CHINA EFL/ESL JOBS: A Case of False Advertising

Since I originally posted an article by Niu Qiang, PhD and Martin Wolff, J.D., on February 12, 2004, I've received a real education on teaching in China. The article created quite a controversy, so I leave it for you to read and make your own conclusions. Since posting it, I've received many emails from various people and organizations in China with different information including requirements, legalities, and many, many opinions. Reports from people actually teaching in China can be very different: some say that the government requires at least a Bachelor's degree (see, for example, the SAFEA Guide for Foreign Experts Working in China as Consultants which is reproduced here), while others state that they have had no problem getting a work visa to teach English with no degree.

I recently received the following email regarding this page, and have permission to post it. (His email address is withheld by request due to spam concerns.)

February 6, 2006

Kristina,

Concerning your warning "Important China Notice", I hope you will update this information. Most of it is incorrect and out of date.

There is a lot of incorrect information tossed about here in China by teachers, recruiters and even universities. Some of this is the result of miscommunication or poor translation. Other errors result from repeating rumors.

I have been teaching in China for three years and until 2005, I also could not understand the reasons for the apparent discrepancies between the various sources of information. That changed for teachers in China who could stay awake during the two and a half hour information program presented to foreign teachers at my university by the Public Security Bureau. It is not the State Administration of Foreign Affairs that polices the certification of foreign teachers in China. This function belongs to the Public Security Bureau that has duties similar to those of the immigration service and the F.B.I. combined.

Let me touch on just a few important points. There are two classes of legal foreign teachers in China. Each class is certified and the certificate is associated with an institution (school or company). The one we are most familiar with is "Foreign Expert" that requires a Foreign Experts Certificate and a Z visa. Application is made by a prospective teacher through a licensed institution. To change institutions, the holder is allowed to apply, through a new institution, to the Public Security Bureau for a transfer of the certificate to that new institution. The new institution may be in any province in China. Approval is usually a rubber stamp process. The requirements for a Foreign Experts Certificate include a bachelors degree in any subject. There is an additional provision to permit an individual school to ask for an exception to the degree requirement based on a severe shortage of degreed candidates. So the rules have a clearly defined grey area.

The other class of legal foreign teacher (the name of this class escapes me, but it is something simple like "Foreign English Teacher") does not require a bachelors degree. This type of certificate restricts the holder to teach in one specific province and usually in a rural area where foreign teachers are rarely seen and therefore in great demand. This certificate is very area-restricted so it is not available through institutions in most urban areas.

Before 2005, anyone could come to China as a tourist and look for a teaching job. Then the institution would apply to the Public Security Bureau for an appropriate certificate and conversion of the tourist visa to a Z visa. Now this is not permitted. If you want to teach in China, you must apply to an institution from your home country and wait for the Z visa to be approved through the institution. The conversion of tourist visa to Z visa is no longer permitted.

There are different regulations and different visa types in Hong Kong that were permitted when it was passed to China by the U.K. Some institutions in "mainland China" will avoid the Public Security Bureau process by asking a potential teacher to get a Hong Kong work visa. The institution may suggest that this is quasi-legal. It is illegal but it is also common. Getting caught is not common. I have never been approached by any officer of the Public Security Bureau in my three years here.

The web site http://ciep.chinajob.com/ is not for the State Administration of Foreign Affairs but is for the Conference on International Exchange of Professional. This is just a business enterprise. The web site for SAFEA is http://www.safea.gov.cn/english/ but don't expect to find any useful info about the certification processes there. That is not their affair. They act as a liaison between Foreign Experts and institutions and between Chinese experts and foreign institutions. You can find their 268 word statement of main functions by clicking on the "Responsibilities" link in the left column.

Jim Miller Foreign Expert, PRC

... all bona fide recruiters, other than the schools, must, at law, be authorized by either a Provincial Foreign Affairs Office [FAO], to recruit locally, or SAFEA if they recruit for more than one Province. As authorized recruiters such entities are issued with a certificate endorsing such authorization, sealed by the Provincial FAO, if it's restricted; or SAFEA if unrestricted.

Holders of FAO Certificates should be able to produce a copy of such on FAO [Government] letterhead and signed by the Director. All Government letterheads are in red and carry the five-pointed star, it is illegal for any non-government entity to mimic such.

