advices about going to live in Shenzhen

[bulgarianguy]

Hello everybody ! My short story - I come from Bulgaria in Europe. The summer of 2012 I met my girlfriend, chinese, in USA in Work and Travel program. So we fall in love and now I want to go to live with her in Shenzhen. And everything looks difficult now, I am doing my researches by myself in the internet. What is my best bet to can go there and take all the needed papers like visa, residence and work permits ? I saw is not impossible, but hard to find english teaching job with which I can get all the permits. Because I am non-native (still white european), don't have any teaching experience. I just plan to take a course and have a certificate like TEFL or TESOL. Can I find the needed job like that, with online course with enough hours (like 100-120) and a lot study by myself, because my english now is far than enough to can teach english. I know my best bet will be in some small school or kindergarten, maybe someone can take me as a non native person and without experience, but of course with some certification. Is this my best bet for the beginnin, english teaching ? I have a bachelor degree in university. Looks hard to find another kind of job appropriate for all the permits and working visa. Only high ranked people are needed, like managers. Another question - if I have a personal fitness trainer certificate, can I find the disired job and to can get all the papers for staying, it's like I will help for the health of the people, is it enough to take the permits ? I will appreciate ANY advices, answers, help, information, tricks, everything looks difficult now, and I need a lot of help about my situation. I want to be with my girl at the most, but of course to make enough money for living in the same time. The most important in the beginning will be to can get a suitable job for all the needed papers and documents, and then maybe searching for another job with better salary... Please for ANY help, thanks in advance !

[Shelley]

Is there any other job you could do instead of teaching English? Your post does not inspire me with confidence as to your ability to teach English.

Why not teach your native tongue? Something you know well.

Or some other skill you may have. What is your degree in?

I am not trying to be mean but you might be better off teaching something else.

Good luck and I really hope you can make it work.

[WestTexas]

Get a student or tourist visa and look for work once you get over here. Your English isn't good enough to teach, and anyway, you can't get legal papers to teach English unless you are from an English-speaking country.

[bulgarianguy]

Ops, I mean my english is not enough, I don't pretend is enough to can teach english. I want to study first, improve my self, take a course... Because I can't see many more opportunities to can get permits. If I go there with toursit visa, how can I find some suitable job for visa and work permit ? I asked for a personal fitness trainer is it possible to get the papers ? I don't think I can find a job with teaching my language bulgarian, I don't believe someone study bulgarian in Shenzhen and I don't know chinese or cantonese, to be a translator or something. My degree is Informational brokerage, what chances I have to find a job with that, without any experience I just graduated, and to be suitable for the legal papers... I don't know, so limited choises, I am a little bit desperate and dreaming to live with my girl. Once again I don't pretend I am good in english, just I know some people, non-native found jobs and got papers, at least what I read in the forums and internet. I don't know what else I can do eligable for the working visa and work permit.. If I knew, I wouldn't ask desperately in the forums, thanks. I can do many jobs, but not eligable for the permit maybe, like more normal jobs, but I am ready to do everything in the beginning, just to can go there .

[bulgarianguy]

Also I can't afford to start study there and give money, I need to save a lot just to can go there and start some job. I know some people start business, open a restaurant or something, but in this moment that's impossible for me, I just graduated and don't come from rich family, I will start job in Bulgaria to save money for China, it is hard. Thank you for the responses, I see you want to help and don't think your post is mean Shelley.

[liuzhou]

you can't get legal papers to teach English unless you are from an English-speaking country.

I'm sorry, but that is just not true. I have known several people from non English speaking countries who have taught English here legally with full papers. French, Spanish, German, Dutch.

That said, as he acknowledges, the OP's English is nowhere good enough to teach it.

[WestTexas]

I have known several people from non English speaking countries who have taught English here legally with full papers. French, Spanish, German, Dutch.

So someone bribed someone. Technically, you are supposed to be from New Zealand, South Africa, USA, UK, Ireland, Canada, or Australia. That's the list.

[fanglu]

you are supposed to be from New Zealand, South Africa, USA, UK, Ireland, Canada, or Australia

(Assuming this is true)

It's quite ridiculous really. English is the official (and even only) language in many countries in the Pacific and Caribbean, not to mention places like India, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines where large proportions of the population speak English as their (dual) native language.

Not to mention that just because someone has a passport from an English-speaking country, it doesn't mean they are a native speaker.

[imron]

That's the list.

Are you sure that's not just the desired list of many schools, rather than any sort of legal requirement?

[liuzhou]

So someone bribed someone.

No one bribed anyone. These people work or worked beside me. The official regulations make no reference to country of origin. As Imron suggests, that is just a "preference" of many schools.

[anonymoose]

the OP's English is nowhere good enough to teach it.

