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Q: Why are Visa questions always kinda sketchy?
I know i'm not the first to point this out, but we'll get these periods of just constant one after the other questions about visa issues.
Some of them will be legit, it's something we all have to think about, but it just seems as though way more than other reasonalbe questions (ie not "why are all expats losers" etc) they turn into these sketchy topics where the stories change or they re use a story from a past one verbatim and somebody calls them out.
So there must be a game there, I get why an asshole would ask a baited troll question calling people losers or insulting chinese women or some other BS like that because you get angry reactions from it.
But what's the point of saying you have visa trouble? All you get on that is incif telling them to call safea, a couple people trying to offer real advice, then the story changing or getting sketchier and then the topic dying out with no follow up on what solved the problem. It's the same thing every time.
I'm not trying to sound like a nutjob here, defintiely doesn't hurt to offer real advice to a troll, and if we help somebody in need thats a good thing. So it's good to respond with real advice in the beginning every time. But tons of these questions are clearly somebody making it up?
So lets open up the floor to wild speculation:
8 years 35 weeks ago in Visa & Legalities - China
i think there is an element of trolling - to see if anyone recommends working illegally.
most of the posters don't include a story that holds water - hence after the initial question or two for clarification, they disappear.
I have said it before, it is probably just a regular sweep from the 'thought police'
but we are all harmonious here in the land of 'feel-good happy place' 
expatlife26:
could be. I remember thinking that at first about the teachers union scam.
Bait people into making posts they'll reference on an expose on illegal teachers.
expatlife26:
btw I think most people who have visa issues are probably being kinda irresponsible.
I get why people might not want to work for a big chain school like disney with a bunch of rules and standards but a company like that im sure doesn't have issues with visa.
work at some 2nd rate outfit that lets you be a slob and they'll have trouble getting you visas.
my theories are
1. it's a troll account that wants to make some legit looking posts. So when they post whatever their scam is they look like they talk about other stuff. (though that doesnt explain the anonymous ones we used to get...looking at you star132413)
2. they want for some reason to make it seem like visa issues are more common than they are. I know that people do have visa issues, but apparently not at the rate which people ask questions about them.
I dunno, i just think it's really weird. Don't get it.
i think there is an element of trolling - to see if anyone recommends working illegally.
most of the posters don't include a story that holds water - hence after the initial question or two for clarification, they disappear.
I have said it before, it is probably just a regular sweep from the 'thought police'
but we are all harmonious here in the land of 'feel-good happy place'
expatlife26:
could be. I remember thinking that at first about the teachers union scam.
Bait people into making posts they'll reference on an expose on illegal teachers.
expatlife26:
btw I think most people who have visa issues are probably being kinda irresponsible.
I get why people might not want to work for a big chain school like disney with a bunch of rules and standards but a company like that im sure doesn't have issues with visa.
work at some 2nd rate outfit that lets you be a slob and they'll have trouble getting you visas.
if you look on immigration boards, topics are often exactly like this. the OP has a very specific question but provides little background info. the first few answers are standard stuff everyone knows, then OP provides more info that completely turns the situation around. the advice and info remains unhelpful and the topic dies. i'm guilty of starting such topics myself.
the thought that malicious people and authorities are watching, is always in the back of people's minds.
of course, bored board trolls see this pattern, and attempt to disguise their trolling as legitimate visa questions. they usually drop the ball in later comments.
sorrel:
the trolling on this forum pales into insignificance when compared to other forums.
By and large, posters are helpful on this forum until certain lines are crossed.
While there is a certain amount of venting, unless it is a new poster, most know the individual well enough to make some allowances for a BCD.
It is when someone arrives all guns blazing that questions are asked.
Expat life said: People who have visa problems are irresponsible. In most cases, yes. Or ignorant.
Let's face it, lots of people come here to work illegally. One moment of thought would tell them it is so. I have no sympathy for them. Legal workers occasionally have issues. It is the nature of the beast but people here legally can usually resolve the issues.
Without wanting to go too wumao, perhaps we legal workers would all be better off if there wasn't such a large black market for illegal job for foreigners. And checks done. It would weed out the douchbags quickly and make legit workers more valuable.
sorrel:
whenever anyone asks a visa related question, i always reverse it:
would they think it is acceptable for anyone to work illegally in their home country?
invariably the answer is 'no'
so why would they think it is ok to work illegally in China? 
It is not rocket science to find out about the legal requirements for working in China - there is this marvelous thing called the internet which is not so restricted in other countries.
so if someone can use the internet to ask a question on a forum, surely they are able to do the research online.
