Teach English Abroad in China, ESL TEFL Teacher Visas

A guide for expatriot education professionals, understanding China visa and residence formalities.

Teaching Jobs, China

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ESL Teachers Working in China

This section was specifically designed to provide advice for English teachers who are considering working in China or who are already in China seeking to extend their visa. 

You should also review information in the "Work Visa" tab as it also pertains to you if you have legal working tax status in China.   Although we try to provide accurate information and update our servers often, please be aware that the china visa regulatory bodies may change the rules at any time and without notice.  This information is often updated as a result of information sent by our patrons.  If you would like to inform us of your visa experience or update our information, please email us at: update information.

Should I Hire a Visa Agent to Process My Visa Application?

Can I just go to China without a Visa and Get one there?

How Do I Know if I Qualify to Obtain a Working Permit?

I Don't Have a College Degree Can I Teach in China?

Someone told me the best way to get a job is to go as a tourist and then find a school?

The School told me to get a F-Visa, Is this okay?

Can I earn a Salary Working on F-Visa?

Why do people teach in China on a F-Visa?

When is it okay to work in China on a F-Visa?

I have a Contract and a L or F-Visa, What if the school breaks the contract?

What are the Risks of Working in China on a Tourist or Business Visa?

I'm in China and My Visa is Going to Expire Soon, Can I extend it?

Do I need a Visa for Hong Kong?

I want to leave my employer and work for someone else, how does this influence my visa?

My Contract Will be Finished Soon, How long can I stay in China afterwards?

I've Completed my Contract and Will be working for another school, Do I need Anything?

Is there really a teacher "black" list?

The school wants to keep my passport, is this acceptable?

I've allowed my visa to expire and I'm leaving the counddddtry tomorrow, Will I have Problems?

When will my Z-visa Expire?  How long is it good for?

Why Does my Z-Visa say "000" for Entries?

A Chinese Recruiter Told Me I can Come to China on a Tourist or Business Visa.

The Chinese recruiter showed me official looking documents inviting me to China, What's This?

Can I visit other countries or return home while on Vacation?  What visa do I need?

I visited Dave's ESL Cafe and Someone There Insisted I can come on a Tourist visa.

When your school has completed the invitation formalities, SAFEA will issue you a stamped original document with registration number in Chinese to be presented to the Chinese consulate in your consular jurisdiction.  This document will certify that SAFEA recognizes your status and eligibility to be classified as a "Foreign Expert."

Who Is Eligible?

1.  College Graduates

2.  Teachers, Professors, TEFL Instructors

3.  Individuals With at least 4-years professional working experience having TEFL Certification.

Technically, No.  Though thousands of non-qualified people do it every year.

You should understand the risks as they apply to your qualifications.  Non-degreed individuals often work in China using Business (F-Visas) and Tourist (L-Visas)  These visas do not allow you to earn a wage or apply for tax status in China.  If you have some university credits, we suggest you prepare your official college transcripts and submit them to us.  We will translate them into Chinese and appeal to the local Chinese public Security Bureau to determine if you qualify in the locality of the school that has chosen you to be their teacher.   Also, if you are not qualified, some organizations like journeyeast.org can be a guarantor on your behalf and enroll you their TEFL internship program.  You will receive a salary and be evaluated at the completion of the program to receive your ITEFL. 

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Ask yourself the following:

1.  Do you have the financial ability to go to China as a tourist and support yourself for at least two months while you find work? 

2.  Can you read or Speak Chinese and are you ready to navigate China without this skill?

3.  Can afford the expense of buses, trains, taxis hotels and domestic flights, while you meander from region to region searching for jobs? 

4.  Are you prepared to work illegally in China, knowing that by doing so you risk exploitation, non payment of your salary or airfare reimbursement, sub-standard conditions or wage garnishment?

If you answered, "Yes" to any of the above questions than giddy up, you can do it.  If you answered no to any of these questions then you are going to want to either go through well reputed program that can legally place you in China or directly cooperate with the school.