It should be "nowhere near good enough".

[liuzhou]

It should be "nowhere near good enough".

Thank you for pointing out the typo in my post. My life is now complete.

[Shelley]

liuzhou, I am not sure anonymoose was correcting a typo, more like correcting an idea The more the OP types the further away from teachable his English gets.

[liuzhou]

liuzhou, I am not sure anonymoose was correcting a typo, more like correcting an idea The more the OP types the further away from teachable his English gets.

It wasn't the OPs post he was correcting. It was mine.

[Ludens]

Bulgarianguy, have you ever been to China? Chances are good that you won't like living there, so you might want to go there a few months before you decide to live there.

[Shelley]

liuzhou, I know it was your post. I was being a bit silly. (nowhere NEAR enough....the more the op types the FURTHER away.......)

Sorry..... if a joke has to be explained it is not a a very good joke, so I will just wonder off and go and sit in an imaginary corner and contemplate my silliness.

[bulgarianguy]

Ludens, I have never been there, but so far I like a lot chinese culture, I have many friends from China and Taiwan last few years and my girl is in China, the main reason to go there, so I think I will be ok there in the east. I have some passion about chinese things, culture and food even before I meet my girlfriend. Thank you for your post. And the others didn't write something useful.. keep saying my enlish is not good enough to teach, yea I understood that. But I wrote a long post and asked another things and another options, like beeing a personal trainer or something. I do wonder about the english teaching possibility, because it's hard to find what I can work for legal papers, it will be so hard to study it and improve myself in english and make a course as a non-native speaker, I don't say I am good in it, I am just looking for chances to go to live in China... My hope was for some small private kindergarten for example, I don't want to be a professor in the university.

[skylee]

OP, the obstacles seem hard for you to overcome. You don't speak Chinese and you can't afford to study it in China. You don't speak English well enough and don't have the qualifications to teach it. And you don't think it is feasible to teach Bulgarian in Shenzhen. It seems to me that basically you don't have the money and skills to survive in China.

OP, must it be you who go to China? If this is not a one-sided thing and you both want to be with each other, is it possible for the girl to move to Bulgaria to be with you? I wonder if it might not be easier for the girl to survive in Bulgaria (working in Chinese restaurants etc) than for you to survive in China.

And have you thought about doing business like trading? Or do some business (trading/design/speculating whatever) which you can conduct online in China as a tourist etc? Do you have any connections with other Bulgarians in China who might help/advise you? And what does your girl friend say/think?

[bulgarianguy]

We talked about that with my girlfriend, she can't come to live in Bulgaria, because she have tight relation with her family and they won't let her leave China so easy. From what I know and from what we have talked many children are like that in China. She can come to travel, but not to live in my country, probably. And I have to go there. I will save money, just starting some work. I didn't know before, that is so hard to live in China, I heard about so many foreigners living there. Actually I am doing some ebay selling right now, but just started, I can't do it for living in this moment, I need a lot of time to develop it to be a business. Also I am looking for some bulgarians in China, but it's hard to find online, I know some people live there, but hard to contact with them, I am searching. I know I can stay in China with tourist visa 90 days and then ? Even if I make some money from trading it will be for 3 months, or I can extend the visa somehow, I don't know so good ? The life is so complicated ! Any ideas for how much money I can open some business, like small restaurant or something and to get the papers for legal stay ? Nobody said something for the personal trainer thing, isn't it valuable reason for the government to take care of the peoples health, I don't know, just searching and thinking about every option, everything looks hard, I didn't expect that for China. But I know I have to go to my girl I can't live here alone without her, that's me. I have to do the sacrifice, it will be impossible for her, because of the family. Are all the foreigners in China english teachers, students or some rich people, nobody could find some normal job without to be a manager or engineer ?

By the way I have a friend, we were in the same class in the university, we finished the same major and class. He is in Singapore now with his girlfriend and i am inspired of him. He found a job as sales assistant and they gave him all the papers, visa and work permit for 1 hear, I think the law is similar in China and Singapore for the foreigners, not completely but still. It's hard there to find a job for the papers . But he could find it somehow, it's not so special job and they gave him the papers. And now he even changed the job, as promoter in some mall.. Should be possible in China too, i don't know. In my head is such a mass, I just dream for one thing, to be with my girl, and then build up our life together... I hope some people can feel my story and hard times, thanks for all the replies.

[skylee]

Are all the foreigners in China english teachers, students or some rich people, nobody could find some normal job without to be a manager or engineer ?

You do know that there are billions of Chinese in China, don't you? They speak Chinese, and they can do the normal jobs, and the competition is keen. If you go to China you will need to compete with them, unless you have something unique, something that they don't have (yet). Knowledge, skills, qualifications, looks, connections, money, etc.