Site Search:
 
Get TEFL Certified & Start Your Adventure Today!
Teach English Abroad and Get Paid to see the World!
Job Discussion Forums Forum Index Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!"
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

Z-Visa, Workers under 24?
Goto page 1, 2  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> China (Job-related Posts Only)
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Californiaz



Joined: 18 Dec 2013
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 8:11 pm    Post subject: Z-Visa, Workers under 24? Reply with quote

I would just like to preface this with a few bits of info:

I have two years of experience but they are informal (charity and private tutoring in Taiwan, the later of which I was not authorized for, and this was back in High School)

Going to be 23 in Feb and I have a University degree. I want to go teach in China but 24 seems a bit late for it.

I am wondering if anyone has been able to get around this after the July 1st law. Really want to work in Beijing. But it seems I'll need to find a school with connections to counter the new law. Otherwise it looks like a no-go.

Any thoughts/suggestions on this?

I have intermediate Chinese so I want to stay in China but I am tired of Taiwan.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
johntpartee



Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Posts: 3258

PostPosted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 8:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

What new law are you talking about? Have you been talking to English First?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Californiaz



Joined: 18 Dec 2013
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 10:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

johntpartee wrote:
What new law are you talking about? Have you been talking to English First?


Changes listed here:
http://lawandborder.com/faq-new-china-visa-law/

But the two year "post graduate" experience requirement I guess has always existed, they are just choosing to enforce it now as of the new law change.

Would this actually be a good reason to go through an agent?

Edit: I just looked up English First and it says: "Aged 24 to 55 (due to China working visa requirements)" under qualifications
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
D-M



Joined: 30 Nov 2013
Posts: 114

PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 12:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am working with a 23 year old Z visa holder ... but he is British so its quite possible that he has the two years experience thing ... UK degrees are only 3 years only so he might have graduated at 21. Not sure if that is any help at all really. My bet is employer guanxi made his job happen rather than anything else.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
johntpartee



Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Posts: 3258

PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 2:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
English First says


a lot of things that they try to pass off as "law". I know MANY, MANY teachers who are younger than 24. The visa regulation has a qualifier that basically says "depends on who the school knows".
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Californiaz



Joined: 18 Dec 2013
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 3:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

D-M wrote:
I am working with a 23 year old Z visa holder ... but he is British so its quite possible that he has the two years experience thing ... UK degrees are only 3 years only so he might have graduated at 21. Not sure if that is any help at all really. My bet is employer guanxi made his job happen rather than anything else.


Was this a recent hire?

Is there a way to find an employer with guanxi? I don't want to mislead and say I have experience that I cant prove and I'm too young too.


Quote:
a lot of things that they try to pass off as "law". I know MANY, MANY teachers who are younger than 24. The visa regulation has a qualifier that basically says "depends on who the school knows".


Same question to you, how do i find the guanxi schools?

It is actually the law, I'm not doubting that it isnt enforced all the time but I want to go to a big city (Beijing) and I have read its gotten tight over there. I just need to follow the clues to the you guanxi employers, but dont know what those clues are.

Don't know how to approach the situation or what to do
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
johntpartee



Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Posts: 3258

PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 4:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You DO have two years experience, you said it yourself.

Quote:
I have two years of experience but they are informal


Formal, informal, it's still experience. So what if you can't prove it? They can't DISPROVE it.

As for your reluctance to take the plunge, any position in China is going to have "ifs"; ANYTHING can happen here at any time. Don't mean to scare you and it really doesn't help you much, but......
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
mw182006



Joined: 10 Dec 2012
Posts: 310

PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 4:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You mean companies aren't including their guanxi rating in job ads anymore?!

