Qualified High School Teacher

If you desire to work in China, the procedure is simple...

1.  Obtain a visitor visa to China.
2. Go to the city where your would prefer to live.
3. Interview face to face with the English schools there.
4. Obtain an offer or three, or four...
5. Select ONE.
6. follow their instructions in obtaining a Z-visa to work for them.

Of course you can apply online and take your chances on promises and all kinds of work-arounds. The people will tell... tell you that you can just do this and that and then work at their school. Do not listen to them. It is risky.

This is what you need to do. Nothing else.

Everything Vannrox has told you is correct...just one more point...you can't work on a visitor visa and to get a Z-visa you will have to go back to NZ and then come back to China which is an expense you may not want to incur.

You will need to have the following documents ahead of time or it can take up to 6 months to obtain a Z-visa now.

1. Valid passport with more than 6 months remaining and at least 2 blank pages for visas
2. BA degree in anything, this must be notarized and apostilled, then it will need the Chinese embassy stamp (done in your home country)
3. A TEFL (or your credentials if you are a real teacher) this too must be notarized and apostilled and stamped by your local Chinese embassy.
4. A criminal background check (must be done in your home country and good for 6 months) this too must be notarized and apostilled and stamped by the Chinese embassy.
5. A one-page CV keep it short please
6. A passport size photo with a white background full face no glasses.

Any employer will need those items to process a letter of invite which is given to them by the government.  That letter is what you will need to bring to the Chinese embassy with a ticket showing you are set to fly to China, then they will process your Z-visa.  Timing is the issue because each of these items takes time and then on the Chinese side things can drag too.

DO NOT COME TO CHINA ON ANYTHING BUT A Z-VISA IF YOU PLAN TO WORK HERE.   You can no longer just hop over to Macau or HK and get another type visa converted to a Z-Visa that is NO LONGER and option.  DO NOT COME AND WORK ON A BUSINESS VISA AS A TEACHER OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT ISN'T BUSINESS.  This will end up badly for you.

Agents will lie, employers will lie...just be ready for it.  Do your homework and when you are sure then come.  Vannrox is also giving you good advice about maybe coming and checking things out first.  I hire teachers ALL THE TIME and if you want you can PM me.  I am not an International School, but I do know some that are very reputable in the Northeast of China.  We hire teachers to work full-time in an after-school program 25 teaching hrs per week.  Our pay is competitive with local schools here in Changchun, China which is in the Northeast, very cold but nice.  We are a company that has been in business over 16 years, run with a western style foreign manager, and we are very good to our foreign teachers.  Like I said, if you are interested PM me and we can talk more.

LRai

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Dear Pauline:

Well I can't compete with Beijing on location but I can tell you we have the best places to learn pure Mandarin Chinese...   

I am currently looking to hire 10 new teachers because we are growing and we need them for our 10 locations, (2 are brand new).  We have been in Changchun as an English language school for over 16 years now and we are the largest privately owned after-school program in the city.  I currently have 27 foreign teachers who work for our company.  Oh, and I am from the US and the foreign teacher manager so language is never a problem when it comes to navigating your contract or other issues.

If anyone is interested in working in China as an English teacher contact me through a PM or here is fine.  Our salary may not sound great but it's enough trust me.

LR

Pauline,

I want to add on to what @Irai has to say.

When you are looking for a life in China, salary should be of low priority. What you should look for is [1] quality of life, [2] ability to make friends, [3] family considerations, and [4] ease of integration. There are many people who move to the first tier cities and "high tail" it back home after a scant few months. I would suggest that you avoid all the glitz and glamor and focus on the things that are important.

In my mind, that is family, friends and being able to integrate into a culture with a decent standard of living.

For instance, I have lived all over China, but I now live in Zhuhai. I make far less than what I could make under other conditions, but my quality of life, my friendships and my personal life satisfaction is fantastic. With that in mind what do you think would be a better place to raise your children?  Harihari on the South Island of NZ, or urban Auckland?

If you have an opportunity to go to a smaller city in China, you might be surprised at how lovely it could be.

Hi, My name is Eje. I'm an English teacher from Iran. I'm considering teaching English in China and experiencing new culture. I hold M.A. degree in English Language and Literature.
VANNROX and Irai thanks for the sharing.
Could you please help me with the procedure?

