Brit on a fly-by-night dodgy VISA falls foul of Chinese
...finds himself in shithole prison shock. You can read the sorry tale here: archive.
Locked up over expired visa won't let 'horrific' stint in jail stop his travelling
'Daniel Thompson said inmates had an upside-down bucket to sit on and a rock-hard prison bed with one blanket and prisoners were only allowed to lie on the bed at night.
A British (unqualified) teacher banged up in a Chinese prison for overstaying his visa'
Well this has shattered my hitherto belief that Chinese prisons were luxury Swiss affairs with en suite bathrooms and TV...
Daniel Thompson, 48, had been working in Jinan since October 2019, teaching English to locals. But police found his visa had expired last month so he was locked up for a week at a mountain prison. Mr Thompson says he was locked up along with 14 other Chinese people who had committed low-level crimes such as gambling. He said it was extremely cramped conditions and a toilet that was little more than a hole in the ground was very tough.
No bidet then. Outrageous.
But then buried a bit further down the article we get to the crux of the matter...
Mr Thompson says he has taught all over the globe during his 17-year career but doesn't have an official degree, meaning he couldn't qualify for a Chinese work visa. Instead, he travelled using a business visa and then worked using a humanitarian visa, which he renewed monthly.
"I got the job online, and I was assured by the agency I got the job through that I could work with a humanitarian visa," Daniel said.
I'm shocked. Online teachng agencies are usually so absolutely rocksolid reliable. He hurt his leg cavorting about on an eBike...couldn't renew his visa...so ended up being deported after a week in a mountain prison spa. And the teaching agency didn't spring for his lawyer. I am flabbergasted.
Inmates had an upside-down bucket to sit on and a rock-hard prison bed
All the inmates were Chinese and not one person, including the guards, spoke any English, he says.
That's China for you. Full of Chinese.
And if you think I'm being harsh, here's one of the comments:
He was definitely in the wrong here. First, he didn't have a university degree, which is a requirement for being able to apply for a work visa, a Z visa. Second, he says he was in China on a business visa which he 'converted' to a humanitarian visa, something you can't do without leaving the country and applying abroad for. In effect, a new application. Neither of those visas qualifies you to work as a teacher, part time or full time. I don't believe there is a visa that you can renew monthly within the country. Third, he failed to renew his passport in good time
I know a Brit whose passport was about to expire in 6 months just as Covid-19 hit China. For some truly odd reason, the British consulate in Shanghai handed its passport renewal service to the visa application center, a centre that caters for foreign visa applications for the UK. This office was closed for half a year as the British consulate - for some unfathomable reason - needed its staff to help in Wuhan - as if there aren't enough Chinese medical professionals to do that job! Anyway, the Chinese immigration authorities gave my friend an extra 3 three months to get his passport renewed. They were really friendly. And he is still there to this day.