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By Katrice R. Jalbuena Reporter
The Department of Foreign Affairs
in Manila has issued an advisory for Filipinos seeking jobs in
China, the fastest-growing economy in the world.
More and more Filipino workers
are falling prey to local and foreign illegal recruiters, who lure
applicants to supposedly high-paying jobs in Shanghai and other
Chinese cities, according to reports from Filipino diplomats posted
in China.
The department said a foreigner
looking for work in China must obtain a Z visa, which is a
working visa issued by a Chinese embassy or consulate general. In
the Philippines, Beijing has an embassy in Manila and consulates in
Cebu in the Visayas and Laoag City in northern Luzon.
The following documents are
usually required in applying for a Z visa: a visa notice
issued by the Municipal Foreign Economic and Trade Commission or a
Chinese government office, and an Alien Employment License (for
those being hired by private companies) issued by Chinas
Municipal Labor and Social Security Bureau.
The Z visa is valid for
only 30 days, during which the job seeker must travel to China and
apply for a work permit. Also during the 30-day period, the job
seeker must look for a place to stay in China, coordinating with the
local public security bureau, and his employer must have his Alien
Employment Permit processed.
Only after securing the Alien
Employment Permit, which is issued for placement in a specific
company, can a foreign worker start working legally. The worker
cannot accept another job in China, without first securing another
permit.
Philippine officials warned
Filipinos about recruiters who claim they can place them in China on
an F or business visa. That visa is normally given to
foreigners attending a business conference, a short-term course,
on-the-job training, or scientific, technological and cultural
exchanges that last not more than six months, officials explained.
The F visa does not allow the holder to work full time in
China.
A tourist or L visa cannot
be converted to a Z or F visa, the Foreign Affairs
warned. The L and F visa holders who insist on working
in China have little protection from abuse or mistreatment, with or
without the presence of employment contracts, they added.
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