I don't mean the small people whom you work with. Government regulations are ever changing and making staying in China more difficult.

'China doesn't care about foreigners'

Because of visa regulations?

Having apostilles, criminal background checks and skill certifications are the bare bones of most visa processes.

Have you tried applying for a European visa? Showing house deeds to properties back home? giving parents passport details? submitting fingerprints? trying to get letters from solicitors inside Europe and back home. Submitting up to 3 years of bank statements, Applying for NI numbers etc, etc, and lots of nonsense I can't remember. A work visa can take up to 9 months to issue. Residence permits can take years.

If China doesn't care about foreigners then Europe hates them with a vengeance.

I'm sure neither is the case.

I'm sure it's down to years of foreigners coming to China under the guise of teaching English, many unqualified, many teaching on the side without paying tax, many arranging their own students thus being self employed without a company. Many running backwards and forwards to HK to navigate lax visa rules. Also schools being run from peoples bedrooms with foreign teachers in class and schools hiring anyone and anyone to do a job. It was an open secret. There is forums, books and TV programmes on the issue. Now they're getting their affairs in order and thinking how best to present this with the aim being a smaller number of higher qualified people in the ESL business.

I've been watching developments, and things look a bit contradictory on the surface, but they make sense. Basically, they are requiring more paperwork for work permit applicants and cracking down on illegal workers while simultaneously lowering the bar for employers, all while preparing to make permanent residence permits more accessible.

Here are the changes I'm seeing:

- Increased paperwork and requirements: this actually isn't new, but is from a few years ago. Things like the criminal record check are a pain, but they make sense and are common practice pretty much everywhere else. The 300,000 kuai deposit BS some people are running into seems to be just a Kunming thing. I've also heard some people with new businesses are only given 6 months on their first work permit, after which they will have to show their accounts to the relevant offices to prove they're not a shell company.

- Lowering the bar for employers: there are draft regulations making their way through the bureaucracy to lower the requirements for companies that wish to hire foreigners. We should start seeing the effects later this year, though Yunnan always tends to drag its feet on such things.

- An opening for overseas students: new regulations are also along the way to allow overseas students at Chinese universities to legally work in China right after graduation. Not sure if this will nix the two year experience requirement for everyone, or just for foreign graduates.

- More accessible permanent residence permits: those same rules call for moving more long term foreign workers onto the permanent residence card system. Few specifics have been released yet, but we should also be hearing more about this soon.

Clutter of Bureaucracy Dept.:

"We don't recognize international frontiers" - Daniel Cohn-Bendit, aka Danny the Red, on international panel of student activists, BBC, London, May 1968

- filed under Parallel Universes

Let me translate Napoleons BS-linguidy into normal-speak.

'China doesn't care about foreigners'.....Hell yeah, China loves foreigners as much as they love Japanese.

Because of visa regulations?
Getting a European visa is easy and lately has even become easier. Also keep in mind that you can use [ in China] an agency, or hire illegal 'fake paper' agencies to fix your European visa needs.

Having apostilles, criminal background checks and skill certifications are the bare bones of most visa processes.
.....Nope, it's not!!! Actually even for real, good countries, you don't need as much BS, as you do for China.

Have you tried applying for a European visa?....Yes, my wife and two friends did, in the last 4 month. One unemployed and one freelancing. Easy peasy to get a Shengen visa. For the German visa, 2 days. One friend applied in Spain after 5 days, she got it. The unemployed friend, 4 days.

Showing house deeds to properties back home?....Nope! They didn't. It's not required for Shengen Visa.

Giving parents passport details?

In China, yes, if you are applying for a family visa. And why is that a problem? Is there a reason to start wearing tinfoil?

submitting fingerprints?

...Not in China YET!!!! By submitting fingerprints in Europe, you get long term visa. My wife and my friends got 2 years multiple entry tourist/family visa, just by submitting their fingerprints, apllying for 2 weeks tourist and family visa.

But if you have tinfoil allergies, it's not recommended. I would give my buttprints if I could get a 2year China visa, without hassle

trying to get letters from solicitors inside Europe and back home.

...not required for Shengen states, but it may help.

Submitting up to 3 years of bank statements,
For Shengen states, it is not required, nor was it EVER!!! Up to 3 month WAS the standard, but also with the new fingerprint system, for tourist visa this may not apply, anymore.

For China visa you still need the whole package. Unless you are married or China born. Especially for short term visa = tourist visa.

