No offense, but your posts (and advice) still seem very Shanghai-centric, and only for a specific sector of employment/work permit.
There's MANY different ways to get a work permit & RP. Here's Beijing's website on this subject with some good info: Work Permit for foreigners

It's 28 nights+ for many, either cutting it very close, or already in need of an extension.

Definitely good advice, although presuming the agent is any good, I'd approach it the other way around: instead of "running my plan by them" and asking "Will this work?", I'd suggest to ASK THEM what will work, after providing them with the basic information. I've found the agents are far more versed in the intricacies of all the various approaches, that they oftentimes have ideas I wouldn't even think of.

-----> If you only ask a "Will this work?" question, you might only get a "No, it won't!" response! :p

China has decided to use Covid to shut themselves off from the world.

They aren’t giving out work permits for fake jobs anymore, they aren’t allowing agents to bypass regulations anymore and they aren’t welcoming foreigners anymore.

I don’t really understand why anyone would want to get a dodgy work permit and come to China now anyway. If you have no real job here making serious money, what’s the point of being here at the moment?

If Hong Kong’s expats are thinking about upping sticks, I wonder are MNCs able to convince expats to volunteer for PRC postings?

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...82d4deba2d.png


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XqXnHF...utu.be&noapp=1

Yesterday's Covid report from Shanghai had a Swiss citizen who travelled from Singapore without residency:

Shanghai Covid Report 20220228

病例16为瑞士籍，在新加坡旅行，自新加坡出发，于2022年2月21日抵达上海浦东国际机场，入关后即被集中隔离 观察，其间出现症状。综合流行病学史、临床症状、实验室检测和影像学检查结果等，诊断为确诊病 例。

1. Spend time with relatives
2. Meet with clients in person
3. Enjoy China

As an aside, RPs are superior to visas.
-eChannel
-no duration of stay limit

It could mean the Swiss traveler has China permanent residency or it means that they allow people to enter from Singapore who aren't Singaporean residents, which is true of Korea as well I believe.

(bolding mine)
Pretty sure that's suspended right now, no?

I've heard that it still works for outbound. After Covid is over, it will presumably be good for inbound as well.

E channel is completely shut off at every entry and exit. Chinese trying to leave are given a thorough questioning by the border guards about why they are traveling during the pandemic.

I really don’t know where you’re getting all your info, but it’s all pretty bad intel these days! Let’s meet up for some Chili’s soon and chew the fat.

Correct. E-Channel is unavailable for entry or exit. For foreigners it's back to filling out the exit / entry forms (which are now blue, by the way).

As far as I know even Chinese nationals need to fulfil the same residency rules as foreign nationals when applying for the green code so whether they had permanent residency in China shouldn't really matter.

In South Korea's case the rules are crystal clear as it's published on the Embassy's website, 30 days in the country and you are eligible for a green code. It's still not clear what the threshold is for getting a green code in Singapore.

When I left via the Shenzhen/HK land border late last year there were no forms to fill for foreigners. Of course this was just one port so it's not necessarily representative.

Works outbound for who? Foreigners? No, it doesn't.

Your post was SPECIFICALLY quoting a post that was referring to what is happening NOW, not in the future.
We all know eChannel will eventually will return.

Really? Lucky you. When I crossed this border in March 2021 I had to complete one of those roughly photocopied Chinese forms all in Chinese which - to the best of my phone translator's ability - was entirely about location, contacts, and domestic travel history. It took me ages because there's nobody to assist, of course. They also put the frighteners on me before they let me out by telling me that if HK rejected me some 20m beyond the mainland border then I'd have to do two weeks quarantine upon return. I didn't have HK residency but I'd read nothing about residency being a requirement to enter by the land border (it was a requirement by plane at this time) so I nodded sagely indicating my acceptance of this potential fate and they let me pass, never to return. After sharing this anecdote, I think the point is that the land border port has always been treated differently to the airport as a point of entry to HK.

YariGuy Have you been able to use eChannel since March 2020?