How can I solve this problem (marriage, working visa)?

[Kissi]

Hello!

 

I have a big problem. My boyfriend is Chinese and we want to marry each other. He wants to live in China and I also want to live there. But for working in China I need a Z visa, and on the spouse visa I can't work. I also heard that for the working visa I need at least two years of work experience. I have a bachelor degree,but I don't have that work experience. If we marry each other, then I think I will never be able to get the working visa, because of these rules, cause it looks like a vicious circle. And my degree is not so wanted in China, so I don't know what chances I have. Is there anybody in the same situation? And also my mother language is not English, so teaching is a no go for me.

[Jim]

I live in China on a spousal visa at the moment which doesn't affect my freelance work for my clients. I've been headhunted by local employers a couple of times and it would have been possible to then convert to a working visa here without leaving the country though the process can be a bit involved and dependent on the competence and pull of your potential employer. I'm technically too old and too under-qualified for a working visa plus have no recent experience with a full time employer due to a long freelance career but all of that was possible to get round.

So I'd say don't think that coming on a spousal visa means you can never convert but certainly you will be in a short term bind where technically you shouldn't be taking paid employment locally unless you're in a similar freelance situation.

[ChTTay]

Sounds to me like you shouldn’t get married until you work out what, If anything, you could actually do work-wise in China. 
 

If you want to build a life here but have zero job prospects what kind of life will that be?
 

Alternatively, consider not living in China if it would be easier for your boyfriend to find work in your home country. You could, I assume, find a job easier there. Also, you could attempt to find one that might actually lead to getting work in China.

 

Other option would be distance relationship for a while. 

[Kissi]

My boyfriend can't come to my country. Firstly，not only his English skills are very bad, but also in my country it's almost impossible for a foreigner to get a job without knowing our language. I really want to solve this problem, but now matter how I see, it looks impossible :( 

[roddy]

Tell us a bit about yourselves. What do you both do, languages spoken, qualifications...

[889]

Even if you tell us a bit about yourself, there's little concrete advice we can offer.

 

The bottom line is this: just about every foreigner who really really wants to stay in China ultimately finds a way to do so. Maybe it won't be the ideal job in the ideal place with the ideal pay, but if you are committed and flexible, you will be able to work the situation out. So don't worry too much now. You can't do much about this until you are actually in China, but once you are, the pieces will start falling into place.

[Lu]

5 hours ago, Kissi said:

I also heard that for the working visa I need at least two years of work experience. I have a bachelor degree, but I don't have that work experience.

Perhaps you can postpone the move a few years and get the relevant work experience in your own country (or another country), so that you can move to China after two years? This means you won't be together for another two years at least, which can be tough, but it could be well worth it in the long run.

[matteo]

I think I agree with roddy, knowing more about your situation (your age? how far away is your family?) would help giving appropriate advice. 

 

My sister recently asked me an almost identical question and my advice to her was not to give up her career and aspirations for a relationship that is not well-established. And her seeking for advice on it made me think that the relationship was not serious enough otherwise she'd just have done it. 

I think it is very hard to deal with problems down the line when the relationship is based on a unbalanced compromise (i.e. one person makes a big sacrifice to make things work out, and the other doesn't). 

 

In my eyes your real problem should be whether to get married or not, everything else is going to work out one way or another. 

[ChTTay]

9 hours ago, Kissi said:

Firstly，not only his English skills are very bad, but also in my country it's almost impossible for a foreigner to get a job without knowing our language.

No Chinese companies in your country with a largely Chinese workforce?