Maybe Tony has only had a single job offer following his job-seeking exercise. If that's the case, it may well be because his teaching experience, if any, and/or his teaching qualifications have not impressed many prospective employers, assuming he's contacted many, that is. It may also be because he's only applied for jobs in the more desirable parts of China. Another thing we don't know for sure is when his new job is due to start. If he is required urgently, that would explain the recruiter suggesting the L visa route. We cannot make an informed judgement without the proper background information. Another thing is his employment package, which will depend to a large extent on the kind of job he'd be doing. Generally speaking, middle school oral teaching pays a little better than most university jobs do. That said, using a recruiter loses you money, but sometimes it can be a good idea to use one. He can switch you to another school if you are not accepted by the first school or you are not happy there. But that can only be done within a month. For example, you might be placed in a middle school. The semester starts earlier there than at universities or colleges as a rule. If things don't work out there, you may still be able to move on by taking a job in higher education to give you a second bite at the cherry. It's in that kind of situation that the L visa comes into its own. It's so much easier to switch cities/provinces with it, and you should have been able to get a 90-dayer in your homeland before you arrived here, giving you stacks of time to arrange another job if need be. As you're in-country, you'll have the edge over jobseekers in their homelands at that time. The prospective employer will have more faith in you not to let him down! As yu have more leeway and time with an L visa, you can refuse bait and switch tactics re your employment package if that old con is tried on you. And there's no need to take a second medical in China after taking one in your homeland. Another thing is, if you take a medical in one province, teach there just for one semester, mutually agreeing termination of your contract, and then move on to a job in another province, the PSB there will probably insist you do another medical in the second province in spite of the fact your current medical is more than 6 months in date! Officialdom tends to apply provincial employment regulations to your disadvantage with no leeway/common sense. This is a typical inflexible and beaurocratic scenario that one often comes up against here. That said, the regulations and processes are heavily in favour of the employers. That's a problem you can counteract to some extent by not following the recommended system. But what I think is far more important than visa type is to know your potential employer's reputation before you sign with him. And always have plenty of cash at hand in case things go pear-shaped here. Finally, avoid all training centres and private schools/colleges/universities if you can. Be wary of agents and recruiters, but don't discount them. Some of them are reputable and can get you a good job.

[Edited by Administrator (admin) Thu, 30 Jun 2011, 08:19 AM]