Job Discussion Forums

lisalisa_23452 · Joined: 17 Aug 2014 Posts: 13

So, I have been looking through job postings for China and they rarely if ever mention anything about bringing family members over or offering any kind of accommodations for them, unlike some other countries. I know that people are bringing their husbands, wives and children with them to teach in China but when are you mentioning this to the recruiter/school? I don't know when to mention that I have a child that needs to come with me when the majority of the time the recruiters/schools don't even ask. Also, which visa would I need for a child? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

doogsville · Joined: 17 Nov 2011 Posts: 924 Location: China

I can't speak from direct experience, but I think you would struggle here with a child unless you were teaching at an international school which would provide a place for your child as part of the package. The alternative would be to put your child in a local school, which would still take a chunk of your income and probably wouldn't be much fun for the little one unless they already speak Chinese fluently.

You'd need a dependants visa for the family, not too difficult to get I understand, but you would need the help of your employer.

To answer you original question though, I would think you should be mentioning your child at the very beginning of any conversation you have with a recruiter or employer. As to accommodation, you would need an apartment rather than the hostel type accommodation that some universities provide or the shared apartments so loved by the private schools. So again, best to let them know from the get go.

happeningthang · Joined: 08 Oct 2003 Posts: 117

How old is your child?

lisalisa_23452 · Joined: 17 Aug 2014 Posts: 13

Non Sequitur · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 4724 Location: China

The only experience I had was when working as DTA at a vocational, I was asked to speak to a couple with 2 kids who had applied to teach (from Denmark I recall).
They were doing due diligence as per the oft-repeated advice on Dave's.
After going through all the hoops including arranging leave from their home jobs, my school pulled the plug.
From what I could gather (the FAO was v embarrassed) the final sign off on the hire went to the college president who stopped the process for unknown reasons. Normally his sign off was automatic.
Never found out if this was the children issue, but I rather think it was.
My advice is put it front and centre in your job search and get whatever assurances you can that bringing children is not a make or break.
Best

Curtinca · Joined: 26 Feb 2016 Posts: 73

OP, why did you begin your post with "So"? This trend -- using "So" to indicate that one is talking (or, it appears, writing) -- has been the subject of some discussion in other threads. Where did you learn to do that? Would you teach your students to do that?

getbehindthemule · Joined: 15 Oct 2015 Posts: 712 Location: Shanghai

Non Sequitur · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 4724 Location: China

It's rhetorical and perfectly acceptable in that context.
It indicates a feeling of shared experience and 'having regard to all that's gone before'.

Foo_Fighters_Dave · Joined: 09 Dec 2016 Posts: 162

You should be telling prospective employers as soon as you apply so you don't waste your time or the employers. If they know right off the bat and decline, you can look for another position that will If you wait until the last second and they decline hiring you for that reason, you wasted valuable time and resources on that job.

Foo_Fighters_Dave · Joined: 09 Dec 2016 Posts: 162

You should be telling prospective employers as soon as you apply so you don't waste your time or the employers. If they know right off the bat and decline, you can look for another position that will If you wait until the last second and they decline hiring you for that reason, you wasted valuable time and resources on that job.

Curtinca · Joined: 26 Feb 2016 Posts: 73

Non Sequitur · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 4724 Location: China

RiverMystic · Joined: 13 Jan 2009 Posts: 1986

BadBeagleBad · Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2017 4:08 pm Post subject:

OhBudPowellWhereArtThou · Joined: 02 Jun 2015 Posts: 1168 Location: Since 2003

So I think it's actually a bad idea for you to bring a child that age to China unless you expect to stay for a very long time, have the child educated at least through the primary grades at a Chinese school or at a real international school, and raise him bilingually so that he gets the most out of the experience.

So when you return to you home country, you will face some strong questioning and your child will probably be required to test into his next appropriate grade. Unless he does well on the test, he may be held back a grade or two.

It seems that few would-be foreign teachers headed to china with a child in tow rarely give this much thought.

So to answer your question: be up-front about bringing a dependent with you. Some schools may be a good fit for you, but a bad fit for your child.