And you shouldn't expect much friendship from other laowei here. They usually have their own wesel-like agendas and can be self-serving.

Not all, but a lot.

And I think the degrees will become a problem in the future.

Fact is, you're the boss - you can pull a runner and they can do absolutely nothing.

While I did miss that part with the Associate's Degree, for that you did well on your part. But I do know that pulling a runner can still land you in hot water, and it hasn't changed. If the school decides to pursue legal action on their part you will risk being blacklisted and even have your Resident Permit in your own passport cancelled without the authorities ever needing to lay a hand on your passport. I know Foxy because of your marriage to a Chinese citizen you have that long Resident Permit which makes life easier for you. But for foreign teachers without this they must obtain a Foreign Experts Certificate which has the exact location of where they work as well as the RP which also says which city you are working or supposed to be working in.

If you switch jobs within China, your new company will need to get a new Resident Permit as well as a new Foreign Experts Certificate. This means getting a proper Letter of Release with the red stamp at the bottom of the letter. Some Provinces require that a Letter of Release be given through printing out the form which they will email you and you need to print that out and fill it out, ending with the red stamp at the bottom. From my own personal experience most companies and public schools will accept a typed up, regular letter with normal form but the red stamp is unavoidable. Some provinces may require you fill out the official form though. The new place will also surely place a call to your old place of work asking about your performance at your last job.

Maybe Inner Mongolia is different, but having worked in the north of china specifically in the Northwest I can say that no matter where you go within China if you are single and by yourself you are at the complete mercy of your Employer and the Chinese Government who will not be on your side if you dispute a case, do not think you can get lucky in this respect. Private employers will abuse this to no end, while management at public schools while still narcissistic and self centered will leave you more alone.

For Teacher who are new to the China scene, realize you will not be given unconditional trust or find like minded, idealistic Chinese people who want to accept you no matter what. Expect a lot of utility on their end and do not think the local expats who have lived in China for a while will be of any help, as there can be a pattern with expats with being more selfish the longer they live in China. Call that assimilation if you will.

If I were you, I wouldn't study anything at present. The Chinese have surely overhauled their regulations re employment of FTs, and I wouldn't trust them to do so realistically, bearing in mind the way they've overreacted in the past and shot themselves in the foot re One World One (pipe) Dream Olympic Year of 08'. They lost big bucks at that time by being over-selective on enntry requirements, so many foreigners stuck it up 'em by not coming.

Take a chance, or wait and see. I suspect HK visa runs will go out the window soon. But if you choose to take a chance, arrive with funds to get you out of a corner if things turn pear-shaped. Money counts above morals in China, unlike in the West!

This is the last time I will be nice responding to you. You will not reply with the "am I right or am I right" shenannigan to me. It is patronizing and I have told you before to stop talking to me like this, I don't care where you got this phrase from. It is especially annoying when you don't even take your own advice and look at your own conflicting statements.

I had a friend who was given an F Visa after getting it converted from an L Visa by the chinese university that formerly employed him. They however lied about the duration of the F Visa and told him it was valid for 6 months. Well it turned out that he needed to leave every 2 months in order to keep the F Visa legitimate. He ended up holding the bag and paying the penalty while the school got away scotch free. I posted this a while back and most of the responses I got on this board was that while what happened to him was unfortunate, he should have gotten a Z Visa from the beginning.

You seem to constantly skim the law when it suits you but you will tell other teachers to not break any laws or "grumble" when they are in China. I think you should be a bit more consistent.

That also goes for those FTs who have got the required credentials.

Those FT's wouldn't go to China with just a tefl. They would head to Hong Kong/South Korea/Taiwan. Believe me I have known many of them and they can pick and choose.

A bit irresponsible on your end if I may say so myself. Even if people come to China on L's and get them converted to F's it doesn't necessarily mean the playing field is even for everyone. Depending on how you look and your age you may or may not be subjugated to the whims of the local powers that be. Better to take the more conservative approach.

You don't have a degree. What about 2 years of relevant work experience? Probably not, either! You can bet it'll be very difficult for you to obtain a Z visa. The problem will be your employer will be hard-pushed to get your Foreign Expert Certificate from the Provincial Education Bureau. Without the FEC, it'll almost impossible to get the Z visa. Provinces where it won't work are Liaoning, Jinan, Yunnan and Sichuan. Provinces where (illegal) guanxi between an employer and said Bureau COULD still work are Jilin, Guangxi, Shanxi, Heilongjiang and Shaanxi. I know for sure there are FTs without university degrees with Z visas and valid Residence Permits working years on end in those places. But if those FTs try to change to most other provinces, they won't be able to get a new Foreign Expert Certificate, and thus no new Z visa.

The best way is to get a single entry F in your homeland. This can only be done with the assistance of your prospective employer. The good thing about it is it's valid for 180 days.

Some FTs have used fake degree certificates to obtain legal employment in China. I have seen one from Khao San Road, Bangkok. It was a first-class forgery, but if you chose this kind of deceitful method, present it to Chinese employers in the backward provinces where provincial education bureau staff are likely to be careless and dilatory at work.

And don't arrive poor in China. You need funds available in case things go pear-shaped. That also goes for those FTs who have got the required credentials.

Ren, you are taking a bit of a risk. For me, there have been experiences where the school will send you to Hong Kong to get a legitimate Z Visa after you arrive in China, and being that you would be going on an L Visa they are required by law to do this or else you would technically be working illegally.

The best(and most professional) way to carry this out is ask your school to send a Letter of Invitation (this is the offical name of the document)to you, go and fill out a Health Check Form which can be downloaded from the Chinese Consulate website and then spend some money at a local clinic in your home country getting a physical and get the doctor doing it to fill the form out, obtain about three 2 inch passport photos, make a copy of the front page which is the picture page of your passport, and bring all of these things to the Chinese Consulate and fill out the Visa Application Form there(you may also download it as well from their website). Now I am not sure about this but your school may also need to send you a copy of their Organization Code Certificate (Kind of like a Business I.D. number that a corporation would have) called a "Zu Zhi Ji Gou Dai Ma Zheng". You will need all of these docuements to get that Z Visa, which from my personal experience carried a 30 day period of validity which means your school will need to provide you with a Resident Permit within 30 days after you arrive in China. This Resident Permit is a sticker that is also placed inside your passport allotting you the time in which you can stay in China, usually for the length of the contract that you sign with the school, maybe a little bit shorter though (so the school can try and get away with not paying your flight allowance since you didn't work there technically for 1 whole year).

If you decide to do the L Visa route, be sure to have enough money to get a Health Check at the local health clinic wherever you go in China. They will give you a small orange booklet called the Certificate of Health Examination. From there your school is responsible for providing the necessary documents stated in the previous paragraph except the Health Check Form in order for you to go to Hong Kong and obtain the Z Visa.

Now some schools will do things the illegal way by constantly extending your L Visa by 90 days every time your L Visa runs out of time at the local Police Station. If you are not asked to get a health check or do a visa run then you can expect that this will be the way for the school to keep you around. While this is convenient, it is also illegal. You will risk being detained as well as blacklisted from working in China if you choose to go this route. Whatever you do, please realize that you cannot be too careful when dealing with business as it's done the Chinese way. Good luck.

I have no degree but I do have a Tefl certificate. I have gotten a job offer from an agent of China but the girl wants me to get a tourist visa and travel to China. Do you think it's ok for me?