The worst time to be asked to sign away your job is when your visa is tied to that job.
On r/Chinavisa, u/OkInflation2276 described a pressure point many foreign workers in China fear: the company still exists, the worker is still on a Chinese work permit and residence permit, but the client assignment has disappeared.
OP said the employer hired them directly, then assigned them to work remotely for a client. Their six-month probation period ends on Monday.
Then the client walked away.
According to OP, the employer is not saying, "we are terminating you." The employer is asking for something cleaner for the company: a resignation letter.
OP's alarm is easy to understand. A resignation can make it look as if the worker chose to leave, while a termination forces the company to state its own reason.
That difference can matter for salary, severance arguments, unemployment or social insurance records, work-permit cancellation paperwork, and the next employer's view of what happened.
OP also says they are outside China and planning to return. That turns an HR fight into a border and residence-permit anxiety: can they come back safely if the company starts moving paperwork before they arrive?
The Pressure Point
There were no visible non-Automoderator comments when this thread was collected, so this article is based on OP's account and official rules, not a verified case file.
The emotional core is still clear. OP is being asked to sign a document that may describe the exit as voluntary while the real trigger appears to be the employer's lost client contract.
The line that matters is short: OP says the company is "asking me to sign a resignation letter."
That is not a small admin form. It can become the paper trail.
If the resignation letter says the worker voluntarily quit, it may be harder later to argue that the employer ended the job because its client left.
What The Company May Be Trying To Avoid
In Chinese labor disputes, wording matters. A mutual agreement, an employee resignation, a probation failure, and an employer termination are not the same story.
The Labor Contract Law allows an employee to resign with notice, including a shorter notice during probation. It also lists specific routes for an employer to terminate, such as proved failure to meet recruitment conditions during probation, serious rule violations, incompetence after training or position adjustment, or major objective changes that make the contract impossible to perform after negotiation fails.
"Client left" may be relevant to the business story, but it does not automatically make every resignation safe or truthful.
For a foreign worker, the visa layer makes it more dangerous. China's Exit and Entry Administration Law says foreigners working in China need both a work permit and a work-type residence permit.
Local work-permit service guides also say employers should apply to cancel the work permit after early contract termination or employment relationship termination.
So OP's fear is not imaginary. A job ending can start immigration paperwork.
The Outside-China Problem
Being outside China changes the risk calculation.
If OP signs first, the company may have a cleaner basis to say the employment relationship ended. If OP refuses, the company may still try to terminate, but then the reason and paperwork matter more.
The practical danger is timing. A residence permit may look valid in a passport, but work-permit and employer records can move behind the scenes.
That does not mean OP is automatically barred from returning. It means OP should not treat the passport sticker alone as the whole answer.
Before signing anything, this is the moment to slow down and create a written record.
If your exit is tied to job loss, read Leaving Your Job? Read This First!!. If salary, social insurance, or final settlement becomes part of the fight, also save Get Your Social Insurance Money Back!.
Quick Checks Before Signing
1. Ask the employer to put its request in writing. The message should say whether they want resignation, mutual termination, probation non-confirmation, or employer termination.
2. Do not sign a resignation letter that says you voluntarily left if the real reason is the company losing its client.
3. Ask whether the employer has already submitted, or plans to submit, work-permit cancellation.
4. Ask what final salary, unused leave, reimbursement, social insurance, tax, and release or cancellation documents they will provide.
5. If you are outside China, contact the local exit-entry authority, the work-permit service window, or a qualified immigration or labor professional before flying back on assumptions.
Documents To Save
Keep the signed labor contract, offer letter, probation clause, work permit details, residence permit page, and any client-assignment document.
Save the employer's resignation request, chat logs, emails, HR notices, and any refusal to state the real reason.
Keep payroll, tax app screenshots, social insurance records, reimbursement claims, leave balances, and proof of current location outside China.
If the employer says the client ended the contract, ask for the company-side termination or change notice in writing. Do not rely on a phone call.
When To Escalate
Escalate if the company pushes for a false resignation, threatens cancellation without documents, withholds pay, refuses to confirm work-permit status, or asks you to return to China while refusing to explain your employment status.
For labor issues, the next path may be local labor arbitration or a labor lawyer. For permit timing, it may be the local foreigner work-permit authority and exit-entry bureau.
The exact route depends on the city, employer, contract, and documents.
A consulate usually cannot solve a private labor dispute. But if you are stranded, threatened, or facing document loss, it may still be worth asking what emergency support is available.
The ExpatRights Takeaway
The most dangerous document in this story is not the work permit. It is the resignation letter.
A company can ask. That does not mean you should sign the company's cleanest version of events.
If the employer lost its client, let the employer say that. If the company wants mutual termination, make the settlement terms clear. If it claims probation failure, ask for the evidence and the exact written basis.
For foreign workers in China, the rule is simple: do not sign away the labor story before you understand the immigration story.
The best first move is boring but powerful. Get the request in writing, keep your documents, check permit status, and do not let panic turn a disputed termination into a voluntary resignation.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/Chinavisa/comments/1utk7n1/chinese_employer_wants_me_to_resign_after_their