First a bit of background about my situation.

I moved to Kunming in September 2010 on a work visa. Since that visa expired in September 2011, I have had both business and tourist visas.

I am now preparing to return to Australia, and looking to ship a container of things. Apparently, one of the requirements for me to be able to ship my belongings is a copy of my expired foreign expert certificate - my residence permit and work visa is not enough. I am pretty sure that the school I worked at arranged this for me, as it is a requirement for the work visa. However, upon calling the school, I was advised that they destroy the teacher's records when they leave the school.

I called the foreign experts office with a number the school provided, and spoke to a petulant woman, who gave the impression that this was all a bit difficult, and said that she might be able to help if I go to the office. She was too impatient to give me the address over the phone. I have since baidu'd this and found a record for a place on Ru'an Jie.

I was wondering if anyone else had any similar experiences, and is able to share any lessons learned or advice before I make the dreaded trip. Cheers.

The woman in the office is probably unwilling to help you. If the word 'difficult' is used, it usually means that it cannot be done.

I would get someone to ship it on your behalf.
Remember you may also have to pay Australian customs duty on personal effects. Add this to the cost, and see if it is really worth sending.

If you are shipping business things, can you use the business licence of the company that you worked with? I assume you were working with another company.

Thanks for your suggestions. I'm going to try to get the certificate this afternoon. Of course, the one person who can help me wasnt' there.

Will try to find a foreigner to help me if that fails (Chinese people can't ship containers overseas unless they have overseas residence).

I'm not shipping business things, and I was formerly working for an NGO, so I can't do much there. My new employer is paying for my relocation, so I'm going to crack on.

P.S.
If you have to list your stuff as stock/merchandise/samples anything like that, you may have to pay export duty.

Also, see if you can find a shipping agent. They may be able to do it more easily than you can.

Hi,

A colleague just sent his things home, they only needed to see the passport and a declaration from the company to get his stuff out.

It may be useful to talk to some other moving agencies to see if a letter from your old company stating that you had worked for them and are now leaving China is enough.

So for posterity's sake, I wasn't able to get the document I needed as it was more than a year out of date and they don't keep records for more than a year.

However, I have managed to work it out. Apparently the customs in the port it was originally going out of is more strict, and by changing ports I'll be able to ship it with minimal documentation.

Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions.

If you consider Shanghai as a port. They are really busy and concentrate on the BIG value loads.

Sometimes, if the person you ask does not know what to do, they will say 'bu xing' (impossible). Asking someone else can be the solution.

Back on Topic. Harukimurakami, Did you ever actually see this "foreign experts certificate?" It would have been given to you. It is a green small book that says foreign expert certificate on the front. It is separate from the two work "permits". You do not need either of the work permits to get a foreign experts certificate. None of this has anything to do with "visas". I suspect your school never got you one or the term you used means some other sort of document. Foreign experts departments on city and provincial levels keep records for longer than a year. They report to Beijing.

Back on Topic. Harukimurakami, Did you ever actually see this "foreign experts certificate?" It would have been given to you. It is a green small book that says foreign expert certificate on the front. It is separate from the two work "permits". You do not need either of the work permits to get a foreign experts certificate. None of this has anything to do with "visas". I suspect your school never got you one or the term you used means some other sort of document. Foreign experts departments on city and provincial levels keep records for longer than a year. They report to Beijing.

Sounds complicated just to send out one's own belongings as a former resident. Perhaps it might be an idea to send everything by truck via Hong Kong or Vietnam (Haiphong) and then by ship out to Australia? I can't see how that wouldn't work, although you might have to be prepared to pay for duties in Hong Kong or Vietnam in addition to possibly higher transport fees.