An article from Carte Blanche has revealed that approximately 50 South African youths are currently living their own real-life nightmare of being stuck in China with no jobs, no work permits and no money to return home.
An article from Carte Blanche <Stuck in the East> has revealed that approximately 50 South African youths are currently living their own real-life nightmare of being stuck in China with no jobs, no work permits and no money to return home.
Lots of young graduates are anxious to get a job and jump at the opportunity to teach English in China, with lots of schools to choose from and the promise of a good salary. This group of South African graduates was certainly keen and each was individually hired by a recruitment company called Sanda Youth International.
They were lured in by the promises of Owen Wong – a man who claimed he was the director of Sanda. His pitch was definitely appealing, no qualifications required and a salary of at least 8,000 CNY a month. One of the victim’s parents said that Owen Wong told these potential teachers they would get a student-visa, spending two months studying at university and getting to know the country, and then they would get a work visa and start working.
When they arrived at the school, Owen Wong told them to give him their passports and promised he would get their visas sorted. But they were forbidden to leave their horrible dorms which they had been given an accommodation. They were then sent to different schools in the country to start their new life as teachers. But in April they were told to pull back to the university. The next thing they knew they were the subject of a criminal investigation and their passports were confiscated because they didn’t have legitimate visas.
With their passports confiscated, they’ve been living in limbo for the past two months. Unable to earn any money to support themselves, they have to stay in their dorms. They are not allowed to do anything or leave the city. Meanwhile, Owen Wong, who kept 70% of the students’ salaries, has gone off the radar.
Their parents are desperate to get them home, but not even the South African Embassy seems to be able to help. Carte Blanche reported that it would be very difficult for South Africa to bring the students home, as any intervention could be seen as undermining China’s sovereign state. The issue has, however, been escalated to Lindiwe Sisulu’s office.
Response from the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China
According to statistics mentioned by the Embassy of the People’sRepublic of China below, in 2017 over 58-million people entered or exitedChina, with around a million of those doing so for work. However, to live and work in China one must adhere to Chinese legislation and the Embassy has outlined some important pointers to ensure that those wishing to work in China do so legally.
We are unable to find any related reports, other than from Carte Blanche, so cannot verify the facts of this matter, but we would like to remind you of some important points about getting a work permit visa:
The Visa application takes 1 month with all document complete.
Your visa should be extended 30 days before your visa expires, but no earlier than 90 days.
It costs less than 7 days in applying for visa renewal and the duration of staying depends on the Chinese government, but it certainly is less than 30 days.
Please pay attention to the expiration date of your visa; renew it or leave the country before the visa expires. If you overstay in China, you will be given a warning, be fined up to 10,000 RMB, and detained.
Materials needed for initial application of work visa
- Education certificates (translated in Chinese, authentication from embassy or consulate is needed for Bachelor degree and above; only diploma and the translated version is needed for high school graduates)
- Authentication of foreigner health status (issued by appointed hospitals)
- Certificate of no criminal records (authenticated by embassy)
- 2-inch color photos (4 pieces) and receipt of digital photo
- Registration form of Temporary Residence for Visitors
- Scanned copies of passport
- Related documents for accompanying family members if there is any
- Note: documents1,3,6,7 are provided by customers,documents 2,4,5 will be applied in China.
Service Lead time: 30-40 working days
A sample of Foreigner Work and Residence Permit
Notice for Foreign Residence
If you work in China, you must obtain a work permit and a residence permit for employment purposes. Failure to obtain a work permit and residence permit for employment purposes, going beyond what is allowed by work permit, violating the provisions concerning work-study when studying as a foreign student: these are all types of illegal employment. You will be fined up to 20,000 RMB for illegal employment and will be detained for up to 15 days.
Violation of any laws or regulations will be punished by either being given only a limited time to leave the country or by deportation. In case of an emergency such as an infringement of rights while in China, call 110.
The visa information is provided by Visa Daily. Feel free to follow their WeChat official account and consulting account if you have any need or questions about your visa.
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WeChat Official Account
Source: Carte Blanche, thesouthafrans.com, 深圳出入境，Visa Daily
