Say NO to Illegal Employment

14 July 2020 | Visitor

The official account ‘National Immigration Administration’, has posted on the article “对 ‘歪果仁’ 非法就业行为说不!” 2020-07-08, which generated intensive discussion among school HRs and recruiters from TopTutorJob’s observation.

Since the original article is only available in Chinese, TopTutorJob Team made this English version to share with you, our dear foreign teacher friends, and we sincerely hope you get the necessary information and be able toavoid any illegal employment.

If you still have questions after reading this article, you can leave your questions as a comment to this article, and editors from TopTutorJob will reply you with personalized answer within 3 working days.

In recent years, an increasing number of foreigners have come to work in China. But faced with various jobs, do you know which ones are legal and which ones are not? In order to ensure that our job seekers can successfully work in China, we reprint a series of illegal employment cases of foreigners investigated by the police of National Immigration Administration, and hope that these cases will arouse your attention to legal employment in China.

(The following stories are all adapted from real cases.)

1. Leo,a young man from country F, is a travel lover. During a trip to China on a tourist visa, he learned by chance that an “international” school was recruiting foreign teachers. So he applied for the job, trying his luck, and then successfully became a teacher in that school. However, he was finally seized by the police of National Immigration Administration. Leo was fined RMB 5,000 yuan and the school that employed him was fined RMB 10,000 yuan.

Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China

Article 41, Paragraph 1

Foreigners who work in China shall obtain work permits and work-type residence permits in accordance with relevant regulations. No entities or individuals shall employ foreigners who have no work permits or work-type residence permits.

Article 80, Paragraph 1

Foreigners who work in China illegally shall be fined not less than RMB 5,000 but not more than RMB 20,000 yuan; where circumstances are serious, they shall be detained for not less than five days but not more than fifteen days and shall also be fined not less than RMB 5,000 yuan but not more than RMB 20,000 yuan.

2. Luke, an international student from country J, was employed by a commercial organization to sell English teaching materials after obtaining a student visa, instead of going to school. The organization sent him to five kindergartens to teach children and gave him RMB 8,000 yuan per month. However, Luke was seized by the police of National Immigration Administration when he was dreaming of making a fortune. He was detained for 10 days and was fined RMB 10,000 yuan, while the commercial organization and kindergartens that employed him were fined RMB 10,000 yuan and were confiscated illegal income.

Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China

Article 43

Any of the following acts of foreigners shall be deemed unlawful employment:

(1) Work in China without obtaining work permits or work-type residence permits in accordance with relevant regulations;

(2) Work in China beyond the scope prescribed in the work permits; or

(3) Foreign students work in violation of the regulations on the administration of foreign students working to support their study in China and work beyond the prescribed scope of jobs or prescribed time limit.

Article 80, Paragraph 3

Individuals or entities that illegally employ foreigners shall be fined RMB 10,000 yuan for each illegally employed foreigner, with a cap of RMB 100,000 yuan in total; and the illegal gains, if any, shall be confiscated.

3. Ten foreign actors of a performance troupe from country W performed dance in province S. Upon application, they obtained the performance approval and approval of short-term employment for foreigners working in P. R. China from the Provincial Department of Culture, but the permitted scope was limited to city Y. In order to earn more money, the troupe leader privately contacted an agency and added a performance in city N, which is also in the province S. However, during the performance, the illegal action was discovered by the police of National Immigration Administration, and the performance troupe and the agency were respectively fined RMB 50,000 yuan and confiscated illegal income.

Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China

Article 43

Any of the following acts of foreigners shall be deemed unlawful employment:

(1) Work in China without obtaining work permits or work-type residence permits in accordance with relevant regulations;

(2) Work in China beyond the scope prescribed in the work permits; or

Article 80, Paragraph 2

Persons who introduce jobs to ineligible foreigners shall be fined RMB 5,000 yuan for each job illegally introduced to one foreigner, with a cap of not more than RMB 50,000 yuan in total; and entities that introduce jobs to ineligible foreigners shall be fined RMB 5,000 yuan for each job illegally introduced to one foreigner, with a cap of RMB 100,000 yuan in total; and the illegal gains, if any, shall be confiscated.

4. Peter is an international student from country L. People in his hometown have high hopes for him, but he was immersed in material comforts. During his studies, he found a part-time job through the Internet, with a monthly salary of more than RMB 6,000 yuan, and led a wonderful life. However, “good times” did not last long. The illegal action was soon found by the police of National Immigration Administration. Peter was fined and was ordered to exit China within a prescribed time limit. After being punished, reluctant Peter continued to do the illegal work that he had previously done instead of exiting China within a prescribed time limit, which was seized again within one month. Finally Peter was detained for 15 days before being repatriated and not allowed to enter China for three years.

Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China

Article 62, Paragraph 1

Under any of the following circumstances, foreigners may be repatriated:

(1) Are ordered to exit China within a prescribed time limit but fail to do so;

(2) Are involved in circumstances in which they are not allowed to enter China;

(3) Illegally reside or work in China; or

(4) Need to be repatriated for violation of this Law or other laws or administrative regulations.

Article 62, Paragraph 3

Repatriated persons shall not be allowed to enter China for one to five years, calculating from the date of repatriation.

5. A performance troupe from country R, which has obtained the performance approval, organized 30 actors to perform a symphony in city N. Before the performance, the police of National Immigration Administration examined the credentials of these actors and found only one actor was compliant. The rest of actors’ credentials did not meet the performance requirements: 20 actors replaced by others and 9 actors on tourist visas. As a result, the police immediately stopped their performance.

Procedures Regarding Entry of Foreigners to Complete Short-Term Work Tasks (Trial)

Article 4

Foreign artistic-cultural performance groups and individuals who conduct short-term commercial performances in the country shall hold Approval Documents and Short-Term Certificates of Employment in China (hereinafter referred to as Certificates of Employment) from the competent cultural authorities; and those who have completed other short-term work tasks in the country shall hold Alien Employment Permit (hereinafter referred to as Permit) and Certificates of Employment from Human Resources and Social Security Department.

The above five cases have proved how serious the consequences of illegal work in China are.

If you want to learn more about law on the employment of foreigners in China,

you can visit the website

http://www.moj.gov.cn/organization/content/ 2015-07/27/jlzxxwdt_7259.html

and focus on Chapter III, Chapter IV, and Chapter VI.