SAFEA Certificates are not for public dissemination [fear of illegal copying] but each authorized recruiter is allocated a three-digit number, prefixed with a "0". The bona fides of the holder can be verified by contacting SAFEA Beijing by fax [+86 10 6843 4805] or email, which is a tad bit awkward at present. SAFEA has two Websites: http://ciep.chinajob.com and http://ciep-nj.org, which is for the annual conference.

With regards L vs. Z visa (Tourist visa vs. working visa). Strictly speaking this (coming to China to work with only a tourist visa) is not a lawful practice, it contravenes international conventions; however, it is a reasonably common practice and should not indicate that something is amiss. If the FAO has authorized the teacher to travel with a L visa, for conversion upon arrival, the teacher will not be compromised, as their visa is converted by the local PSB immediately upon arrival, permitting the teacher to be lawfully employed. Such methodology is often used at the start of semesters, because of the huge workload imposed on FAO staff.

However, some operators of unauthorized establishments use this method to circumvent the system and therein dwells the biggest and most serious problem facing persons aspiring to teach in China - contract obligations; surety of tenure, payment of salary, reasonable working hours, provision of satisfactory accommodation, reimbursement of airfares. Teachers thus brought to China via this channel are the primary source of subsequent complaints and the reason for so many horror stories. Requesting Certificates should negate much of this surreptitious and decidedly unwanted recruiting.

What you quote from the State Bureau of Foreign Affairs (editor's note: the writer is referring to the SAFEA guidelines) are nothing more than the guidelines, and these guidelines are often not followed exactly, depending on the circumstances. A native speaker with nothing more than a high school diploma can easily get a legal job teaching, even at a Chinese university, with absolutely no legal problems or possible penalties to either the school or the teacher. If the provincial Bureau of Foreign Affairs is willing to certify the teacher and the contract (a necessity for being hired at public universities or schools), and if the Foreign Affair's Office of the local Public Security Bureau (PSB) is willing to give the foreign teacher a working visa (a "Z" visa) or a work permit for China, then there is no possible fraud involved or potential legal liability for the teacher.

Because there are many more schools in China who want teachers than there are teachers available, many schools are willing to hire teachers with few or no qualifications,and the provincial Bureaus of Foreign Affairs are often willing to certify these teachers as qualified if the schools can justify the need. If a public school wants to hire you and the Bureau of Foreign Affairs is willing to certify you as qualified, then the visa or work permit in most cases will be granted. For private schools, the situation is more varied, but generally if the school is in fact licensed by the government (some new schools are unlicensed) and if the school cannot find a Chinese candidate with the same qualifications or skill, then they should be able to hire a foreigner and the local PSB would probably grant a working visa or a work permit. Since native speakers of English have an ability most Chinese people do not have (native pronunciation and fluency), there is no legal reason they couldn't be hired as teachers for licensed private schools.

Regarding China, there is one important issue of possible fraud which job hunters must be wary of, and that involves unlicenced private schools. If the school is unlicensed, it cannot hope to get the teacher a working visa or a work permit. Many of these schools will suggest that the teacher can come to China and work on a business visa. This in fact, is illegal, and not just against their guidelines: You cannot work in China as an English teacher on a business visa. Some teachers are able to get away with this for awhile, but eventually they risk having to pay fines and being deported.

How can a teacher avoid these kinds of schools? A teacher should always insist that the school provide him with a working visa (a "Z" visa). If the school is offering a "Z" visa, it should provide a contract generally (in the widest sense of the word) in concord with the guidelines of the State Bureau of Foreign Affairs, and the contract should explicitly state that the school is responsible for providing a working visa for the teacher. The school should be able to supply an official letter of invitation. The teacher should take a physical exam and get a health certificate (the health forms are provided as a last step). With these documents in hand, the teacher applies for the visa. It is impossible to get a working visa or a work permit for China without a health certificate, but a health certificate may not be necessary with a business or tourist visa. If a school tells a teacher to come on a business visa, then the teacher should look for another place to work.

Sometimes it is possible (and even more convenient if one is pressed for time) to come to China on a tourist visa and change it to a working visa later on; however, a teacher should be wary of this and demand evidence (references from other teachers, for example) that the school in fact can offer a working visa and that the school has the ability to change the tourist visa to a working visa in country, or is willing to pay all of the expenses if this fails. Even at that, the teacher should ask him or herself if he or she is willing to face the risk that the visa cannot be changed in country.