How To Transfer Safely To A New Job?

Switching jobs in China is no easy task for expats. It would be relatively easy for a Chinese person to change jobs, as all they need to do is really just get up and leave, and they would be home free. This is not the case for foreigners though. A lot of procedures are involved here, and if you do not have a friendly employer, you will have a huge headache.

Therefore, I have decided to make this video to teach you the correct procedures of a job transfer and what things you need to be extra careful of so you do not get into trouble with the public security bureau.

After your labour relationship with your employer ends, be it resignation on your part, expiration of contract or being fired, your employer is legally required to cancel your work permit. Note that this process is initiated by your employer on the work permit system. You will need to fill in two documents, which are The Application Form for Cancellation of Foreigner’s Work Permit, and a Release Certificate.

The application form is a bilingual government document, while the release certificate is written usually by your employer. The release certificate can also be used as a release letter and in most times these are combined. Be careful before signing this release certificate. Sneaky employers will add in a line which acts as a waiver that says: there are no financial conflicts/disputes between the two parties. If you sign this, you lose your rights to ask for missing salary and severance pay. You should also keep an original copy of this document.

Regarding the cancellation of the Residence Permit, you have to report to the Exit Entry Administration, EEA in short within 10 days of the cancellation of the Work Permit. After canceling the Residence Permit, you can apply for a new Work Permit and Residence Permit. There are discrepancies according to local government departments regarding this procedure.

If your residence permit has not expired at the time of cancellation, you will be able to directly apply for a new work permit and residence permit under your new employer. If you haven’t found a new employer yet, you would have to apply for a stay permit, which gives you 30 days to get a new employer. Note that this 30-day stay permit is usually only issued once. You can get a couple of these if you are in the middle of a lawsuit though. Before the stay permit expires, you will need to get a new work permit and residence permit under your new employer.

Be very careful here with the dates. Do not overstay your residence permit or stay permit at all costs, as it will result in fines of 500 Yuan per day, and getting an administrative record might affect future residence permit applications.

More importantly, employers might tell you that they can only cancel the work permit without canceling the residence permit. This works in some scenarios because the PSB may not know that the work permit has been canceled, but when they find out they will just cancel the residence permit on the PSB system, and you will find yourself overstaying without even knowing it. Once you try to apply for a new residence permit, you will find yourself facing a 5-digit fine, detention for up to 15 days and even deportation.