Warning! China Visa Agents Use Your Passport For Identity Theft Scams

CFTU you do everyone a disservice with your sensational heading.

Yes there are scams in China and there are also scams in every other country in the world.

Re the three mentioned agencies maybe you are right, if you are wrong you are open to a serious legal problem.

Wrong:
Hotel front desk staff YES need a copy of your passport in order to comply with the PSB regulations. They also need a copy of Chinese nationals ID cards when they check-in.


Correct - Travel agents do not need your passport copy.

Wrong - Visa Agents do need a copy not just of your passport but also other documents if they are helping with the visa process. Correct you can do it by yourself (without an agent) at a fraction of the cost. The documents needed depend on the type of visa being requested.

Wrong - Chinese Embassy (re employment visa) can only get you the initial entrance visa. Once in China there are a few more hoops to jump through. Often done by in-house HR, can be done by oneself (with the company providing some documents). Sometimes the in-house HR out source to a Visa Agent.

Correct - Job Agents and Recruiters do not need a copy of your passport.

A scam you forgot to mention is the Job Agents and Recruiters who ask you to pay for placement services.  Employers pay the recruitment companies not the candidates.

Another scam is companies busy scaring everyone in order to drive and drive people to use thier services. I know of at least one Visa Agent who uses this tactic.

I am sure that your intentions are honorable but I suggest you might wish to re-think how you disperse the information.

You state ...

the other half like to earn extra money on the side. Chinese have always been very good at hustling in the gray and black markets of Beijing, Shanghai, and 30 other large cities across China.

This creates a "Good News - Bad News" dilemma for all of us travelers. First the bad news: 90% of all China job recruiters and visa agents are "black operators" - not registered with the government and without a business license that would provide some accountability.

The  numbers are more than a tad surprising especially since you only warn against 3 specific companies.

I hope this is not a personal vendetta.

Hi Manlin,

Thanks for your comments. As of 2014 only government-owned hotels need actual copies of your passport by law. Other hotels are only required to "record" you name, passport number, issuing country, and expiration date.  Our immigration lawyer in Beijing confirms that on visa renewals a visa agent does not need a copy of your passport but the came information just stated above. On first visa applications the applicant must personally submit the application in the event an interview is required.

You are correct that a Z visa alone does not guarantee employment but is the first step in legally landing in China after which time you have to apply with SAFEA for your foreign experts certificate.

Concerning the 90% quote this is actually correct give or take a point or two. This figure is for Chinese visa agents operating inside China. Because this profession is not yet regulated by specific laws most all agents do not bother to obtain a costly SAIC business license nor register with the provincial tax bureaus, both actions requiring quite a bit of money and both making them accountable. By using disposable mobile phone numbers and free email addresses along with Chinglish names like "Mary Chen" of "Danny Gao" they can disappear at will in the event of any problem.

We also forgot to mention in the original OP.  If you have a passport issued after January 1, 2008 you may have a RFID chip embedded in your passport which makes it easy for hackers to swipe you data without even touching, much less copying your document. You can protect yourself or completely disable the chip just read here:

hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Secure-and-Protect-an-RFID-Enabled-Passport

archive.wired.com/wired/archive/15.01/start.html?pg=9

Last but not least, our intentions are always honorable. The headline/titles we choose are designed to get people's attention. Since identity theft will easily set you back $10,000 or more in legal fees to clear your name and restore your credit, we thought this warning warranted a $10,000 title.  Welcome to China all, just don't be too trusting while you are here. If you need statistics about China scams that target foreigners visit our friends at chinascamwatch.org.
One bonus tip: When traveling to China, do not do any online banking or stock trading using a Wi-Fi connection only a hard cable connection. Hotels have resident thieves who scan for exactly this opportunity to liquidate your bank and securities accounts as has happened to one of our own members in 2011.