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naturegirl321
Joined: 04 May 2003
Posts: 9041
Location: home sweet home
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 Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 2:12 am Post subject: TEFL cert required for visa? |
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| I recently heard that CHina is now requiring TEFL certs in order to get work visas. Is this true? Is China raising its standards for its teachers? |
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dean_a_jones
Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 1151
Location: Wuhan, China
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| Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 2:36 am Post subject: |
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Where did you hear this?
I don't believe it is true, and I know people who have recently come into the country to teach (on the z-visa) without having this kind of qualification.
It may be the case that a specific school/city/province is now asking for TEFL certification in order to get the paperwork sorted, but I do not think it is a government requirement for the visa itself. |
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naturegirl321
Joined: 04 May 2003
Posts: 9041
Location: home sweet home
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| Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 2:56 am Post subject: |
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| dean_a_jones wrote: |
Where did you hear this?
I don't believe it is true, and I know people who have recently come into the country to teach (on the z-visa) without having this kind of qualification.
It may be the case that a specific school/city/province is now asking for TEFL certification in order to get the paperwork sorted, but I do not think it is a government requirement for the visa itself. |
From the LP boards. Said it was a new thing? And that if teachers don't have it, schools often "help" teachers get them. |
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keeperofpythons
Joined: 28 Jan 2010
Posts: 152
Location: zhu san jiao
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| Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 2:57 am Post subject: |
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| This is in place, in theory, but it's always interpreted at the local level. At my current job in Shanxi, I had no relevant experience or cert before starting my current job. By the time my current contract runs out, I'll have the 2 years experience I need plus the CELTA I scooped up last month. There are a handful of provinces where you can do the same, but off of the top of my head, I know that Shanxi (山西) and Henan are the top two. Henan is #1 for sure. If you fall into the same category as I did, then do some specific research about some realistic places you'd like to go. Do your time, get a cert during said time, and move on. |
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naturegirl321
Joined: 04 May 2003
Posts: 9041
Location: home sweet home
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| Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 3:05 am Post subject: |
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| keeperofpythons wrote: |
| This is in place, in theory, but it's always interpreted at the local level. At my current job in Shanxi, I had no relevant experience or cert before starting my current job. By the time my current contract runs out, I'll have the 2 years experience I need plus the CELTA I scooped up last month. There are a handful of provinces where you can do the same, but off of the top of my head, I know that Shanxi (山西) and Henan are the top two. Henan is #1 for sure. If you fall into the same category as I did, then do some specific research about some realistic places you'd like to go. Do your time, get a cert during said time, and move on. |
Thanks so much for the info. It wasn't so much that I don't have a cert, I do, I was just shocked to see that places in CHina were requiring it in order to get a visa. |
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dean_a_jones
Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 1151
Location: Wuhan, China
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| Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 3:14 am Post subject: |
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| naturegirl321 wrote: |
| From the LP boards. Said it was a new thing? And that if teachers don't have it, schools often "help" teachers get them. |
People should definitely exercise caution here, particularly if they are trying to get you to sign up for something like a course with a 'partner' or 'friendly' institution so you are certified. This may not always be the case, but sounds pretty dodgy to me.
| keeperofpythons wrote: |
| At my current job in Shanxi, I had no relevant experience or cert before starting my current job. By the time my current contract runs out, I'll have the 2 years experience I need plus the CELTA I scooped up last month |
Do you need the two years experience (which I know is required, or meant to be anyway) or the certificate? As far as I am aware, schools are meant to make sure you have the two years experience and a university degree (though you may be able to get a job without the experience, or even the degree), but not necessarily a TEFL certificate (though they may want to make this a requirement themselves in order to get more qualified teachers). Can you clarify? |
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keeperofpythons
Joined: 28 Jan 2010
Posts: 152
Location: zhu san jiao
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| Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 4:06 am Post subject: |
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| The letter of the law nationwide requires both, however some places want both, care about neither, ask for a legit uni degree and then forge the tefl, only care about the tefl, or anything between. The variety is so vast that it doesn't really matter. One should just look for what they can reasonably get with whatever quals they do or don't have. Even adverts that ask for any of the above will occasionally just take what they can get and just pay the police bribe. Shanxi province started getting stricter about meeting all of the requirements recently, and I needed to get some kind of cert after I signed my last contract renewal. Insofar as tightening occurred after signing a new contract and having it validated by the local government, they conceded to my point that they should pay for it since the tightening was nonexistent on the day that I signed the contract. Paying a police bribe was still cheaper than paying for me to go to a dirt-cheap course. |
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naturegirl321
Joined: 04 May 2003
Posts: 9041
Location: home sweet home
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| Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 4:32 am Post subject: |
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| dean_a_jones wrote: |
| Do you need the two years experience (which I know is required, or meant to be anyway) or the certificate? As far as I am aware, schools are meant to make sure you have the two years experience and a university degree (though you may be able to get a job without the experience, or even the degree), but not necessarily a TEFL certificate (though they may want to make this a requirement themselves in order to get more qualified teachers). Can you clarify? |
I was told you need the cert.
My understanding, China asks for
two years exp
BA degree
to get you a visa.
though employers seem willing to help out those without. |
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platinum peyote
Joined: 25 Dec 2008
Posts: 149
Location: Nanjing, near the bus stop
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| Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 6:38 am Post subject: |
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| What does it matter in the end? When I worked in Suzhou, all the Brits save one at my workplace used fake degrees and certs. If your boss has guanxi, anything can slide visa-wise. |
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naturegirl321
Joined: 04 May 2003
Posts: 9041
Location: home sweet home
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| Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 7:16 am Post subject: |
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| It would be nice to see the standards go up. Fake degrees and such just bring salaries down. |
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AngelinaShu
Joined: 08 Aug 2011
Posts: 14
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 10:22 pm Post subject: Re: TEFL cert required for visa? |
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| naturegirl321 wrote: |
| I recently heard that CHina is now requiring TEFL certs in order to get work visas. Is this true? Is China raising its standards for its teachers? |
Hello, a tefl school representative told me that in order to get a working visa in Shanghai or Beijing one must have a degree. Apparently this is a new requirement.
Other cities in China do not require degrees. Is this true?
I have a college diploma and want to work in Shanghai. Will it be possible for me to find a job and get a working visa?
Thank you for any information! |
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champ
Joined: 28 Jul 2007
Posts: 94
Location: Kerla
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| Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 6:24 am Post subject: |
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| This degree requirement has been there for a while.now a days they are implementing it everywhere.Yes,you need a degree(any stream) plus a TEFL.I have seen people getting there visas by showing online tefl.As far as a degree is concerned,yes,you need one. |
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LongShiKong
Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 1082
Location: China
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| Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 2:09 am Post subject: |
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| platinum peyote wrote: |
| What does it matter in the end? When I worked in Suzhou, all the Brits save one at my workplace used fake degrees and certs. If your boss has guanxi, anything can slide visa-wise. |
That's funny! Those unemployed/unemployable anywhere, take note!
Thanks to the increased demand and competition for foreign 'faces', you generally only need a degree. Ad 'requirements' are only what the school hopes to find but most schools will readily compromise on one, or all requirements. |
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