Working Legally with Z Visa

One of the most confusing and misinformed aspects of working in China is regarding the Visa. To working in China legally, you have to have a Working Visa (Z Visa). The fundamental requirements for the Z Visa are a clean criminal record, in good health, a Bachelor degree or above and a minimum of 2 years of working experience.

There is an exception for the English teachers, which is if you have a TEFL (or similar) certificate it can substitute for the 2 years working experience. However, you still need a Bachelor degree.

For many, the biggest challenge is the Bachelor degree. When China first became a hotspot for English teaching, most of the foreign teachers that came to China didn't have any degrees and could not apply for the Z Visa. Most of them were using a Tourist Visa or Business Visa. It's illegal, but it was not regulated nor enforced strictly. However, as the number of foreign teachers grows exponentially, the Chinese government realized the extent of the problem and started a national-wide visa verification process. During which many foreign teachers working illegally were deported, some even got detained.

Currently, there are still many foreign teachers in China working illegally without the Z Visa, and many agencies continue to provide teaching positions in China that claim to require no degree.

Other than the risk of being deported and even blacklisted, teaching without a Z visa also have many other negative consequences:

You are not protected by any employment laws. The contract you sign is meaningless and offers no protection.
Those schools that are willing to accept teacher without Z visa are often less reputable and sometimes even questionable institutes.
There might be problems opening local bank accounts and send money back to South Africa.
The salary will be lower in comparison.
Visa such as tourist or business requires regular renewal, and often one has to physically fly out of the country and come back to renew it.

Some countries are being advertised as ideal for English teaching destination for those without degrees, places such as Vietnam, Thailand etc. Most of these countries have the same Visa laws as China, only that they are not enforcing these laws strictly. However, the above mentioned negative complications still apply.