Sir,

Your advice regarding visas for China is out of date and has been out of date for over a year.

1) The 'Z' Visa is now issued only to those wishing to enter China on the strength of a Letter of Invitation issued by the Foreign Affairs office at the request of their prospective employer. The 'Z'- Visa bears an Issue Date and the date by which the holder must enter China (usually a month) This visa does NOT bear an expiry date but it is a requirement that the employer approaches his Foreign Affairs Department within 15 days of the employee's date of entry into China Once in China a Residence Visa will be issued (No prefix - it is simply stated as a "Residence Visa for a Foreigner) Thus, to take up a job in China for the first time one will end up with TWO visas in their passport.

2) The "Foreign Experts Certificate is now defunct and these are no longer issued.

3) The Green Card is now defunct too and these are no longer issued.

4) The employee now has to have a valid health certificate issued normally in his own country and must present this when applying for his 'Z'-Visa.

5) Thus the question of whether an employer is authorised to employ foreigners is somewhat simplified - especially for those coming to China from outside, as the Foreign Affairs Department will not issue a Letter of Invitation to a school that does not have the authority to employ foreigners. The only safeguard the employee needs to observe is to check that the school named in the invitation letter is the school they have been dealing with. If not - beware!!!

6) It is NO LONGER POSSIBLE to enter China with an 'L'-Visa and change this to a Residence Visa once inside the country. Nor is it possible to legally extend an 'L'-Visa (though I understand this can now be done just one time). Thus, if anyone enters the country with an 'L'Visa and then gets a job-offer, he/she has to obtain a Letter of Invitation from the employer and then leave the Country to obtain a 'Z'-Visa outside and re-enter. This can best be done in Hong Kong where it can be done within the same day.

Doubtless there will be other aspects that have also changed. The point of me posting this is to suggest that as your advice is way out of date it is also misleading to people referring to it with serious intentions of coming to China. I think you will agree that it needs changing.

Kind Regards

John