Residence Permits

If you have a work visa, there are formalities to go through before you are fully legal. One thing often not understood by foreign teachers (and indeed some schools and PSB officials) is that the work visa is only valid for 30 days. In this 30 day period you need to apply for a residence permit - this is a little green book, or sometimes a slip of paper added to your passport. The process doesn't involve you a great deal, and should be handled by your school. You may need to attend a local hospital for a brief medical test, the content of which varies but will at least involve a blood test and chest X-ray. The residence permit details your employer, occupation and address, and should be updated if these details change.

Once you have the residence permit, you can let your work visa run out quite happily - the residence permit gives you permission to stay in the country, usually for the length of your contract (but if you can manage to get an extra month or two for travelling, that's handy). In theory you can now put the passport in a locked drawer and forget about it until you leave the country. In practice though you will need both - most importantly when checking in at hotels - if you show only a residence permit they worry because they can't see your original visa, if you show only your passport they worry because your work visa expired long ago. I always carry both if staying overnight anywhere.

Foreign Experts Certificate

One more document you may get is the Foreign Experts Certificate. This is a relic of a previous era, and its only value now is that it is usually necessary when changing RMB to foreign currency. It used to get you 'local' prices on trains and planes, but the dual pricing system is long gone. Some claim it still gets you discounts, but these are the same discounts you get if you politely ask 'Can I have a discount, please'.