Flights,+airlines

Information from [|Relocating to Shanghai].
While the school takes care of booking your initial flight, teachers are responsible for booking all subsequent flights. Teachers take different airlines depending on where they return to in the summer. Remember you can book your seat in advance (aisle or window). And you can choose a special meal. This is especially good for children - request the "Children's Meal".

Remember to review the Airline Passage Allowance policy statement in the Teacher Handbook. =__Questions__:= Please contact Curt Larson, ( curt.larson@concordiashanghai.org  ) CFO for Concordia, and let him know where you wish to depart from. He will then arrange for your tickets. Arrival in Shanghai will be August 2 this year. **//Do not set up your own flights to Shanghai!//**
 * Should we go ahead and purchase our one-way tickets to Shanghai now? **

As long as they are signed by the doctor it should be fine.
 * As for the health exam forms, it is stated that I need to// "get the official stamp on the second page". //Kindly clarify what this means exactly. I know I should go to a hospital in Manila to get it filled up by a physician but I am not sure we have those official stamps. I would ask again but should the physician's signature suffice? **


 * Regarding the relocation allowance, should we be saving our receipts from our doctor's visits, moving costs, etc. in order to be reimbursed? Or is a check for the amount just given upon arrival?** The school asks that you provide receipts for any of the above items. If you need all or part of your allowance before arriving in Shanghai, Curt is able to transfer it to your account. When you arrive in Shanghai, you will be given the remainder of your allowance. Basically the allowance can be spent on anything associated with the transition and settling in to life in Shanghai.

That's what I and a number of other staff are here for. The orientation process involves shopping, getting used to the area and settled in your apartment (the focus of the first week), and getting used to the school (during the second week). It is also a great time to form a bond with the other new staff coming in. You will be greeted at the airport and then brought to either your apartment or a hotel close to the school (if your apartment is not ready.) Housing details won’t be finalized until May or June, so I cannot give you any details at this time. We will do trips to furniture stores which will allow you the time to buy furniture or general household items. It is a busy time.
 * I'm curious about that first week. Will we have someone helping us navigate getting cell phones, buying a bed and food, turning on utilities in the apt., etc.? **

Yes! Someone will be at the airport to meet you. Just look for the Concordia sign or the smiling faces!!
 * Will someone be at the airport to meet me? **

Typically you will be taken to your apartment. Some apartments-particularly for singles are rented from individual land lords and come furnished. Others do not come furnished but we will rent some basic furnishing to use for the first month (beds, sofa, dining table and chairs). All apartments come with major appliances like refrigerator, stove, and clothes washer. In rare cases when an apartment is not ready, the school will pay to accommodate you in a hotel close to the school until the apartment is ready.
 * Where will I be taken after arriving in Shanghai? What if my apartment is unfurnished? **

The school will give you your relocation allowance (or the remainder of your allowance) once you arrive in Shanghai. This will be in Chinese RMB. If you are bringing cash, the school will be able to give you the best rate for converting it to Chinese RMB. There are also a number of international teller machines with which you can access debit or credit cards.
 * How much money should I bring to have in that first week? Should I bring US dollars or Chinese RMB? **

Below are two email addresses you can write to if you want to book flights home or to anywhere else. When making reservations remember to request an official fapiao which you can submit to the school to avoid taxes on your yearly home leave allowance. It is advisable to reserve seats, particularly for Christmas and Chinese New Year as early as possible to guarantee seat availability. Apollo Xu at flyfatman@yahoo.com  or Sherry Sun (Tel + 86 138 0169 6578) at <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">insightsun@gmail.com
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">Who can I contact if I want to organize airfares for flights at Christmas? **

I do not think this will be an issue. I have talked with a couple of people and they have not indicated that they were charged duty.
 * I have a lot of sports equipment, ie snowboards, mountain bikes...etc. are these things that we may have to pay customs on? **

