I’m looking at getting a new job and I would to stay in Taiwan but the problem is that there are a lot more opportunities for me and higher wages to be made in China compared to Taiwan.
I was wondering as someone with an Australian passport (presuming that I meet all of the other professional qualification necessary for a visa), is it likely that I will have difficulty obtaining a work permit for China if I have previously held an ARC in Taiwan?
For those who have done it, I take it I have to leave the country (probably go to Hong Kong) if I need to get documents certified etc. for immigration to China? Or can they be done here?
On a side note, does the PRC government look through social media posts and would potentially bar someone if they have made pro-independence comments previously to entering China?
I did it. Your employer needs get the paperwork to apply for your work visa. You will probably be able to apply for it in Hong Kong, but there is a small chance that they send you back to your home country to apply.
Having had an ARC in Taiwan had no effect on my paperwork in China.
If you have some social media posts talking about Taiwan Independence, Falun Gong, or Tibet Independence, using your real name, then you should definitely go back and delete them.
If you are getting documents notarized by any Taiwan based organisation they can be accepted in China if you send them via the straights exchange foundation. So you go hand them in in Taipei, and then pick them up again on the other side. Same for PRC documents in Taiwan.
Thanks for the input. I’ll see what happens and if I do get a job offer in China, I’ll put the wheels in motion.
In terms of social media posts. I don’t have any blog posts or anything like that. But more just comments left on news pages through facebook that might reference Taiwanese independence. Would that be a concern?
Also, can they use that sort of thing to refuse a visa? Further, can you be arrested for making posts like that when you were not working in China (and didn’t make any such posts whilst you were in China). Sorry I know this is a whole other issue but one that I am curious/concerned about as I have no idea how far the governments capabilities or interests are in trolling through a foreigner’s social media use.
There is no chance of getting arrested. However visas get refused. If it was more serious there is the ‘black stamp’ where you are barred from applying again for x number of years. Taiwan independence, Tibet independence, and Falun Gong are the three red buttons to avoid.
Having that said, if those comments you made were just some passing comments anyway, then you should be perfectly safe. I dont think they are going to do an indepth sherlock holmes job on every foreigner applying for a visa.
The stuff about deleting social media posts is nonsense - also utterly spineless, not that this is surprising.
Unless you are some kind of high profile activist it shouldn’t be a big deal.
This could change in future, but right now it remains the case.
EDIT: OK, Liam qualified his post a bit. What he says sounds about right. Passing comments, participating in discussions, etc. . . really not a big deal.
I really wouldn’t go to China if you are worried about that kind of thing. Honestly, if you value personal freedoms its not the place to be. They have been cracking down hard lately, arresting people for making jokes in wechat (admittedly this hasn’t seemed to extend to foreigners yet, but it may be a matter of time), randomly knocking on foreigner’s doors etc etc. Anyway, i dont have time to write it all out. Going to China is a mistake unless you are able to make some serious cash then you can suffer through it for 1-2 years, thats what i did anyway.