I'm not sure about all the foreign teachers' experiences with City College, but I've known quite a handful of them as they were mostly shacked up in some apartments in Xili. Quite an eclectic group of people indeed. Lots of good conversations from people of many different ages, backgrounds, and citizenships. But I did hear about quite a lot that were coaxed into coming to China on any visa they can, typically a tourist visa. And even though many of them were native speakers, some of these teachers had a hard time applying for a proper work visa. So they were forced to make frequent trips to Hong Kong. Some even "purchased" a 10 year of some sort. Paid top RMB too.

As for the teaching experiences, it was a mixed bag. As you may or may not know, Shenzhen has a lot of residents who are not locals. The ones that have been there for a long time (10 plus years) are generally really well off because either the government gave them housing, which they were then able to rent out to newcomers and not have to bear any of the taxation (that is the responsibility of the poor suckers that arrived too late), or they were able to take advantage of the cheaper housing costs. Now, it's ridiculously overpriced. You think the American sub-prime mortgage, mortgage backed security, credit default swap financial crisis was bad? Wait until the market corrects itself in China. Those concrete flats in an ugly skyscraper are not worth 90,000 RMB (over 13k USD) or whatever the price is per square meter (10.76 square feet). Anyway, to make a short story a little long, some of their students were exactly, paid attention, and always participated in their classroom activities. Some students are simply remnants of the cultural revolution... you know the good ol' days of China when the intellectuals were persecuted and put on display for public defamation and the intellectually declined cranked out something like 200 million more babies in the span of about 10 years? Anyway, there has always been a class of enlightened Chinese people that really value education and love to learn foreign languages among other bodies of knowledge. But there are also way more that just care about getting married young (early twenties), having babies young, chilling in their concrete blocks, playing with their phones, and sitting around doing nothing all day.

So back to City College. Even with foreign teachers who knew not to go to China without a proper work visa, many were not allowed to receive their foreign expert cancellation letters, which if you know anything about the bureaucracy in China, this document is essential in order to transfer to another employer. Problem is many of their residency permits expired either on June 30th, which is totally messed up if you're trying to transfer, or July 15th, which is better but they often didn't grant this letter until just before July 15th. Luckily, Hong Kong is not China, regardless of how petulantly the communist party wants to insist that it is... along with Taiwan. So they can simply cross the border into Hong Kong or Macau for that matter to avoid overstaying their visas, which would result in a fine of who knows how much (10k RMB last I saw) and or jail time.

So I'd say that if you want to work in Shenzhen for a year or two. Sure, City college is an option. But if you're looking to transfer to another employer in Shenzhen or another city, things can get hectic as the staff at city college are pretty petty and vindictive. Personally, I think it's better to go to smaller cities because you have more opportunities to learn Mandarin and see what regular China is like. Also, your money goes much further. The part-time jobs make it worth it to stay in Shenzhen, but it could be difficult if you are not white person as the Chinese are pretty racist. Even eastern Europeans, you know non-native speakers, could get jobs much easier than natives with dark skin or Asian features.

So....weigh your options. Hope this was informative.

Agencies that sell out foreign teachers to other schools are known for not paying these teachers properly. They are outright crooks. Everywhere in China.

Your report about that couple below who got into trouble with the PSB in Shenzhen for working illegally actually confirms what I said in my previous post. I have it from first-hand sources, i.e. the chief officer of Shenzhen immigration when he controlled my new Z visa obtained in Hongkong.

Agencies such as this one get foreign teachers into trouble because of their false information given on purpose.

I generally refrain from commenting upon schools in China as there often two sides to the story. I personally never worked for Shenzhen City College but my best friend and his wife did. They were eventually picked up by the PSB for working in the country on illegal visas. They were remanded to prison for about ten days, as they did not have the money for the fine. They were deported and banned from China for five years. Their biometrics were taken so that they could not just not obtain new passports and return. Shenzhen City College just turned a blind eye to their problems, problems created by Shenzhen City College.

The bit about housing is tricky. If they cannot provide housing for free, you shouldn't go there and look somewhere else. You may be expected to pay a lot of money up-front which you will never see back if you get private housing.

Also, be very wary of working illegally. Shenzhen is a city where immigration is tough and always ready to hunt down illegal foreign workers. So, make sure that you will get a new residence permit and work visa before you sign up with them. Ask them for a copy of their license to hire foreigners. If they cannot or are not willing to provide evidence, give them a big miss. Something must be wrong then.

I was offered a contract by this company called Shenzhen City College to start on the 21 September 2017. I am currently working for a school here in China which supported my Z Visa while in my own country. I am tempted to terminate my contract which is due to expire in December 2017.I do not like to work here anymore and need to transfer to Shenzhen. I signed a contract with Shenzhen City College with 15,000RMB salary better than what a earn.
Is this an agent?
Who pays my salary?
Am i attached to a school?
They said food is free and will start by staying at a hotel until i am supported to look for my personal apartment[ 2500RMB House Allowance]
How credible is this company?
What will happen to my Z Visa, Foreign Expert Certificate and Residence permit?

Please, help me make a good decision,
Regards
Douglas

Your email address is Russian. If you are a citizen of Russia with a university degree from Russia, you will be unable to acquire a residency permit as a teacher of English. If you have received your degree from one of the approved 'English native language countries', I'm told that some provinces will accept you.

If Shenzhen City College is willing to 'game the system' by stating that you will be teaching Russian, they may be able to obtain a residency permit for you as a Russian teacher. I know of Universities in Dongbei that have been doing this, but they actually have Russian language departments and significant Russian communities in their city.

The same process occurs when Japanese or Korean nationals end up teaching oral English in a university language department.

Had a really bad experience trying to deal with this agent who invited me to China re' work. Constant misrepresentations and lies. If you have any sense have nothing to do with him. Also had a very bad experience trying to work at Shenzhen city college. Again a lot of misrepresentations and lies. China can be a very difficult country to work in for a number of reasons but I have never experienced this sort of trouble, ever.

He works through an organisation called 'china esl teacher's association', and all I can say is that they appear as corrupt and low as it is possible to get.

I'm a bit older and more experienced than most, and am still calm, despite him shouting the threat over the phone 'you're dead in China!' at me for reporting him to the police, on the advice of the British Consul in Beijing. 'Action for Fraud' in the UK have also taken on the case against him, as monies were spent in the UK before travelling re' the invitation.

Life goes on..