Wednesday, July 02, 2008

A Trip to the PSB

No, I didn't get in any trouble. I'm starting the process of renewing my visa, which required a short trip to the local Public Security Bureau. Before I sign my new contract tomorrow so that the university can get a new Foreign Experts Certificate (FEC) and Residence Permit, I needed to register as a temporary resident (this will be my fourth year and I'm still temporary).

This year part of the process has changed in Guangdong province. In previous years, I needed a few small photos for documents. I still need those, but I also need a photo printed on a paper with a bar code. This paper is simply a receipt for the photo. It now costs an additional 35 RMB for this new piece of paper at the local Kodak shop.

At the PSB, Jia helped me fill out some forms. It's all translated in English, but most of the information needs to be written in Chinese. I do wonder why they need a section for skin color (choices are: white, yellow, brown, and black) when the document also requires a photo. There was also a section for which I needed to call the office to confirm--they wanted to know if my FEC was for a normal expert or a senior expert. Apparently, I'm an senior expert. I don't know what the difference is between the two, but I do think it sounds nice.

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