Items like passports, etc, are very obvious, since they belong to you. I am wondering, can your company keep documents they "pay for", like your Work Permit or Foreign Expert Book?

One more question too: my colleagues kept getting asked for the "green book" (Residence Book) whenever they try to get their "yellow slip" (Temporary Residence) at the police station. I was told that PSB no longer issues that, since 3 years ago. Why then are the police guys still asking for it?

I guess employers can keep the work permit, but few actually do. I mean, I don't think there's really any rule against it.

The green book died years ago. I think now what the PSB asks for is the residence permit in the form of a sticker in your passport.

^ or the temporary registration form (pink slip these days) for those who are not on a residnce permit (all F & L visa holders)

It's not the PSB that asks for the green book, it's those silly policemen at the police station who still think we have that green book! We have to explain, again and again (depending on which police station my staff went to) that only the Z visa is enough. Oh boy.

^ No, the "Z" visa is not enough. You are confusing the "Z" visa with the resulting residence permit. They want to see your residence permit.

That's interesting! What residence permit? Am I supposed to have a special sticker in my passport, besides the Z visa? What's the Chinese for this sticker?

Right on the top of this sticker it says, in English, Residence Permit. The "Z" visa says, obviously, "Z" Visa.

Silly me. You are right. That was what was in my passport all the time. I had always assumed it was a "Z" visa. Now that I've checked..."Residence Permit for Foreigners in the People's Republic of China". And it even indicated the purpose of residence as Employment (in Chinese of course).

And yes, even with this, the policeman still asked for the green book. We have to explain time and again...you get the picture. They do accept our explanation though, which makes one wonder what is happening in the PSB.

^ Stupid policemen then.

My friend, who went over to another company, had a ton of grief from his former employer who held on to his Foreign Expert Certificate. The PSB is asking for it for him to do the residence permit for his new job, and will not do the residence permit without his FEC. His former employer refuses to release it.

This is going to be interesting...why couldn't the PSB simply check their database, instead of asking for a physical book? Oh boy.

^ Because book is from a completely different governmental agency.

And why should I be surprised that the different government agencies do not or refuse to communicate and share databases? Oh boy...

If you've been in China for more than 2 weeks, you should not be surprised.

Not surprised, but still frustrated. I think my friend is going to be in for a hard time...

And this is exactly why companies hold on to the work permit.