Expats arrested in Shanghai for providing fake residency permits

Shanghai police have arrested a group of seven including two expats for illegally assisting foreigners to get residence permits.

According to a spokesperson for the Shanghai police, the group had received over $58,000 for the provision of fake employment documentation in order to apply for the coveted residence permits. Investigations into the racket began last July when an expat living in the Pudong area of the city was discovered attempting to renew a residence permit with employment documentation which proved to be counterfeit.

The expatriate concerned attempted to explain that he’d resigned from his original employment and signed on with another company, but failed to produce a termination letter from his previous employer. On further investigation, the so-called new company, described as being in ‘entertainment and cultural management’, had employed the foreigner in a job which did not exist. The company’s lawyer, one Mr Sha, was arrested by police under suspicion of attempting to bypass regulations, as were several other company employees. All the suspects subsequently confessed to faking jobs for foreigners and charging them between 4,000 and 5,000 yuan for the service.

The scam was put about via word of mouth as well as on expat-aimed WeChat groups, and subsequent arrests involved two foreign nationals acting as agents by bringing in potential customers. In addition to the arrests, all 43 expats who’ve used the service have had their visas annulled and will now be forced to leave China as a result.

Current immigration regulations require would-be expats to apply for a Z visa from overseas Chinese consulates or embassies, with providing proof of a job offer essential to obtaining the visa. On arrival, they must apply for a one-year residency permit within 30 days and, for those working in the performance industry, residency permits are only authorised for a six-month stay. According to police, others whose visa information has now been published have also used the gang and have just 10 days to report before their visas are annulled.