<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">From __Relocating to Shanghai__: The customs department has levied a VAT on some electronic items. This tax is somewhat variable but seems to be 17%. Keep this in mind when you are determining what to ship. Computers can be purchased here at competitive prices, so unless you are set on bringing your old computer, it makes more sense to purchase one here along with any personal stereo system, etc. Laptops/electronics brought with you **//on the plane//** should not charged duty. Again remember that the electrical service is 220V and 50 cycles. <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">When I arrived from Korea, we sent our stereo system and a desk top computer. I don’t recall there being an excessive charge, however, last year one of the new teachers had $1500 of charges on her shipment (a combination of customs and storage fees-somewhat a unique situation because of the expo last year and delays in clearing customs.)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">You mentioned we may have to pay customs taxes on electronics. So should I bring or sell?.....our flat screen TVs, surround sound DVD system, desktop computer, and laptop computer. **

<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">I would recommend carrying in what you can in your luggage as it will be less problematic and if you can sell things for a decent price you can probably pick them up here for a reasonable price. If you can’t sell them for a reasonable amount then paying the duty may not be so bad. Remember that anything you send will not be able to clear customs for at least a month until after you arrive. <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">These rates were quoted by one of the relocation companies we have used in the past. <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">Snow board × 20% <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">Mountain bike × 10% <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">TV screen × 30 % <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">Laptop × 20 % <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">Desktop × 20 % <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">Sound/ DVD system × 20%

More specific information will be available in the Relocating to Shanghai in the N section of the Teacher Handbook. Yes, you will need the work permit before you can receive your shipment. This will take anywhere from 1 to 1 ½ months. The school will rent some basic things for the first month (beds, sofa, TV, dining set) and we spend quite a bit of time the first week taking you to places that will help you get your apt set up. When we came from Korea 5 years ago we had a shipment but only sent special pieces of furniture and got rid of our beds, sofas, etc. Typically sending electronics will involve a charge and last year we had trouble with some shippers who didn’t have a strong rep here in China.
 * We know that the apartments are unfurnished, and we are planning on shipping over pretty much everything but a bedroom set. But we are wondering about the Chinese laws/regulations for receiving a shipment. Do we need to have our work visa before we are allowed to get our shipment? If so, how long does it normally take to get a work visa? Does the school have rental furniture we would be able to use until our shipment arrives? We are sure you won't have us sleeping on the floor on our first day in China, but we're curious to how this will work! **

Once you have your email address, you can get into the [|Staff Website]. From there you can access the new teacher information in the handbook, all policies, the Salary and Benefits summary etc. When you click on this it will ask for your username and password, which will be the same as what you have your email account.
 * Will you be sending us a staff handbook or a compensation brochure? I'm sure a lot of our questions will be answered in there.**

The decision to purchase here or in the US is really up to you. I would recommend talking directly with our Director of Technology tom.reed@concordiashanghai.org. If you carry them with you on the plane it should not be a problem.
 * We are still trying to decide if we should purchase computers for our children here at our Apple Store, or go through the school? We currently own an Apple, but want to keep it for personal use at home. I know you mentioned somewhere before about bringing technology into Shanghai.....is it a problem if we carry them in? We would be bringing three if we decided to purchase here.**


 * Do you know if the school uses a set exchange rate, or the current exchange rate?**

The salary on contracts is stated based upon an exchange rate of 6.3. If the average daily rate between August 2012 and July 2013 is greater than 6.3, we will make a one time adjustment to increase the salary scale in August to make sure the employees are not affected by this change. If the average daily rate is less than 6.3, we will not deduct your salary. This exchange rate will apply for the entire contract year. Beginning this fall the school has moved to an RMB currency salary. As part of this move the school will now assume the cost of taxes on the salary. There may still be some tax liability on cash benefits if you are not able to present an official Chinese tax receipt. We will talk more about this during orientation. if you have questions now please contact Steve Nurre.
 * Will we be paying taxes on 15% of our gross income?**

No, it is possible to arrange this once you arrive in Shanghai.
 * Do we need to purchase a VPN before we arrive in Shanghai so we can access sites like Gmail and Facebook? **