Visa for short-term work?

[Abe]

I am looking for English teaching work in China, and I'm thinking I might want to try out a location before committing to a full year contract.  I have hears it is definitely illegal to come on a tourist visa and teach.  What if the contract is short-term?  For example, do people who come to China just to teach a summer camp still have to get Z-visas, or is an M or L visa acceptable in this case?  Thanks in advance for any info.

[ChTTay]

Most schools do not want to offer short term contracts as it's not worth it for them due to the cost and effort involved. Not to mention that most of the student's parents do not want schools changing their foreign teacher once every 3, 6 or 9 months... you get complaints if they change every 12 months also.

 

The shortest contracts I've seen were for 3 months and the company that offered these stopped doing so a few years ago. A 6 month contract can be found but it's less and less easy to do so.

 

If you come and teach for a summer camp, you are likely going to be here for a month or two, in which case you will probably not be working legally. They will most likely get you whatever visa is easiest to get.

 

The only visa you can enter on and work is a Z. This would then be converted to a residence permit valid for the duration of your contact (if you renew the contract, you renew the permit). I also believe there is some provision for you to study and work part time now also.

 

Some schools will also urge you to come on a tourist visa as they say it's 'easier' for them to convert it OR perhaps they say they need you as soon as possible and getting a Z visa is too slow. I'd avoid getting into these kinds of situations as the school could just keep delaying and then you'll be there worki illegally. Perhaps they didn't have permission to hire foreigners in the first place... etc

 

Most people just jump in and go somewhere. You can find a lot of information about places on the internet now and can even contact people directly on forums such as this. Also, any decent prospective school should let you speak to past teachers who have left and to current teachers. You could find out about life in that city from them. It's especially easy to find out information about cities that are larger or more on the tourist trail.

 

I took a job in 'Yinchuan, Ningxia' based on pretty much nothing other than they had a job available immediately and that a family friend was there a year before and enjoyed it. It worked out great in the end for me. Even now, searching that place doesn't yield much.

 

At the moment I live in Beijing. It's real easy to find out what life is like here.

[DongLian]

Find a language school for summer camps.  You will teach at different schools in a wide area.  I did this with the Hangzhou Babel Language Center in Hangzhou.  I got to see a bit of Hangzhou, Xiangshan, and Quzhou in a month and teach in all 3 locations.

1 single school won't do short term, but they will look to a language school like Babel to provide foreign teachers for short term.

 

Let me know if you want more details about my trip!!

[ChTTay]

...but DongLian, what visa were you on? The OP seems to be against teaching illegally. I might be wrong though..

[Abe]

Thanks for the information–I actually just got a (long-term) job.  I had gotten some short-term offers before but their visa situations looked dodgy, and I was wondering if short-term work for foreigners was ever legit in China.  If I worked for a school like Babel (assuming they were sponsoring a Z visa) I would still not be working short-term, in the sense that I would be tied to one employer for a longer-term contract.

[DongLian]

I was on a visa that allowed it.. hahah I'd have to get my passport to look which I don't have currently.

If I remember, I'll let y'all know, I really doubt it was illegal.. the company was legit and I didn't have any problems.

[hedwards]

Well, I think you can sort of work on an F visa, but it would need to be roughly equivalent to an internship. As in a housing allowance and maybe a small stipend. My colleagues that were teaching for 6 month terms were mostly doing cultural exchanges.

 

As far as I know, the government wants Z visas to be for a year, I didn't even realize that they could be issued for shorter periods of time.

 

But, basically to be teaching legally, it needs to either be a proper work visa or it needs to be a cultural exchange program. Unless this has changed recently, they can both be done legally.