| Foreigners to face working restrictions in Guangdong | |
|---|---|
| Oct 9, 2007 03:36 |   |
 | A report from China's official news agency Xinhua News Agency said on October 8th, that foreigners will face working restrictions in Guangdong. The followiing is a detailed report: South China's Guangdong Province is drafting a regulation to restrict the employment of foreigners and to ban them from certain jobs. Under the proposed regulation, the provincial labor and social security department will divide jobs into three categories -- "encouraged", "restricted" and "forbidden" -- to be published annually, said a spokesman with the bureau. For jobs in the "encouraged" category, the prospect foreign employees will be issued permits. Employers will be charged fees for hiring foreigners for "restricted" positions. The employment of foreigners without permits will be illegal, said the spokesman, without indicating specific jobs in the three categories. Foreign students and foreigners without residence permits are ineligible to work without government approval, and they risk fines of up to 1,000 yuan (about US$130) for working illegally. This act was intended to cut crime among the growing number of foreigners illegally residing and working in Guangdong, said Yan Xiangrong, a deputy of the province's people's congress. An estimated 10,000 foreigners are living in Guangdong, many of them financially insecure and involved in crime, such as drug trafficking, fraud and theft. In the first half of this year, 102 foreigners were arrested on criminal charges, more than triple the number of the same period last year. The local public security department plans to set up a data base at the end of this year, recording information of foreigners' visas, residence status, travel and departure and entrance registrations. Is this regulation good or bad? What are your opinion? |
| Oct 9, 2007 10:20 | #1 |
| I'm one of the 10,000 foreigners working in Guangdong. It sounds like the regulation is not aimed at people who are employed in education and businesses that the provincial government has always enocuraged. As it says, they believe too many foreigners are involved in illegal activities, and if that is the case it is clearly appropriate to clamp down on those involved. I would guess that the problem has been created by the government's liberal approach to getting business activity moving in Guangdong. Perhaps some groups have taken too much advantage of this. So it is time to act. I hope this won't rmove some of the flexibility that Guangdong allows to enable genuine businesses to employ foreigners. I am very keen to see the flexibilty continue as I have benefitted from it in the past (working on an F visa with the full knowledge of the local authorities - well it's their kids at the local schools!) and again now! (In other threads I have commented on some issues that have arisen lately, but taking a 'co-operative approach' I am able to continue teaching until matters are resolved...and I hope I don't get a heavy knock on the door at 5am - which is the preferred way of the Australian authorities when they take action). |
| Nov 29, 2007 07:01 | #2 |
| GUEST80226 | What if I am a foreginer teaching on a P visa or business visa? I do not have a university degree so I cannot get a working visa to teach "legally". I only hold a TESOL Certificate. I feel I am a good teacher with 5 years experience here. I have never been fired from anywhere or have had any problems with the law in China or in my home country. What are my options besides the obvious of getting an overnight degree? I pay my taxes back home. I enjoy my work and would like to stay here. Is my employer responsible to take taxes off my pay and submit them or must I off of my pay? Who is responible? If the foreign employee is, then where do we pay these taxes? I have never been able to find that out. They tell us we must pay, but where?! |
| Nov 29, 2007 21:38 | #3 |
| Legally, foreigners are not supposed to work full-time on visa other than a z-type visa, which basically is a work permit visa. However, many foreigners are working even though they are P or L visa (I used to do that for 3 years in Shanghai). My reasoning is that if I get a z-type visa, I will have to pay personal tax if my income exceeds 4000RMB. So in order to save cost, I'm always on 60 to 90 days multiple entry visa. Whether the responsibility on paying tax lies with your employer or yourself, you have to understand that the risk is the same, and that is the chance of losing your job. The difference is who pays the fine if you are caught. I was advised that tax payment is the responsibility of the income earner, which is you. Some companies, in order to attract foreign talent, offer to pay their tax on their behalf as a form of benefit extending to that hiree. You can protect yourself by having a clause in your employment contract with your employer to state clearly that they are responsible for all manner of tax levied on both parties. As such, even on the worst ground where your employment is forcifully ended by the government, you can still maintain a clear record and be able to find employment elsewhere. If you need legal advice on your employment or your employment contract, I can introduce my lawyer to you. He provides such services free of charge to get a larger client base in the foreign talent market. |
| Dec 2, 2007 05:08 | #4 |
| Guest: You evade tax when the rate is only 10%, and that is on sums in excess of 4000rmb. A bit petty isn't it? Your employer should be considering itslegal position - but it has been reported that 90% of businesses are substantially underpaying their tax. What is a P visa? I cannot find a reference to it. It is sometimes possible to get a Z visa without a degree, I have met people who have, but they did not know (and neither do I) how that was achieved. Re F visa: The site www.reloshanghai.com an agency that provides visa services states: Visa F - To visit, teach, do business, or for cultural, scientific or technological exchanges for less than 6 months. So according to that we can work on an F visa if it is for less than 6 months. |
Post a Reply to: Foreigners to face working restrictions in Guangdong
Copyright © 1998-2024 All rights reserved.