Company cancels contract before employee starts working

[Tye]

Hello . I just wanted to ask for your advice. I signed a contract with a company in China and even authenticated my documents (which was costly ) and refused other job offers . Now they told me they cannot do the visa processes because they thought I was from a native speaking country but they knows I wasn’t since l also sent them introduction videos and even did interviews. They also stipulated that it’s against their company policies to get a visa from a non native speaker .I feel like they are not being fair and they put me through so much trouble just to say this . What do you think I should do in a situation like this?

 

 

[roddy]

Realistically, I don't think there's a lot you can do. It's an unfortunate reality that a lot of the schools and agencies you'll deal with as an English teacher trying to get to China, and particularly if you're not from one of the more desirable countries, are inefficient and unreliable, and often simply dishonest. I'd set it aside and see if those other job offers are open, and start making new applications.

[mungouk]

It seems that these days to apply for a work visa (Z visa) to teach English you need to have a passport from an English-speaking country, in other words  UK, USA, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand or South Africa.

[889]

Doesn't sound like dishonesty here -- they gain nothing wasting time and effort trying to recruit you -- but a place that wasn't aware of the current restrictions. Maybe you're the first from a non-English-country they've tried to hire.

 

But it is hopeless to expect any compensation for your expenses. Hopeless.

 

And equally hopeless looking for an English-teaching job in China under the current rule. I seem to recall a thread here two or three years ago about it.

[Demonic_Duck]

1 hour ago, 889 said:

equally hopeless looking for an English-teaching job in China under the current rule.

 

Is this really the case these days? I know a good few people that have done it in the past, even with legit working visas (the visas themselves were legit, even if the company aquired them through less legit means). And it's typically been the case that what might not work visa-wise in Shanghai might still work in rural Gansu. On the other hand, visas are more difficult and time-consuming to get across the board during the pandemic.

[889]

It's certainly possible that the school here had done this in the past and thought they could squeak by again, but no dice.

 

Point is, the official policy is clear and even if some school does manage to squeak her in, she'll always be uncomfortably at risk of somehow getting caught out. So I say, forget it.

[Jan Finster]

Do you have to teach English? I wonder what the market is for teachers of other languages in China?

[roddy]

Very small, and can be picky enough to go for people with teaching backgrounds, etc. Worth looking at, but nine times out of ten the answer to not being able to teach English in China is to teach English somewhere else.

 

You *might* still find somewhere, but it's getting harder and harder to work in China if you don't meet the headline requirements.

[mungouk]

16 hours ago, 889 said:

Point is, the official policy is clear and even if some school does manage to squeak her in, she'll always be uncomfortably at risk of somehow getting caught out.

 

Yes the policy is clear, but it's also common to be employed as an "educational consultant" rather than "English teacher" and to tell the PSB that the job is marketing-related or something as a way of getting around it.

This still leaves you vulnerable to raids and audits of course.

 

 

[roddy]

I'd be interested to know if there are still localities where you can be fully official as a non-native speaker, on the basis that they won't get enough teachers otherwise. I don't *think* anything at top level precludes that - there's usually a 'to be determined locally' or similar get-out included. Note the 一般 in 一般从事母语国母语教学 in last year's consultation draft.

[xinoxanu]

12 hours ago, Jan Finster said:

Do you have to teach English? I wonder what the market is for teachers of other languages in China?

 

Basically non-existent aside from formal university teaching (think Spanish literature and the like), some very specialised training centres in a couple cities/regions (such as in the Wenzhou area, where many of the Chinese that emigrate to France, Spain & Italy come from) and some super expensive private schools (which you can only apply to via connections).

 

Masters & PhD's focused on the language required as well. A simple unrelated BA won't do and available visas are usually restricted to native-speakers too.

[Jan Finster]

On 3/23/2021 at 7:07 AM, roddy said:

Very small, and can be picky enough to go for people with teaching backgrounds, etc.

 

On 3/23/2021 at 6:23 PM, xinoxanu said:

Basically non-existent aside from formal university teaching (think Spanish literature and the like),

 

I see. I know quite a few Chinese parents send their children to German boarding schools. But I guess, overall, this is a tiny number.

[chupachang]

On a side note, i do have a few questions when getting offers from companies. (Was researching for employment matters in China)

 

1. If I official start teaching from Aug 1st and I was told to sign the contract before the visa is applied , can i still reject the job if i get better offers from other schools before the visa is confirmed? I assume i can still reject the company before i start working officially

 

2. How early should they apply for visa if I start teaching from Aug 1st? I understand most Z visa validity is 3 months after application and visa processing time takes around 3 days. So assuming they will start applying from May?

 

Thanks!

 

[mungouk]

On 1/11/2022 at 6:01 PM, chupachang said:

I understand most Z visa validity is 3 months after application

 

It's valid for 3 months after it's issued, which could be 2-3 days before you are invited to pick it up.

[chupachang]

On 1/14/2022 at 6:15 PM, mungouk said:

It's valid for 3 months after it's issued, which could be 2-3 days before you are invited to pick it up.

 Good information! Will have to plan more carefully considering COVIG19 restrictions in the mainland. Thanks! @mungouk