thanks for the information in your reply.

So how can you tell if it is a reputable recruiter/school....or are there no reputable recruiters! should I just dismiss any recruiter that does not offer working visa before arrival in China?

there are so many jobs in china that its hard to distinguish.

I will definetly not enter china without working z visa...so I assume the procedure is 1) you get a job offer from shcool, 2) they send you letter of offer, 3) you take this letter together with passport, z form, photos to chinese embassy where you are, 4)they process your visa for around $30, 5)you collect passport with z visa and go to china, 6)you transfer with help of school your z visa into permit of residence that allows mulit entry.

Have i missed anything?

also my girlfriend is non native speaker but is qualified to teach....does it depend on province you apply in as to whether they issue non native speakers a z visa. one job in guangzhou siad the foreign bureua there does not issue z visas to non natives....so is it just pot luck which province you apply in and which foreign bureau deals with your request?

thanks