An F visa is a business visa – it is issued to people visiting China for business reasons: conferences, meetings, factory tours, to do short term research, etc. It can also be used for students who are studying for less than one year. You cannot make money in China on an F visa.

A Z visa is an employment, or working visa and it is the ONLY visa on which you can legally work and make money in China. If you are collecting any sort of pay in China, you are legally required to have a Z visa. While people often work here on multi-entry or longer term F visas, it is illegal. If you have a job in China you need a Z visa. Again, working on an F visa in China is illegal and you face fines and deportation if you’re caught doing so.

There are other differences: F visas can be gotten with single or multiple entries. While some can be up to a year long, usually they are for shorter periods of time. A Z visa is a year long visa and requires you to get a residence permit within 30 days of entering the country. Once you have that permit you can freely leave and enter the country.

"Z" visa is NOT always one year.

There is a recent trend to issue for 10 month,s to teachers, in Guangdong, Zhejiang and other Provinces..

Can any one kindly inform me what is the total procedure of convert F visa to Z visa without leaving China?

There is no procedure that is applied universally throughout China.

F- business visa
Z- Employment visa
X- student Visa

"L" visa is a tourist visa and the most popular for illegal workers

I like the first answer above. However, half the teachers in China are on F Visas. Do they get deported. No! Why? Because the local government in each province decided on how it wants to interprete and apply the laws. I know a very big school in Beijing where foreigners make a fortune (more than the low 8,000RMB standard) on a F Visa.

However, F Visa and Z Visa have hugely different consequences when it comes to quitting a job. If you're not sure you can honour a one year contract, better be on a Business Visa until you're sure you want to stay.

Reasons why:

There's a government for each province in China; if you break a Z Visa the government of the province you work in will take note and may refuse you another work related VISA in the next years (but you can still try, nothing's sure). But Visa for studies should be fine (X Visa).
In terms of work, the school you worked for will take revenge, not letting you use your Foreign Expert Certificate for another Z Visa job, so you might not be able to get another Z Visa in the near future anywhere in China, although eventually things will sort out one way or another; like you can get a job on a Business VISA or let your new employer put pressure on your old school for them to eventually release your Foreign Exp Cert to them.
I even heard that a whole new Foreign Expert Certificate can be made, but that depends on the local government and how good the schools’ relations with that local gov are.
Take note that there are 2 kinds of Certs in China: Foreign Exp Certificate for all education related jobs, and Scientific Expert Cert (not sure the exact name) for other jobs.
Worth knowing that you’ll probably never see your cert; employers keep it (apparently unlawfully), and will pass it on to your next employer.
The Foreign Exp Cert has an expiry date on it, but even after expiration you still need a release from the last employer who has it to get your next Z Visa job.
In the end, it’s just loads of red tape (bureaucracy); and where employers and governments like you and get along well together things become very easy.
However when you break a contract you burn bridges, make relationships bad, and that’s what you don’t want in China.
If you break a Z Visa contract, change province, and eventually start working on a Business VISA that doesn’t tie you down, cos F Visas (business) can be broken without future consequences I think.

However, regarding the Chinese gov and it's VISA Bureau the F Visa is not proven work experience, because F Visa is not official employment; only Z Visa is.

F visas are often sought after by foreign teachers who do not nor cannot make, for whatever reasons, the minimum eligibility requirements needed to secure a Z visa.  They are, as has been described above, a business visa.  Whether or not half the foreign teachers in China are working on an F visa is not germane to the question.  Whenever there is a big clean-up, and it happens about once every 2 - 3 years, all those on F visas are chucked out of the country if they are working on F visas.  It happened during the Olympics; it happened again during the 60th Anniversary celebrations. It may probably happen again next given the change in regime.  There are provinces that sometimes turn a blind eye to FT's working on F visas and provinces that do not.  This is China and it's a big country and rules are made at a national level and then applied differently at local levels.

The length of stay on an F visa can be very problematic and might entail trips every so often out of the country.  Then again there are agencies in Hong Kong that specialise in F visa procurement but conditions vary according to the country of origin of the passport holder.

A "Z" visa is only good for thirty days upon entry and then must rolled over into a resident permit.  Resident permits come in all lengths and durations at the whim of the employer.

Just found that if you're on a Z Visa, and you want to quit, complete the time notice (usually 1 month) stated by the contract; this way if you're old employer refuses to release your epxert certificate your new employer can state that they don't have proof that you broke the contract and that by Law the old employer must release you for your new job.

I am currently working on an F visa.  I just had it renewed by my school but am considering leaving and looking for a job in Shanghai.  Are there any consequences for quitting on an F visa? Everything I am reading about only stresses the problems that can occur if you quit on a Z.  Basically what I am wondering, if my F visa was just extended for 3 months will it still be valid if I leave this position.

I am currently working on an F visa.  I just had it renewed by my school but am considering leaving and looking for a job in Shanghai.  Are there any consequences for quitting on an F visa? Everything I am reading about only stresses the problems that can occur if you quit on a Z.  Basically what I am wondering, if my F visa was just extended for 3 months will it still be valid if I leave this position.

No, there are no consequences, if you leave your current job, which sponsored your F visa. Reason is: 'it is against Chinese Law to work with F visa'. Both, you and School are doing illegal thing.

Your F will still be valid till last day of validity, even if you don't work at the same School.

scallahan1 above, why do you expose yourself to potential risk by working on an "F" visa?  Sure, many do it and get away with it and then many are caught and fined.  If you meet the requirements for a "Z" visa, then insist that your employer provide you with one.  Perhaps your employer is not authorized to hire foreign workers and thus the reason for your being on an "F" visa. 

Every year about this time in China, from Christmas until Spring Festival, the police suddenly become more vigilant about these kind of issues and swoops do occur and poor unsuspecting foreigners (sometimes unsuspecting, sometimes not) are snared.

icnif77 above has provided you with the correct info.

I am only working here for 6 months and I know my boss is incredibly sketchy, especially when I asked about the Z visa.

ANYWAY, he has A LOT of connections in the town I work in, police etc.. So is it still possible for him to cancel the visa? Is it done locally or on a larger scale? I just want to be sure.

Thanks for all your input