In all seriousness, you might want to start with some recruiters and see what kind of feedback you get. If you have two years of 'professional experience' on your resume then you might be fine. I came here (Sichuan) in October with zero teaching experience but years of corporate jobs on my resume and it was never an issue. But like you said, Beijing seems to be a little more stringent. Trying to find 'guanxi clues' is like chasing your tail imo. Are you posting on Beijing specific forums too? I stumbled on thebeijinger.com the other day in my search for Chinese food, and it seems they have a pretty active forum. Good luck!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
teenoso



Joined: 18 Sep 2013
Posts: 365
Location: south china

PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 5:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you are interested in Uni positions , contact /register with angelina's cafe (www.anesl.com) , and they will tell you if they can place you . Angelina's Cafe is a semi-official placement service, and reputable and reliable , IME.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
D-M



Joined: 30 Nov 2013
Posts: 114

PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 1:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Californiaz wrote:
D-M wrote:
I am working with a 23 year old Z visa holder ... but he is British so its quite possible that he has the two years experience thing ... UK degrees are only 3 years only so he might have graduated at 21. Not sure if that is any help at all really. My bet is employer guanxi made his job happen rather than anything else.


Was this a recent hire?

Is there a way to find an employer with guanxi? I don't want to mislead and say I have experience that I cant prove and I'm too young too.



It was September of this year, so pretty recent.

Best bet is to contact employers / recruiters and see what they say. EF are out as you have already noted, but that doesnt mean other employers in the same area are. If they can arrange legal paperwork then go for it! Proving experience is unlikely TBH ... just a reasonable resume if likely to be proof enough.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Californiaz



Joined: 18 Dec 2013
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Fri Dec 20, 2013 5:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the feedback guys, I am going to do all of the above in the next few days and see what sticks.

I'll come back with a report once I hear something.

Anyone else who wants to give advice or anything like that please feel free to. Particularly in the post June 1 world.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
smilebella



Joined: 27 Sep 2013
Posts: 9

PostPosted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 6:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey! I know the ease of getting a Z visa varies greatly by province and your employer. But I just graduated university in May and came to China on a Z visa in September, got my residence permit with no issues. And I'm 21, in a not-small city in Jiangsu.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Dan123



Joined: 08 Jan 2014
Posts: 112

PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 2014 11:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sorry to bump this thread, but I thought it would be better than creating a new thread.

Has anybody else who is a recent graduate/young managed to find work that offers a Z visa yet? I'm 21 (graduated in May) and from the UK, but I'm having a lot more trouble than I expected. The vast majority of employers either don't respond to me at all, or try to get me to come over on a tourist/business visa and "promise to get me a Z visa when I arrive". I started off applying in Beijing, then I moved on to cities like Qingdao/Suzhou/Hangzhou, and now I'm into the realm of cities I've never even heard of before (I have an interview for a job in Nantong, Jiangsu tomorrow morning, which I'm hoping goes well, but I'm not counting on it...).

Are TEFL certificates important in China nowadays? Could my lack of a certificate be why most people don't want to bother with me? Pretty much everybody I talked to when I was in China back in June/July told me that TEFL courses are a waste of time and money and that almost all employers in China really don't give a damn about them, but from the look of recent job ads, it looks like that may have changed since the visa rules were updated.

Also, one thing I have been worrying/wondering about a bit... Let's say I managed to find a job and they are willing to get me a Z visa and they send me everything I need. I'll still have to apply for the visa in the UK, so why wouldn't the embassy just reject my application when they see that I'm 21? It's not like I'm going to be able to pull any strings with them. Does the difficulty actually lie in getting a residence permit and not a Z visa?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
johntpartee



Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Posts: 3258

PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 2014 11:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Are TEFL certificates important in China nowadays?


In my experience, no. I've never been asked for it. I submitted my certificate with all my other documents to my present employer and they asked me what it was.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Dan123



Joined: 08 Jan 2014
Posts: 112

PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 2014 11:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

johntpartee wrote:
Quote:
Are TEFL certificates important in China nowadays?
they asked me what it was.


Yeah, that sounds about right from what people told me, but almost all of the job ads that I've been looking at seem to at least mention something along the lines of "TEFL preferred, but not required".

When did you apply for your current job?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> China (Job-related Posts Only) All times are GMT
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling.
Contact Dave's ESL Cafe
Copyright © 2018 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved.

Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group

Teaching Jobs in China
Teaching Jobs in China