I thought that I could earn more money by working abroad, but I was constantly asked for various expenses, because I refused to pay the "visa fee", not only failed to go abroad, but even paid 7The service fee of 50,000 yuan was almost lost. Recently, the Tongzhou District People's Court of Nantong City heard a foreign labor contract dispute case, and finally under the auspices of the court, the plaintiff and the defendant reached a mediation agreement, and the labor service company refunded the balance to the plaintiff after deducting the necessary expenses.
Jiang found an intermediary company at the beginning of 2022 to seek opportunities to work abroad. Later, the intermediary company introduced Jiang to a foreign labor service company in Haiyang City, Shandong, and the labor service company organized Jiang to go abroad to provide labor, and Jiang paid a service fee of 7 according to the recruitment announcement of the labor service company50,000 yuan. In February of the same year, full of hope, Jiang came to Haiyang City, Shandong Province, ready to participate in the training of overseas labor.
However, the first time he contacted a foreign company, Jiang was asked to pay 8,500 yuan for training materials. The cautious Jiang flatly refused, and negotiated sternly with the personnel of the foreign company. In the end, the foreign company gave up the requirement for Jiang to pay for the training materials and handled the qualification certificate for Jiang.
However, the good times did not last long, and the foreign company once again asked Jiang to pay a "visa fee" of 20,000 yuan, otherwise he would face the risk of not being able to apply for a visa. In the face of the unreasonable demands of foreign companies to frequently increase prices, Jiang once again resolutely refused. In the end, Jiang was unable to go abroad to work because he failed to apply for a visa. When Jiang approached the labor service company to request a refund of the service fee, the company refused to refund the service fee on the grounds that Jiang himself chose not to pay the "visa guarantee fee" and was unable to apply for a visa and was unable to leave the country. Jiang had no choice but to sue the court.
After trial, the Tongzhou court held that Jiang and the foreign labor service company had not signed a written "Expatriate Labor Service Contract", and the two parties had not agreed on who would bear the cost of applying for the visa. According to Article 14 of the Regulations on the Administration of Foreign Labor Service Cooperation, foreign labor service cooperation enterprises shall go through exit formalities for their employees, and assist them in handling formalities such as residence and work permits abroad. Jiang had paid the service fee in full according to the requirements of the labor service company, and the labor service company should provide corresponding services to facilitate Jiang to successfully go abroad for labor, and the so-called "guarantee fee" had no basis.
After the judge's explanation of the law, the foreign labor service company proposed to deduct part of the necessary expenses and return the rest of the money, and Jiang agreed. Eventually, under the mediation of the judge, the two parties signed a mediation agreement.
The judge reminded that to handle overseas labor services, it is first necessary to choose a regular company that is qualified and has been registered with the commerce department. At the same time, it is necessary to verify the location of working abroad, the type of occupation, working conditions, working hours, labor remuneration, insurance, transportation, liability for breach of contract and other information. If it is determined to go abroad for labor services, it is also necessary to determine the amount of service fees, payment methods and service content of the labor service company with the labor service company. Employees should enter into a written "Expatriate Labor Contract" with the labor service company and an "Employment Contract" with the foreign employer, and avoid any verbal promises. In addition, the entry and exit policies of each country are different, so it is necessary to understand the entry and exit policies of the target country to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Correspondent: Shen Gaoxuan, Yangtze Evening News, Purple Cow News reporter, Wan Chengyuan.
Proofreading Tao Shangong.