This is a true story. Probably it happened to you or your friends before…you understand what a terrible experience it is. Please share this article with your friends, helping them stay away from the trap.

One day, I was approached by Amy. According to Amy, she and her friends signed an agreement with a job agent. Later they wanted to quit the job, however, the agent refused to cancel their work permits. Even worse, they found that the agent disappeared later with all their salary… They asked for our assistance as they are desperate to find a way out.

I checked all the documents they sent over and found:

1.     The job agent signed a cooperation agreement with Amy and her friends, saying that the relationship between the two parties is “cooperation” instead of “employment”, the agent will arrange a job for them, and the monthly remuneration is 16000RMB/person;

2.     Amy and her friends hold work permits that state they were working for a company based in Beijing, while the actual location of their job is in Guangzhou. They never talked with the actual employer in Beijing. 

The relationship is pretty much a mess. The agent controlled their payment, the application and the cancellation of their work permit, however, the relationship is “cooperation” and the real employer -the one showed in the work permit- is a company thousand miles away. 

They can’t do anything against the agent in labor arbitration, as they are “cooperation” partners, according to the “cooperation agreement”. The only option is to try to negotiate with the real employer, which they never talked with before…

Though we published more than one article about “working in China legally”, such as: How to work in China legally, How to work in China legally?-- Part 2, we heard similar stories once a while about the terrible experience with the job agent. To make things worse, some foreigners signed an employment contract with the agent while working for the real employer, which is illegal. Once they are caught doing so, they will face the risk of being deported and being put on the blacklist, which means they probably can’t enter China for a pretty long time in the future and have no chance to apply for a green card at all.

So nice reminder again: If you want to stay away from trouble while working in China, don’t ever sign an employment agreement or the “cooperation agreement” with your agent.

Related provisions in Administrative Provisions on Employment of Foreigners in China

Article 5   Employers hiring a foreigner shall apply for an employment permit for the said foreigner and may only employ him/her upon approval and obtaining a "Permit to Employ Foreigner in the People's Republic of China" (hereinafter referred to as the "Employment Permit").

Article 23    The employer in China shall be consistent with the employer stated on the employment pass.

Article 29   In the case of foreigners who refuse inspection of employment pass by the labour administrative authorities, change employer arbitrarily, change occupation arbitrarily, extend employment period arbitrarily, the labour administrative authorities shall take back their employment pass and request that the public security authorities cancel their residence qualification. Where it is required for the foreigner to be repatriated, the repatriation expenses shall be borne by the employer or the foreigner.

《外国人在中国就业管理规定》

第五条 用人单位聘用外国人须为该外国人申请就业许可，经获准并取得《中华人民共和国外国人就业许可证书》(以下简称许可证书)后方可聘用。

第二十四条 外国人在中国就业的用人单位必须与其就业证所注明的单位相一致。

第二十九条 对拒绝劳动行政部门检查就业证、擅自变更用人单位、 擅自更换职业、擅自延长就业期限的外国人，由劳动行政部门收回其就业证，并提请公安机关取消其居留资格。对需该机关遣送出境的，遣送费用由聘用单位或该外国人承担。