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You should ask yourself why the school is inviting you on a F-Business Visa and why can't they obtain the legal documents to invite you as a foreign expert.  This might be cause for concern especially if you are eligible for Foreign Expert Status.  The F-Visa is for people, usually business men or woman seeking short term business affairs and dealing in China less than 6-months in duration. Guest lecturers who are not-remunerated (no salary) can be issued F-Visas for lecturing and teaching in China as volunteers or part of an international delegation of foreign experts.  F-visas can be converted into residence permits after residence formalities are performed and only through an authorized school, organization or Chinese registered company.

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No.  The visa document is the Chinese governments permission allowing you entry into sovereign China.  Airlines will not let you leave for Mainland China if you do not have a valid visa. This means, you can have your plane ticket, passport and be ready to board the plane, but if you don't have your Chinese visa, you will not be allowed to board. 

You may however fly to Hong Kong, or Macao without a Chinese visa and obtain one there to enter the mainland.  Keep in mind, entry to Hong Kong without visa is acceptable NOT MAINLAND CHINA! 

You are allowed 90-days in Hong Kong without a visa.  After that, you are required to register for residency status. 

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If you do not live nearby a local Chinese consulate than hiring a Chinese Visa Specialist is probably going to save you time, money and frustration.  Chinese consulates do not offer mail-in services, so a physical presence is required to submit your application.  China Visa Services range in price from $140 - $300 and price depends on the type of visa you require, the number of entries, and the speed that you need to have the documents processed. 

Before submitting your visa applications to any visa company you should find out if they are a generic company that processes visas for all countries or if they specialize in Chinese visas.  To save time and expense you want a company that is current with Chinese immigration rules and visa regulations. 

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Technically, No - although many people do every year.  Chinese law forbids you to obtain a salary while traveling in China on a F visa.  The United States has similar laws with its B1 and B2 visas. There can be stiff penalties for individuals caught working in China illegally including the threat of deportation.  Note, this is according to the strict application of Chinese law.  In practice this is rarely carried out.   How to Earn a Salary on F-Visa:  If you are a volunteer or employed by a NGO or program based outside of China, you can receive salary and or stipends from that organization or company.  Essentially, you would be working in China as a volunteer in accordance with Chinese law. 

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Mostly, Ignorance.  Many people working in China had no knowledge or were told it was okay to work in China on a F-visa.  Many of those teacher have also left China upset at having been exploited or not provided their final salary or promised airfare reimbursements.  Either they are unqualified to receive the Z-Visa, or the school has made a promise to convert their F-Visa to a residence permit after they arrive due to time constraints and urgency to fill a teaching position. 

For more information See, "When is it okay to work in China on F-visa?

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Like in the USA, there are tax implications and China is beginning to crack down on lost revenues from illegally working immigrants.  It is okay to work in China on a F-visa, if you are not getting paid to teach or work and if the term of your service is between 1 and 6 months.  It is also okay if the source of your income is not coming from a source based in China. 

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If you are working on these visas you have no legal rights to employment claims and are not covered under any employment laws.  You do not have the right to earn a wage, therefore according to law, even though you were hired by a school the school is under no obligation to pay you. 

Because many unscrupulous Chinese recruiters and agents know this.  This category of employment experiences the largest amount of exploitation and risk off fraud.   

See also..

Law of the People's Republic of China on Control of the Entry and Exit of Aliens

Rules for the Implementation of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Control of the Entry and Exit of Aliens

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In most cases you may extend your Chinese visa, though the process is not easy and you will require help from your employer and or trusted Chinese associate.  BESI LLC uses www.Emoo.net based in Shanghai to extend visas for its corporate clients and administrators.  The fees are somewhat expensive and one should become familiar with the guidelines for extending their visa through these Chinese visa service companies as there are many restrictions.  Do not confuse extending your Chinese Visa with your Residence Permit!  They are two very separate and different documents and procedures.

