Can your school cancel your visa?
A true story…
Teacher X (Tom) had his Z, foreign expert visa revoked without knowing about it.
Tom was working as an ESL teacher for a school in China. His school provided him with a Z, foreign teaching expert visa as many schools do for their foreign teachers. His Z visa was valid for one year so Tom sat back and relaxed, thinking his visa situation was taken care of for the next year.
A few months later, Tom began having a number of misunderstandings with his school and within a few weeks the headache was more than he could handle. Tom quit his position at the school without a guilty conscience. “They broke the contract in so many ways” he thought. “I don’t feel badly about not holding up my end.”
A few weeks later, while relaxing in his apartment, enjoying a morning coffee Tom heard a knock on his door. Three men – his landlord and two police officers – were standing outside. Tom was evicted from his apartment on the spot. He had to move all of his things out immediately and worse yet, they told him he no longer had a valid visa.
Luckily, Tom had friends to help him while he figured out what was going on.
The school had canceled Tom’s visa without even telling him. If Tom had left China for some reason he wouldn’t have been let back in. Tom was lucky in that he found out before leaving China.
Schools in China can revoke visas without telling the teacher. I think the lesson here is to keep an open mind as a foreigner in a strange land. Personal relationships are number one in China and you would do well to stay on good terms with your employer.
Every province in China has an Entry-Exit Administration Bureau located in the provincial capital (http://www.bjgaj.gov.cn if you’re in Beijing). This office is in charge of foreigner’s visas. If you suspect your school has canceled your visa the best thing to do is ask the school nicely and hope for an honest answer. If you go to the Entry-Exit Administration Bureau’s office and it turns out your visa has indeed been canceled you’ll be told to leave China immediately!