Ask Headmaster Ken

Hi Ken,

I have read on forums that some oral English teachers work at universities in order to secure a visa and living arrangements and then spend a significant number of hours making a greater paycheck freelancing.

Is it a very difficult thing to actually set up a tutoring operation that is a legal business and independent from other schools? Is there a great expense involved and is it even possible?

Thanks.

For all intents and purposes, it is impossible to become a legal "freelance tutor".

In order to have a work visa, you must have a sponsoring employer. China visa laws do not contemplate, nor permit, freelance language training work.

Any employer who issued you a work permit so you could exclusively freelance would have to do so fraudulently.

From an immigration perspective, you can imagine if anyone from another country wanted to move to your home country as a 'freelance language teacher', the chaos that would ensue. It's the same in China.

Cheers.

I don't think I phrased my question very clearly. What I have read is of people legally working for a university and putting in their contract hours there but also putting in enough private hours of tutoring to make the greater portion of their income come from private tutoring. I have read if the university agrees to allow this then it is legal. Perhaps my using the term "freelancing" wasn't correct.

My question then is if a person would rather tutor individuals than teach in a classroom could they open a tutoring business of their own legally. Is it possible for a foreigner to open a business like that in China? Or would they need a Chinese business partner?

Thanks again

Universities typically "look the other way" when their foreign teachers moonlight (regardless of what form that takes) because it doesn't affect them financially. However, whether they remain silent on the issue or give you their explicit blessings, it is not legal to work for any other employer except the one who has sponsored your Z-visa.

In fact, many universities openly encourage their foreign English teachers to work part-time as a way of supplementing the meager salaries (as the university believes it is more likely to hold onto the teacher). With or without the university's approval, moonlighting is technically illegal and the government doesn't like it for several reasons, including the fact that this income goes unreported by both the "secondary employer" and the teacher.

Foreign teachers cannot sponsor their own Z-visas. There would be no legal way for you to exclusively tutor (run private classes) unless you were doing so under the direct employ of a school that has an SAFEA license to hire foreign teachers.

Ken is correct: For all intents and purposes, there is no legal way for a Westerner to earn private income no matter what you call it, e.g., freelancing, private practice, tutoring, consulting, advising, etc. Just having a Chinese partner is not enough: He or she would have to be the owner of a licensed school (or have the ability to hire foreign employees either with a Z-visa or alien work permit).

The entire time I taught at Jinan University in Guangzhou, I maintained a small private practice in psychotherapy and received referrals from both the American and British consulates. The University was aware of this activity but chose not to interfere with it even though the practice was technically illegal. Even if the practice had grown, there would have been no way for me to leave the University and still remain in the country legally unless I had then become an employee of a local international hospital (which was a possibility).

I work exclusively as a private tutor myself (I grew totally disillusioned with the EFL industry in China) and (shameless plug) I have written an article on the subject on this site (Ed's note: see Freelance English Teaching in China).

I think many language centres are even unaware of the legal situation here, many advertise saying they want part-time teachers who already have their work visa from another school, whether that be a university or otherwise, thinking that clears the teachers to work legally for their institution when--as stated by Ken and Dr Greg--that is not correct.

I openly admit I have worked in this manner since November 2009 on L-visas alone after three different schools promised to get me the proper paperwork and reneged on that promise. Please note I am not advising anyone else to do the same, quite the contrary actually. I have to go to Hong Kong every 2 months to renew my visa just so I don't overstay. The situation is permanently volatile especially during times such as now when there is a sporadic crackdown due to Shenzhen hosting the Universiade Games. However, as a purely practical manner, I feel it is highly unlikely you will get caught tutoring as most of the time you are teaching in your students home or place of work. This is the reason why in my article I stress you should not use your house as a place of business to conduct your classes.

My advice for any newbie's looking to move to China to teach EFL is this: Get a job at a university or a public school (not a training centre for reasons outlined in my article) in preferably an affluent part of China. Don't worry too much about the salary, find a position with good perks such as holidays fully paid, 12 months pay not contingent on renewal, good travel allowance, medical insurance and crucially an off-campus apartment or housing allowance (best option). This takes care of visa and housing, and paid holidays. Now fill up your considerable free time with choice private classes and aggressively market yourself as a private tutor charging an absolute minimum of 150RMB an hour in 2nd and 3rd tier cities and 200RMB an hour in first tier cities. You should soon have an income in the 12000-18000RMB a month range. You can't count on this right away but with a bit of effort it is attainable.

If you want to make money teaching in China, tutoring and freelance work is usually where it comes from.

Thanks to all of you for answering my questions. This website is great!!

Totally out of curiosity, not any personal intentions (I am hoping to spend a year or so teaching in China,) how do businesses such as foreign owned language centers operate legally in China if they are owned by a foreign entity?

PS. I just found your guide for opening a school in China. This answers my previous question! Thanks again for all the very useful information!

Hi,

I just had a question about the legality of working for third parties while employed legitimately at a university. As you both advised, this kind of work is often done and your school will usually turn a blind eye as long as it does not interfere with your regular work.

However my query is about the actual legality of, say, working part time for a language school or tutoring while working on a RP for a university. In my SAFEA printed state contract, part VI. (Party B's Obligations) section 2 explicitly states: "Without Party A's consent, Party B shall not conduct any part-time job assigned by any other party". This seems to suggest that such work is legally legitimate, assuming you have gained permission for your employer to take on such work.

Can you comment on this?

You're taking the inverse of a Chinglish (Chinese to English) translation of a single clause in an official SAFEA contract and then wondering if it can be used to legalize secondary outside employment. It cannot.

That clause is specifically intended to officially prohibit moonlighting and, more so, to relieve the employer of any liability in the event the foreign teacher does engage in outside employment. The policy is also enforced with Chinese teachers as well. In the case of foreign teachers, it has special meaning as moonlighting is not only officially prohibited but also illegal.

Of course, a great many things that are technically illegal are tolerated in China as a matter of course and to varying degrees depending entirely on the sensibilities of the local authorities. There are tens of thousands of foreigners who are currently earning income on tourist, business, and student visas. While they are all facing heavy fines and deportation, it is a rare event when legal action is actually taken.

In reality, your university employer cannot legally give you permission to moonlight. What they can do is say something like "We know you are working for someone else and we have decided to look the other way just as long as your outside work doesn't interfere. If this should become a problem in any way, we never knew anything about this. Proceed at your own risk."

This is quite a different scenario than having been given explicit permission to moonlight. Typically the foreign teacher is advised by a Chinese colleague, someone removed from the FAO's office, "It's okay to do outside work, everyone does it, just be quiet about it."

Many teaching contracts specify no extra work is permitted, but it seems to be widely ignored with English teachers earning good money in addition to their primary job.

In a location with few foreigners, often people will approach us offering private tutoring or another contract at another school alongside our original position.

A Foreign Affairs Officer told me "Officially we don't allow it, but what you do in your own time is up to you". Just as long as they don't hear about it, it's okay seems to be the advice we all receive from others. There was some policy statement that the SAFEA is concerned about the safety of foreign teachers.

If we are not infringing on our primary employment, and helping English language education in China, I can't see why we should be prevented.