Job Discussion Forums

[Alien abductee]

[Bud Powell]

[wonderingjoesmith]

Some of the recent postings on this thread that suggest researching before landing the job and that blame foreign teachers for their misery and that ignore the corrupt job market and regulations are proving how tough looking into the employment prospects on mainland China is. I guess this is as narcissistic as it gets here.

[vikeologist]

What exactly do you mean by 'corrupt job market and regulations'?



Anyway.... Anybody who does any research into teaching in China will soon discover allegations of lying, cheating and corruption. Anything that an employer in China tells you should be treated with a great deal of scepticism.

It's unfortunate. Being sceptical and untrusting might mean missing out on opportunities, or annoying potential employers. There comes a point where if you ask an employer too many questions, or want to talk to too many current teachers, they may get the impression that you're a potential troublemaker, but you have to get verification of anything they say.

There are bad, bad people in China. Boo hoo. I don't excuse them. I don't condone their behaviour.

If you come to China, people will try to cheat you. In Chinese culture, cheating people outside of your immediate circle isn't really such a terrible thing. Getting a load of money by cheating a gullible dumbass might even be considered admirable. That's the way it is.

I would dispute that it's just in China. I think all expatriates have to put up with this all over the world.

[Juice]

[Bud Powell]

I met many foreigners in Beijing that got their invitation letters from private companies


Foreign teachers?! If this is possible, would someone please educate me about this?

Can a Company write a letter for invitation for a foreigner to work without going through the government first?

Were these people employed by a school?

Did they have Z visas?

Must not the employer be approved by the government to hire foreigners?

I can see how this could be true, but I don't believe it is.

Again, someone educate me about how this is accomplished. I was offered a full-time position by two Chinese companies (associated with industry) that were to start at the end of my teaching contract, but each time, each company was told that it could not write a letter of invitation for me to obtain a Z visa because it was not authorized to hire foreigners.

I believe very little of what westerners in China tell me about their arrival in China and their personal circumstances.

[Juice]

[Bud Powell]

Internships instead of Z visas are largely foreign to me. I've known a few FTs who came on F visas, but the internship thing is outrageous. Is there even an internship visa?

I believe that to issue any sort of invitation to hire a foreigner still requires the employer to obtain some degree of approval from the/a Foreign Experts Bureau.

[wangdaning]

Wait, if the schools issue the letters that means they have been lying all along about some people needing to go to their home countries to get a z visa. They simply needed to re-write the invitation letter specifying another country.

I know for sure that the invitation letter I used to apply for my Z viza in HK came from the provincial authority. It has their stamp and name on it (and not anything from the school I work for except their name). I am not going to believe anyone from an embassy/consulate, they told my I couldn't get my visa in HK.

As far as working illegally on business visas, yes companies have been issuing the letters for that for ages.