Will be leaving China in a few months after faithfully completing my work contract, and behaving like a proper good citizen.
Everything seems in order, but I've been reading some forums about some release letter that should be obtained before I leave. Any info on this?
Ask your employer for a release letter BEFORE your contract ends or you leave. It could come in handy if you ever decide to work in China again. It formally gives notice of the end of the commitment between you and the company and the are likely to be reluctant or unwilling to provide it at a later date.
Your release letter doesn’t really matter unless you need to transfer your current visa.
Since you are leaving China, your release letter is not important.
If you were changing jobs in China, your release letter would save you a great deal of red tape, as you would not have to reapply for a Z Visa.
Should you ever work in China in the future, a less official letter of recommendation will serve you just fine.
I have changed jobs twice without a release letter.
Remember also that you need a release letter to apply for the return of 'some of' your Chinese pension BEFORE you leave China (assuming your employer has been paying it as the are legally required to do - it's currently 8% of your salary). I'm not sure how much you can get back as I read this on a Wechat article. @jadorechocolate - PM me if you want the Wechat link to the article.
The article was from Guide in China and published on 2018-11-12. The title is '10 Things You Must Know Before Leaving China'.
@22Yossarian good to know, thanks.
@debaser PM'd you RE the wechat article. thanks a lot for the info!
Wow, I did not know that about pension payouts.
Here's the WeChat article:
freewechat.com/a/MjM5MTcwODQ2Nw==/2652065601/1
The following article shows a sample calculation of a lump sum payout, which would supposedly amount to ~45K RMB after earning a ~15K monthly salary for three years:
Thanks @herenow.
