Supposing some school did offer you a job and you did feel like working once again, would it be possible for you to change your status and get a working permit, or would you have to leave and re-enter the country?

Is it against Chinese law to work after 60 or is it just that they won't offer you a job at that age? What about somebody like Turnoi with all his doctorates and knowledge of ancient and modern Chinese; surely they wouldn't say to him 'piss off you old wanker, you're over sixty?' (No disrespect Turnoi, just making a point. I am sure your eyesight will always be sharp as a hawk.) Or is it one rule for an ordinary FT and another for a top professor?

Following the information you've given me so far I'm getting a bit nervous of embarking on illegal teaching. The thing is I have attained 61 and not really a teacher. On the other hand my training centre says Oh contrary you are a good teacher.

I think I would go mad in China without work to do. Supposing I was silly enough to think that fish&chips with curry sauce and mushy peas would sell down the market; would they say you can't have a license on account of being 61?

You'd have to leave and re-enter.

I believe it's illegal to work after 60, but that law might mot be applied universally. If you are 60 or over 60 and working on a work RP, you'd be legally employed.

Chinese employers, especially training centers, tend not to tell the truth if they are desparate for FTs.

Some westerners live to work. Not me, so I don't mind doing nothing.
I suppose it would be ok to be self-employed selling fast food in a market, or get into some Chinese charity organisation as an unpaid volunteer.

Mandatory expulsion. Can't return for 3 years, wife or not. I'd think wife would not be fined. Your fine would be 20K rmb minimum.

Yep, Patrick McGoohan.

Scots are their own worst enemies. They must be fuming as every local authority had voted to remain in the EC. After having rejected independence in the 2014 referendum, many will feel in retrospect that the wrong decision was made at that time. Cornishmen have a mind of their own, as do many Northerners.

Just to add, the med cost about 18 months ago at my PSB WAS 320 rmb, and 3 photos were needed.
And although I had 3 photos left for my new RP, of which only one was required, from 160 days before, or so, taken at the PSB, a photo taken there that morning was demanded.

Dare I ask what would happen if you can't raise the 20k plus fine? I suppose a jealous training centre could rat on another one that you were being illegally employed; so I suppose it would be best to illegally work for an agency which has a good few teachers.

I don't believe there would be any justification for the SNP to embroil the people in another vote because the possibility of Britain leaving Europe was up for consideration and known about before the last Scottish vote. Hopefully the people will want to see how things in Europe pan out.

PSBs around China seem to vary then. I gave them 5 year old photo/s of myself and new 1" ones for the kid taken in small village.

You say being nabbed for working illegally would have serious consequences. How serious; time in a Chinese jail, heavy fine and eventual expulsion- that serious? How about ones wife would she be vulnerable for aiding and abetting?

That 'Danger Man' rings a bell;was that the actor who went on to do 'The Prisoner?'

Scotland seemed to vote to remain but I imagine there were many Scots who also voted to leave. At the other end Cornwall towed the line with the other Northerners.

Mandatory expulsion. Can't return for 3 years, wife or not. I'd think wife would not be fined. Your fine would be 20K rmb minimum.

Yep, Patrick McGoohan.

Scots are their own worst enemies. They must be fuming as every local authority had voted to remain in the EC. After having rejected independence in the 2014 referendum, many will feel in retrospect that the wrong decision was made at that time. Cornishmen have a mind of their own, as do many Northerners.

Just to add, the med cost about 18 months ago at my PSB WAS 320 rmb, and 3 photos were needed.
And although I had 3 photos left for my new RP, of which only one was required, from 160 days before, or so, taken at the PSB, a photo taken there that morning was demanded.

Londoners must be boking...LOL!

Not Londoners but the majority of the London population. Bit scary that a major referendum outcome could have been altered by people from outside.

Where I am, the PSB is closed at the weekend.

Just got my new RP approved. Paid 400 RMB for 180 days. Med not required, would have been if I'd have applied for 360 days, costing 800 RMB.

Had to do photos again, after 180 days - 25 RMB wasted in my view.
Will get passport back on 20th, applied on 20th, current RP valid until 7 July. Needn't my passport as I've no urgent travel plans. Of course, I have my receipt.