Dear Eje:

Since I last posted 6 months ago about this much has changed...it's actually become very hard to hire non-Native speakers.  You hold a degree in English so that will help but it will still be difficult.

I suggest you do two things, first check out the website we built to help teachers who want to work in China through the process...the link is perfectenglishchina.com

Second, you may ONLY want to work and may only be able to find work in a very large city and for a college or university.  They often can hire non-Native speakers, we are finding now that it's become just too difficult.

Good luck and feel free to PM me if you need more info.

LRai

Sounds disappointing!
But thanks for the information,
I'll check the website.

Please DO NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.

It is our fears that box us in. If you do not ask the answer will always be no. Keep moving forward toward your dream. Never give up. Never accept no for an answer. Keep trying. Keep looking forward, and be positive.

I personally know numerous teachers from you nation. Obviously they weren't lucky or special. They just applied and kept on trying.

Do not give up and never surrender.

If life gives you lemons then make lemonade. You are here, on this forum asking us 'experts". Well, we are telling you what we know, and I am telling you this...

Apply and do not be afraid.

Dear Eje:

Vannrox is right, don't give up but at the moment it's very hard to hire (in Northeast China and several other places in China) foreign teachers.  A few recent events have had a major impact on this, I won't elaborate here. 

I do however encourage you to seek work with a University or College, they will have more leeway in hiring a non-Native but qualified teacher of English.   Holding an MA degree in English and if you also have at least a 120 hr. TEFL certification or teaching credentials from your country...will improve your chances.  Feel free to PM me for more info.  LRai

Your enthusiastic comments remind me of John Barth, he says: face the nay-sayers and welcome the yea-sayers. You are absolutely right. I'll keep searching and trying. Will come to you for more information if you don't mind. Thanks for the inspiration.

I see,
I'm doing my best to apply for different schools and even kindergartens. Didn't know about colleges and universities! I guess they offer lower salary, right?
As you said, if it works for Non-native speakers, why not give it a shot.
thanks,

Eje:

Yes colleges and universities will pay less but there are other perks...they often will pay a year salary even though you only work 10 months, they often provide housing and pay utilities and sometimes will bonus at the end of each semester...so while the monthly pay is lower the time off and hours worked are also often better.  Typical college contract is for 15 work hrs per week...verses a language or K-12 where it can be 25-40hrs. 

It's a trade-off but if you are qualified many FTs prefer the time off and shorter days.  It's a choice.

Dear LRai,
It seems perfect for me since I like academic atmosphere. I appreciate your kindness. It's a great help to have you here.
By the way, Are you an agent?

Dear Eje:

NOOOO I am not an agent...I do work with several however...but I am just a Foreign Teacher Manager and College Director for an English Training School in Changchun.  It's called Perfect English.  Check our website (listed previously).  I wish you all the best.

LRai

Hello Irai,

It would be great help if you can share a few agents that you know who maybe can help people like me looking for English teaching jobs. All help is much appreciated !

Thanks

Can you tell me a little more...you can PM me if you don't wish to post here.  To PM click on my flower icon and then you can send me a private message..PM.

I see, Could you do us a favor!
Can you introduce some reliable agents to us (Non-native speakers looking forward to teaching in China)?

Thanks in advance,

cannot send you private message! 

Just FYI to anyone reading this...I am not an agent and while I do know some agents I can recommend I can not do that on a public forum.  I work for an After-school English program company in Changchun.  I am their foreign teacher manager and I do hire qualified Native speaking English teachers.  If you would like to learn more about us then feel free to check out the website...it's listed in a prior post on this thread.  We are currently looking to hire 6 more teachers asap, and yes I have posted on the job postings, just FYI here.

If you want to Private Message someone you click on their icon and then it gives you that option.  PM is used when information to be shared is not something to be done on the forum.  Use it with respect please.  There is an option on PM to block spam.

friends have checked your topic before yes it is really hard for non-native speaker to be a teacher in China unless  you have TESOL ，TEFL or relevant experience which may be helpful for you to find a teaching job in China.
and I do not know why everyone want to find an agent actually there are many ways you can get in touch with some hiring info. for example like facebook you can find lots of China job groups (also need to be careful and avoid scammers) and Linkedin is also a good way for you to find some hiring info. Last of course there are some websites which help expats to get some hiring info open to expats and once you log in these websites you can check and search for your suitable job info and apply for it. And yes of course some wechat groups (still need to  avoid scammers)