means that if something were to go wrong then I would not be an official employee and would have less issues with the authorities here.

I guess to summarize, I'm working illegally and have been sick for about three weeks. So I'm feeling very negative about this job as a whole, and I am debating leaving before I sign my contract and heading back to the States. I have a chemistry degree and going back would not be a problem for me. What do you think? Should I stay for a month and see if things get better?

Should I be worried about working illegally for the short term?

Should I require they pay me by the week instead of after the month ends?

Best,

Z.K.

First, dispense of any notion of getting paid weekly. It simply won't happen,

Second, it is perfectly normal to have a "Welcome to China" illness. These usually clear up within a few weeks or so.

Third, your boss cannot submit the documents to obtain your visa unless he presents a signed contract.

Finally, your FAO is correct only if you arrived on a 90 day visa. Presumably, you are on a 90 day tourist visa.

Until your documents are processed you have no choice except to work illegally. This is the normal way many schools operate.

Understand, "working illegally" is a term interpreted many different ways. If your school has good relations with local officials, then you will most likely have no problem.

When I read your post I was convinced someone had invented a time-warp and taken me back to November 2009 when I first arrived here as it sounded very similar to what I first encountered.

I had a similar problem with my visa and unfortunately it didn't end well. They strung me along with around 40 other people who all worked for the same business for over a month before we left because we realised the promised work visa would never arrive.

I developed an upper respiratory infection within one month of arriving in China. Due to having received fake antibiotics, the infection worsened to the point where the American physician (I finally found) thought he would have to surgically remove the infection. As a last ditch effort, he tried mega doses of an antibiotic that was imported from Hong Kong and that finally worked. I was sick with that infection for over eight months and was then susceptible to severe head colds for the next four to five years before I finally developed enough of a resistance to the myriad of germs floating around everywhere in China. I also became a compulsive hand washer and I know that this helped enormously.

My advice is to wait it out for a while: you can always leave. The problem is that if this school does not agree, they could make it difficult for you to return. See how you feel physically and if they ever come through with this work visa. If you don't recover from your infection or if the work visa never materializes, I personally wouldn't blame you for cutting this trip shorter than originally planned by returning home to begin a new career with your chemistry degree. Quite frankly, the fact that they couldn't organize themselves sufficiently to meet you at the airport is not a good sign.

Headmaster Ken is correct that if you don't sign the contract, the employer cannot process your Z-visa paperwork. On the other hand, if you do sign the contract and then decide to leave, you will very likely be blacklisted. If you have no intentions of ever returning to mainland China on a work visa again, then it doesn't matter a hill of beans.