BTW, training centers are always seeking FTs. But I had never worked for any before my retirement.
hina still you must get bored surely
Thanks for that, I'll go now on Tuesday.

You have calculated well. How much did you save on the medical? I noticed on the PSB forms that the squares to stick the photos inside were smaller than passport size and for 1" photos. So i was accidentally right when i got ten 1" ones for our child for 10yuan at the next village. Although I am sure they would have accepted passport tesco photo booth 4 for 5 quid size. Those were the ones I brought from UK for myself.

Will you ever consider coming out of retirement and tying your horse outside that training centre. If you are in China still you must get bored, unless unlike me you speak the lingo? I imagine one could get fed up with constant reviewing of Dads Army and Minder?

I was mainly talking about FTs aged between 55 and 59. They are eligible to be employed legally, but many Chinese employers don't want to employ them because of health concerns. That said, pupils, their parents and students have great influence on an FT's continuing employment. I'm sure that there have been many FTs who taught reasonably well who have been sacked unfairly over the years because of this.

Job security is more likely to be in place in the public education sector than in the private education sector. Not much point spending a lot of money to get to China to teach, and subsequently be sacked within a couple of months of taking up a teaching post.

I see. Although it seems longer to me I have only been here for about 3 weeks. I can't be employed legally but there seems to be a hiring frenzy to employ the likes of me. The wife keeps giving training centres my number. I am now telling them I am not considering anything until my flat is ready to move into. The main reason being is I have to know where the flat is in relation to a training centre:- will the buses get me there and back?- will my new electric vehicle hold enough charge for the journey? I can't wait to get out of this village, they seems nosy and suspicious in these small towns. It was hot so I took a swig of Tsingtao from the bottle the other day and this old fart came up to me(he's about 75 but wears a police shirt with police and jigchar on it) and told me BU HAO!

I was told that if I called on 25th the PSB would give me back my passport, which the lack of is delaying the flat conveyancing, so do you know if the PSB will in fact be open for business tomoorow on a Saturday?

Was it the extra cash, or was it your options having been greatly reduced on account of your age?

At what age would that be then, when you are over 60 but can still be employed illegally, or over say 30 when the students find you too old to relate to? When can you expect to earn less on account of your age? It wouldn't surprise me if schools want to hire 21 year old teachers as opposed to 31 year old/or old enough to be their dads for the the juniors. I suppose a professor like Turnoi is exempt from this age consideration and can get a uni job in Beijing aged 92 and in a wheelchair like Hawkins.

To those looking to teach overseas, this is yet another cautionary tale.

I was found online by a recruiter named "Jack" under the banner of a company called Bole Management Consulting Co., herein referred to as "Bole". I had never heard of this organization, and proceeded with caution. Jack offered me a job at a language center in Chongqing city, but contract details looked fishy, containing a "probationary period" clause, and a start date different from the one we agreed upon.

Two weeks of going back and forth on Skype revealed that the school was apparently run by very young women who were the only ones there who could speak English, albeit broken. My questions about details and provisions would not get answered time and again, and Jack was hasty to rush things along. Finally, a contract arrived in the postal mail, and I reported back that I would not be signing it. After stating that the deal was "closed" between Bole and myself, Jack then threatened to report me to Chinese authorities, stating that I had broken an agreement, and that I would eventually be forbidden to work in the People's Republic of China.

A day of researching yielded many Chinese companies named "Bole" (pronounced: BUO-Luo) and that he was connected with none of them. The domain of his e-mail address included a ".cn" which is a government domain, and therefore not to be used privately. Next, I found out that "bolebj.cn" did not exist at all.

After having called him out, he soon after removed me from Skype contacts, and removed his Linked In connection to me.

I know that this has happened many times before to countless others. However, many such individuals have been taken for a serious ride by characters posing as recruiters for Chinese agencies large and small. I have had these interactions before, but to little or no consequence. It only ended in a tremendous waste of time for all involved.

Please know that this is par for the course in overseas education recruitment. I have solid and direct contact with a handful of reputable Chinese universities and institutes, and will proceed with them on into the hiring stage if I see fit. Direct contact is the way to go in this regard, so do take great care and do not give it all away.

There are many Jacks out there, and there will be many more. Tread carefully. An individual in his living room with a laptop can cause tremendous grief.