Getting a Visa

Getting my visa in order to work in China was a bit complicated procedure-wise, but finally was achieved without any problem. In my case, everyone cooperated really well and things went smoothly. There are a couple of steps which have to be taken in order to get the visa and here I list the process which was followed in my case (researcher of German nationality, 2009, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) [中国科学技术大学] in Héféi [合肥], Ānhuī [安徽]). Notice that I provide document samples for most steps in order to ease checking what documents are meant or whether the documents received/prepared are indeed the right ones. In order to prevent forgery, all documents have been de-personalized and mutilated with colorful lines.

Get a job offer/find an employer.
Passport Photos [护照照片]
Take multiple passport photos. You will need many of them, have at least 20 at best. It would be good if you also have high-resolution digital versions of them, because for some of the steps, your Chinese partner can use these (which saves postage).
Needed for: steps 3, 4A, 7A, and 8A — your Chinese partner will also need passport photos from time to time.
Passport [护照]
Ensure that your passport is valid for at least two years from now and has at least one empty page for the visa. Scan a high-resolution digital image of it for further use, including all relevant pages such as visa pages. Also, create a text document containing all the information from the passport.
Get from: a professional photographer.
Needed for: step 4D.
Official Application [应用程序]
After your Chinese partner has received all these documents, he can set the administrative machinery into motion in order to get you the contract of employment and the visa prerequisites. Needed for steps 5 and 6
1. Curriculum Vitae [简历]
  Should include your full academic and industry career, a list of all publications, language certificates, awards, your full address and contact information, gender, date of birth, a passport photo (see step 2) — basically all information which could be of interest for your employer.
  Get from: write by yoursed.
  Needed for: step 4.
2. Letters of Recommendation [推荐信]
  The more, the better. Ask your current employer, your PhD/master's/bachelor's thesis advisors, corporations you did a practical training in, etc. Must be written in English.
  Get from: previous employers, professors, research fellows, etc.
  Needed for: step 4.
3. Copy of PhD/Master's certificate [博士学位证书]
  Translate your certificate to English (if issued in a different language) so that your Chinese partner can translate it to Chinese.
  Get from: the university where you have studied.
  Needed for: step 4.
4. Copy of Passport [护照]
  Get from: step 3.
  Needed for: step 4.
Contract of Employment [聘用合同]
Get from: your prospective employer.
Time required: 12 weeks
Needed for: step 6
Example: front (124 kiB), pages 1 (68 kiB), 3 (84 kiB), and 6 (86 kiB)
Visa Prerequisites
Obtain the following Visa prerequisites from your employer — carry out in parallel with step 7. Your employer needs passport photos (see step 2) for this (in my case, a high-resolution digital copy was sufficient).
1. Working Permit [外国专家来华工作许可证]
  Get from: your prospective employer / local administration
  Time required: 4 weeks
  Needed for: step 8
  Example: sample (256 kiB)
2. Letter of Invitation [被授权单位签证通知表]
  Get from: your prospective employer / local administration
  Needed for: step 8
  Example: sample (64 kiB)
Medical Examination
Carry out the medical examination in parallel with step 6. Warning: None of the documents of this step is allowed to be older than three months when applying for the visa. Suggestion: Ask your doctor to put an additional stamp with red ink on the record, if possible, make it a round stamp. In China, red, round stamps are used and you will be asked why no red stamp (regardless what it says) is on your form when using it inside the country.
1. Physical Examination Record for Foreigner [外国人体格检杅记录]
  Form has to be filled out by the doctor in english language. Most of the questions like "nutrition" should be answered with either "OK" or a short description of the problem. The medial examination requires the tests listed below. Warning: Use the up-to-date forms from the Chinese embassy or your visa agency only. Warning: Stays valid for only three months!
  Get from: your family doctor
  Time required: 2 weeks
  Needed for: step 8
  Example: form (85 kiB), page 1 (93 kiB), page 2 (97 kiB)
2. AIDS Test [艾滋病检测]
  Warning: Stays valid for only three months!
  Get from: your family doctor / laboratory
  Time required: 2 weeks
  Costs: approximately 50 Euro.
  Needed for: step 7A
  Example: sample (42 kiB)
3. Syphilis Test [梅毒试验]
  Get from: together with step 7B from the same blood sample
  Needed for: step 7A
4. Blood Type Test
  Maybe known from the army duty or blood donations
  Needed for: step 7A
5. Chest X-Ray
  In order to rule out tuberculosis.
  Get from: your family doctor sends you to an X-ray equipped clinic.
  Time required: 1 week
  Needed for: step 7A
  Example: sample (93 kiB)
6. Small Stuff
  ECG, vision test, color blindness test, weight/heigth... Can be done on the fly.
  Get from: your family doctor
  Time required: 1 week
  Needed for: step 7A
Visa Application
The visa application has to be done in person at a Chinese embassy or consulate or by a visa agency. I used the agency CIBT Visum Centrale GmbH (Frankfurt am Main branch) who obtained the visa for me from the Chinese consulate in Frankfurt am Main. I used the express services available and the costs were well below 200 Euros.
1. Visa Application Form / Antragsformular für Visum in die Volksrepublik China [中华人民共和国签证申请表]
  Warning: Use the up-to-date forms from the Chinese embassy or your visa agency only.
  Get from: Chinese embassy / visa agency.
  Time required: 4 days (express service over weekend/holidays.)
  Needed for: step 8
  Example: form (261 kiB), page 1 (79 kiB), page 2 (85 kiB)
2. Passport Photo
  Needed for: step 8A
3. Passport
  Check whether your passport stays valid for a long enough time and has a sufficient number of spare pages.
  Needed for: step 8A
4. Visa Prerequisites
  Needed for: step 8A
  Example: working permit (256 kiB) and letter of invitation (64 kiB)
5. Medical Examination Records
  The medical examination record including the AIDS- and syphilis test results, i.e., the documents 7A, 7B, and 7C
  Needed for: step 8A
Entering the Country
For entering China, using an airplane is usually recommended. I chose Air China (中国国际航空集团) because it was very cost-efficient and the flights were totally OK.
1. passport with visa
2. Two documents which you will fill out while on the plane. These contain information such as your passport number, your visa number, your address in China, your (or your Chinese partner's) phone number in China, data about your health (did you have a flu during the last two weeks before entering the country?), etc.
TODO: office for foreign affairs: ofa-doc 1 for residency permit, residency permit form, accommodation registration form