Employment & Professional Development

Hello,

Thanks to your help, I (thought) that I had managed to secure a teaching position at a major university in Shandong. Everything seemed legit, they answered all my questions and let me communicate with other teachers. They seemed 100% certain about hiring me, even asking if I wanted to work there for two years instead of one (I assume they have trouble finding new teachers as they are in a small city).

Then I received the following message:

My colleague right now met some difficulty when doing your invitation. The government administrative bureau thinks you are not experienced enough to get you a Z visa for teaching, so we have another way to bring you here, and I can assure you that all the treatment will be no difference, it is just a different visa. We will get you a X visa, that is the study visa, which is much simpler than the Z visa, we will send you a Jw202 form and a accceptance letter to let you study Chinese at our university, and then you can get a X visa in the Chinese embassy. Is that ok to you?

This is my first teaching position but I do have a college degree and a TEFL certificate. Do you think that their story checks out? I'm really not sure how to proceed.

Thanks.

Honestly, I don’t know what to make of their story. On one hand, all public universities are licensed to hire foreign experts. It would have been nice if the FAO had shared with you what the specific nature of the objection is that was raised by the PSB. On the other hand, I have never heard of a university asking a foreign teacher to work for them on an X-visa. Whatever vulnerabilities you would face working on a tourist or business visa, you will also face earning income on a student visa.

Would the PSB actually deny a public university a Z-visa for one of their foreign teachers and then turn a blind eye when the university illegally hires them to work on a student visa? Something is rotten in Shandong. This could be coming from the PSB, but, more likely, it is coming from the University. The question is why would they want you to work for them on a student visa instead of work visa? Despite their offer of a two-year contract, I am wondering if they are deliberately bringing you in without obligation simply to test you out first. A Z-visa obligates them to provide you with a job, a student visa does not. I am also wondering if they can provide you with an official SAFEA contract on a student visa.

I have asked Headmaster Ken to weigh in on this one. This is a first for me.

Different local officials enforce the rules differently. You apparently lack the two years of relevant work experience after having obtained a degree.

It seems your school is attempting a workaround of the regulations.

It is not a terribly unusual situation. But it is not altogether legal.

There is a risk involved. All things being equal, I'd advise trying to find a school that will issue you a proper visa.

Ken

Hello,

Thank you both for your help, if I ever end up in China, I'd like to contribute something to the site.

Anyway, I have one more question: I received another university job offer in Hubei, I told them about my visa troubles in Shandong, they said that they didn't think they would have any trouble getting me a Z-visa. Should I trust them and spend the next 2 weeks waiting to see what happens? Is there a huge difference in how visa laws are enforced in different provinces?

Thanks.

Administration of the law in mainland China is highly decentralized: there can be differences even at the municipality level.

If the new university is telling you that they don't anticipate any problems with the local PSB, you might want to give them a chance.

Best of luck and we look forward to your future contributions to Middle Kingdom Life.