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Yup.  Firstly, we do not advocate you break your contract and leave your present employer unless you can demonstrate clearly and (without emotion) each stipulation of the contract which the school failed to provide.  There is a high cost for a school to bring you to China that includes paying a years lease in advance, recruiter fees or internet information fees, as well as the cost of applying for your legal working documents and the loss of classroom time, student recruiting losses and real monetary damages the school will suffer.  Some teachers can negotiate the breach fees and pay off the school to avoid court or costly arbitration and ill will.

If you have real, sufficient cause to leave your school employer and have exhausted all amiable means of resolving the issues then you have the following choices to make. 

1.  Are you going to continue to live in China and find employment elsewhere?

2.  Are you going to go home?

If you want to continue to work in China, than your next steps depend on the following. 

Did you already begin residence permit formalities and have you received the residence permit in your passport? If not, then how much time exists on your present visa before it will expire?

If you have not obtained the residence permit then you have as much time as is remaining on the visa to find other employment or travel and reside in China before needing to leave. 

If you already have a residence permit, you are allowed thirty days at the completion of your contract to either leave China, renew or find alternate employment.  Finding alternate employment usually requires a letter from your original employer saying in both Chinese and English that you have successfully completed the terms of your contract and are released on good terms from it.  Without this letter with the official school stamp, many employers and PSBs will not process a new residence permit for you.

If you have been offered employment in the same town or locality as your former employer think twice. 

Do you really want to risk bumping into your former employer?  If they don't already know you are working for another school or competitor they will certainly find out, especially if you left on bad terms!  A school administrator can use their relations in a number of ways to make your stay unpleasant.  Especially if they feel they have been cheated by you.  It doesn't matter who is right or wrong, you are forced to evaluate not if the school has reason to feel they were cheated but rather is there a chance a bridge was burned and do you want to marinade near the fire? 

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Then the most practical thing to do is cut your losses and either find legal employment or come home.  You are not eligible for arbitration or court action.   You could threaten to inform the local PSB and education ministry that the school is hiring teachers illegally, but then you'd be putting yourself at risk as well and ignorance is not an excuse to evade responsibility. Besides, most schools have excellent Guanxi (relationships) with the local government and you'd have as much chance of success as a dumpling in Ethiopia. 

You could follow another growing trend and blast away libelous posts across esl boards warning others about your experience, but there has been a recent surge of libel prosecutions and if you are caught libeling a company or school in China, then you can find your exit privileges revoked and be forced to endure court, arbitration, or other legal venue until the organization has recouped damages and all libelous posts have been removed.

BESI LLC offers arbitration services to victims of work exploitation.  It is less expensive than hiring an attorney however we collect and keep a percentage of the any recovered contract breach fees if we are successful to negotiate with your former employer.  Contact:  info@journeyeast.org to inquire about this service. 

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Technically you are allowed 30-days beyond your contract expiry.  This can be confusing though.  Consider the following example - your contract ends on June 01, your residence permit is good until August but according to exit and entry rules you have until June 31st to depart China, extend your residence permit or find legal employment elsewhere.   Can you stay in China until just before your residence permit expires?  Possibly, many people stay as long as their residence permit allows without trouble. 

What if the residence permit expires before the 30-days? 

In this situation, if your contract ends June 01 and your residence permit expires June 21, you must leave before June 21. 

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You should obtain an official letter from the school in Chinese and English that illustrates in clear language that you have satisfied the terms of your employment contract and the school releases you on good terms.  its also a good idea to put this kind of clause in your contract if you are writing your own contract.  The letter should be on official school letterhead and chopped with the official school stamp.  It should be an original document.  It is a good idea to obtain several of these originals if possible and make copies.

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Yup.  If you have done anything willful to damage or hurt the schools reputation or an employee, student or fellow teacher in the school you'll be asked to leave, pay damages (breach fines) and your passport number, and visa or residence permission can be revoked.  Individuals that use teaching as a means to subsidize their travel and hedonistic lifestyles abroad may run into this situation.  It is important to note there are several types of lists and mention their relevance to living abroad in China. 