Applying for NI numbers etc, etc, and lots of nonsense I can't remember.
...Don't know what that mean, interesting though, European visa process was made easier, while Chinese visa process, -is becoming more irrational, expensive and hard. Let me add that the diplomatic charta of visa processes is being violated by Chins since the contract was signed. It says that the visa process and fees, of both signed states, should be equal and similar.....well? JiaYou China...long way to go!!!!

A work visa can take up to 9 months to issue. Residence permits can take years.
.....You are probably talking about Zimbabwean Visa. Work Visa in most Shengen states 3-14 days, residence permits, depending on relation, same day to 14 days. In extreme cases it may take longer.

If China doesn't care about foreigners then Europe hates them with a vengeance.
...China loves foreigners, when they can steal from them, after they stole everything they deport or drop them. Or,just let them become illegal.

Plus, are you really want to put China on the same level as Europe. A safe, reasonable continent, country[ies] with manners, working traffic, low random-nationalist violence towards strangers, less racism, working emergency service, courtesy, logic, sanity, and everything working properly....so lets face it the European Visa has more to offer than the Chinese one.
Plus, up until now, there are a lot of industry spies, and criminals travelling to Europe, on tourist visas, going to exhibitions, buying real estate for shady real estate development companies in China.
What can you take from China? Mapo doufu, crappy mass produced crap that was stolen, from other countries and made worse. Oh! -we could copy and mass produce, lying, cheating, stealing and beating up everyone who disagrees!That would be very Chinese....lol
At least in Europe, normal working foreigners are not criminalized. You can work without a university degree in Europe, if you are a professional, or good at your job....But I think, we never have to worry about people good at something, from China, ever taking over Europe. lol
It's the yin and yang of things.

I'm sure it's down to years of foreigners coming to China under the guise of teaching English, many unqualified, many teaching on the side without paying tax, many arranging their own students thus being self employed without a company.

....Yes but why? Because they want to, or because the companies put them on that path?

I have been promised work visa, of all my employers, and only 3 [in 15 years] have managed to do so.
Riddle me that.
In Europe if you are a Chinese-foreign-expert [I heard, there are 3 or 4], you will get your Visa before you enter the country. For real! No lies or promises, no cheating, faking,...etc. And most no-brain, idiot of the boat FT is still being a better teacher or team manager, than the highly qualified Chinese-English teacher. So still a win for China.

Many running backwards and forwards to HK to navigate lax visa rules.

...Also because it is a huuuuuuuuuuuuge business for Chinese guanxi dudes, which you claim doesn't exist. Visa price at the PSB 500RMB in HK 5000-6000HKD.
And the best thing is the companies who promised to get you a visa, can dock your pay for leaving to HK for getting the visa they failed to give you. Isn't that a good thing? So the wonderful, and saint-like Chinese can get more profit.
And yeah teachers, looooove these trips.

Also schools being run from peoples bedrooms with foreign teachers in class and schools hiring anyone and anyone to do a job. It was an open secret. There is forums, books and TV programmes on the issue. Now they're getting their affairs in order and thinking how best to present this with the aim being a smaller number of higher qualified people in the ESL business.
....No they are absolutely not, and will never do. There is not one affair in order. The main reason is, that qualified foreign teachers are expensive and need [justified maintenance] .And Chinese business owners, DO NEVER SHARE any profit and are allergic to paying reasonable. Something that is guaranteed by something as silly as a "Law's" in Europe.

I'm still in contact with most schools I have worked with and non have hired more qualified [on paper] teachers.
There will be more guanxi and payments, to who knows, but there will not be more qualified FT's, coming into the country. Just more BS.

Chinese worship the god of money, too much, -to actually do or care about anything. The main reason for the tidying up is to put more foreigners on the 'ready-to-deport' list and make more profit...Woooohoooo! Go China Go!!!

Dude...

@Dudeson's
Very good points. In China you're always a tourist no matter how long you have been here. It sucks! They make sure you are reminds of this. There's no support services for long term expats here.

Yeah, its too bad. I have found it's also like that at a job. Having seniority in the workplace didn't seem to have any benefits at all.

if China becomes less appealing to foreigners, that's kinda good for those of us that stay - we need pay rises to deal with inflation.

@Haali
News Flash!That's not necessarily true. Until there is some form of organize effort to reject these unacceptable low wages being paid it will stay the same.