Hi,

I am a teacher in Hunan, China and my residence permit ends on July 29th of this year. I will be going back home to America for 2 months before coming back to teach in Hunan again for another 10 months. Is it possible for me to just renew my residence permit for another year after I have returned to China? My employer is telling me I need to do it before I leave for America, costing me double because it is more than 365 days, but everything I have read implies that I have 30 days to get the residence permit after I enter China again to work.

I just don't want to be paying 800 yuan for a residence permit that I will not be using for 2 months. I would much rather pay the normal 400 yuan amount for a residence permit that I will use.