Nationwide Police Database:  The most official and damaging blacklist is managed by the police and department of exit and entry in cooperation with the public security bureaus.  It's not a teacher blacklist so much as it is a national database of foreigners that have been accused of some sort of criminal mischief.   For example, if you drove a motorcycle drunk and rode into a Chinese pedestrian causing severe damage to that persons health requiring expensive hospital stays and surgery, if you were found guilty and weren't able to finance the persons health bills, the local police might take the next step and get the courts involved who would surely prevent you from leaving the country until the matter was administratively completed to satisfaction of the state.  This is also true in the United States and other countries.

Proprietary Lists: Maintained by web companies, schools and recruiting agencies.  Non centralized and the least to worry about.  If you were on a list for Recruiter A, you might not be able to get a job with them, but that doesn't mean recruiter B would have the same information or have a sharing agreement with recruiter A.  Information Sharing is becoming more and more popular though and BESI LLC, Buxiban, and ChinaSchoolReview are examples of three such webs that have proprietary blacklists. 

Local Government Lists:  They exist but are usually not centralized or connected with other municipalities.

Provincial Government Lists:  Maintained by the provincial departments of SAFEA, Public Security Bureau, and Entry and Exit Police are centralized and connected with other municipalities. If you've been unfortunate enough to make this database then you're probably in some sort of legal trouble and will have to deal with things if you try to exit the country. 

The thing to keep in mind is not to do anything that would get you placed on one of these lists!  Most schools are not even aware of these databases and in most cases will not have the relations to implement a nationwide ban although if you are a trouble maker you may find trouble obtaining work in the same province or locality.  If you are a criminal, or accused of a criminal act, you may find it difficult to leave the country until your legal matters are resolved.

99.9 % of people involved with teaching in China do not have to worrk about a "blacklist."  It is usually career troublemakers and habitual contract breachers that wind up fretting.

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No. Your passport belongs to your government and is an official government document that identifies who you are.  Furthermore, your permissions to be in residence abroad are in your passport.  Some rogue schools hold passports to wield power and leverage against their teachers.  While most do not, the only time a school should need your original passport is when they are applying for your residence permit and they should be in possession for no longer than three days. 

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Probably. According to entry and exit laws expired visa holders will be charged 500 RMB each day and not to exceed a total of 5,000 RMB in fines.  It is at the discretion of entry exit enforcement to enforce this rule and most do.  Some will negotiate the price, most will not.  If your visa is expired, it is a good idea to carry at least 5,000 RMB with you as you are leaving to cover the fines that will be imposed.  Anyone charging you more than 5,000 is seeking a kick back and has gotten greedy.  The law is clear about this, No More Than 5,000 Rmb or ten days in jail.  (No one gets thrown in Jail, it is quite rare)

It's not the time to test Chinese customs, if your visa is expired, they will ask you to pay the fine.  They will not allow you to board the plane until the fine is paid. 

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Your Z-visa is good for three months after it is issued and will expire 30 days after you have entered China.   You have 30 days to convert it into a residence permit.

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It just means that you have 30-days to register for residency formalities and no re-entry until you have obtained the residence permit.

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If time is urgent you may be asked to arrive on a tourist or F visa.  Ask yourself is it really worth the risk of a few days time?  Why can't they obtain the legal working visa invitation letter?  It's not a good idea and outright illegal to work for a salary in China on a tourist visa.

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Good question!  Find someone who can read Chinese and find out for sure.  It is always a good idea to obtain the official documents that prove the Chinese recruiter is a legally registered company having the appropriate permissions to host and invite foreign teachers.   You should always sign a contract with the school directly with the school having responsibility to pay your salary, not the recruiter.

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If you have a double entry, or multiple entry visa you may travel back and forth according to the terms of your visa. A residence permit allows you to travel in and out of China unlimited number of times while the residence permit is valid. 

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Then what are you waiting for?  Go on, just don't say we didn't warn you.

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