Hence the skepticism when someone posts a question full of holes......
iWolf:
I agree. I think that most of the people who ask this type of question know they are working illegally and are looking for ways to continue to do so. Yet they will bitch and moan about doing something similar in their own country.
Interestingly, many of this type will proudly regale stories about their illegal status. There is an "expat district" in the city where I live and with any incursion into that territory you will know the visa/residency status of most within an hour. They are worse than vegetarians....How do know if someone is a vegetarian? They'll tell you.
In a thread i posted recently about the local Foreign Affairs Committee I pointed out that of the approximately 20 pillars of the community, I'd say considerably less than half are working legally. This is the scumbag mentality. More than a healthy amount of expats here believe themselves to be bulletproof and immune to Chinese law. They aren't bulletproof.....the guns are seldom fired without advanced warning. The situation is different where I come from where the department responsible is extremely proactive. Perhaps this is why I have a healthy respect for the law, consequences and myself. These are three things lacking in too many people.
sorrel:
to be honest i have felt more vulnerable as a foreign worker in China.
You never know when someone, anyone, will turn around and make you life a living hell because they can on a whim to make themselves feel less inadequate.
As a foreign worker, someone could make an arbitrary decision and you could have absolutely no come-back, unless you have guanxi, (even if you are legal) which is a game that Chinese have had more practice playing.
At least in Europe, my rights are protected by the law, and i know where i stand should a false allegation be made against me, whereas in China.........
-I feel there are two kinds of illegal workers. The lazy Americans, Canadians, and other native speakers who for some reason never bothered to graduate university, and have no experience or training. Please go away
-But the others, the non-native speakers, I really feel sorry for. They have few options in their home countries, and they get treated like trash. I've heard of women who have taken teaching jobs only to be turned into sex-workers, I've heard of African men who have been forced to work 7 days a week, split shifts, all over the city, and I've heard of bosses who deport their workers rather than pay them.
-The law should be fair, but in China, the corrupt employer will never get in trouble, it is always the illegal worker. It is a bad system, and it is a bad system in the US.
expatlife26:
Yeah we're of the same mind on that.
Show me somebody from a place where the economy is in the tank whose best option by far is coming here teaching ESL even on the wrong visa than more power to them. Meet a lot of ukrainians here right now doing that.
The only thing is they need to keep in mind there is a risk for what they are doing. If they are fired or deported for lying about their background or teaching on their visa they need to own that China is not responsible for giving every Francophone african or eastern european an ESL job. The Chinese may be in fact racist but a company who refuses to hire a guy from Senegal to teach english isn't because they are racist. It's not like Native Speaker with a Bachelors degree is some insane bar to set, it's their right to make that the standard. But theres plenty of demand so if those guys can get jobs and do their thing without trouble more power to them.
But I agree completely about the westerners. Any westerner working illegally is just being irresponsible. If you're a Brit you could get a visa providing job in less than a week. If they dont that's their choice.
Kinda like what iwolf said up top, that you get these assholes from the west think they're above chinese law when they are in fact illegal immigrants. The same types they bitch about in their homeland.
rasklnik:
If you were a Christian in Iraq or Syria, I'd say even being in a Chinese prison is safer than being in your home country right now...
"Hey guys, ChristopherWalken1337 here.
I am a pure-blooded Texan man and definitely not Indian.
Do you know if it's possible to obtain an X Visa if I apply for a year in a Chinese school, which will consist of 2 hours of class per week, while ̶w̶o̶r̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶w̶o̶ ̶j̶o̶b̶s̶ travelling around China and eating hamburgers?
As we would say back home, "Yeehaw and happy rodeos",
Your totally Texan buddy from ̶M̶u̶m̶b̶a̶i̶ Austin, USA."
I've posted anonymously about visa questions hoping to find loopholes in the past. It's not like they're trolling intentionally. Some people just want to be anonymous.
ScotsAlan:
That's fair enough Hulk. Visa information was amazingly rare in the past. There is much more info on forums than on Government websites. Even today the Government websites are overly confusing. I sometimes have a look at a UK visa forum for foreigners trying to get into the UK. Some of the stories make your head explode. Especially the ones involving kids.
ScotsAlan:
That's fair enough Hulk. Visa information was amazingly rare in the past. There is much more info on forums than on Government websites. Even today the Government websites are overly confusing. I sometimes have a look at a UK visa forum for foreigners trying to get into the UK. Some of the stories make your head explode. Especially the ones involving kids.
Hulk:
Yeah, that's the problem. The websites are so confusing...
And there ARE loopholes locally. I did get permission to work from the PSB while on a student visa.
