February 6, 2006

Kristina,

Concerning your warning "Important China Notice", I hope you will update this information. Most of it is incorrect and out of date.

There is a lot of incorrect information tossed about here in China by teachers, recruiters and even universities. Some of this is the result of miscommunication or poor translation. Other errors result from repeating rumors.

I have been teaching in China for three years and until 2005, I also could not understand the reasons for the apparent discrepancies between the various sources of information. That changed for teachers in China who could stay awake during the two and a half hour information program presented to foreign teachers at my university by the Public Security Bureau. It is not the State Administration of Foreign Affairs that polices the certification of foreign teachers in China. This function belongs to the Public Security Bureau that has duties similar to those of the immigration service and the F.B.I. combined.

Let me touch on just a few important points. There are two classes of legal foreign teachers in China. Each class is certified and the certificate is associated with an institution (school or company). The one we are most familiar with is "Foreign Expert" that requires a Foreign Experts Certificate and a Z visa. Application is made by a prospective teacher through a licensed institution. To change institutions, the holder is allowed to apply, through a new institution, to the Public Security Bureau for a transfer of the certificate to that new institution. The new institution may be in any province in China. Approval is usually a rubber stamp process. The requirements for a Foreign Experts Certificate include a bachelors degree in any subject. There is an additional provision to permit an individual school to ask for an exception to the degree requirement based on a severe shortage of degreed candidates. So the rules have a clearly defined grey area.

The other class of legal foreign teacher (the name of this class escapes me, but it is something simple like "Foreign English Teacher") does not require a bachelors degree. This type of certificate restricts the holder to teach in one specific province and usually in a rural area where foreign teachers are rarely seen and therefore in great demand. This certificate is very area-restricted so it is not available through institutions in most urban areas.

Before 2005, anyone could come to China as a tourist and look for a teaching job. Then the institution would apply to the Public Security Bureau for an appropriate certificate and conversion of the tourist visa to a Z visa. Now this is not permitted. If you want to teach in China, you must apply to an institution from your home country and wait for the Z visa to be approved through the institution. The conversion of tourist visa to Z visa is no longer permitted.

There are different regulations and different visa types in Hong Kong that were permitted when it was passed to China by the U.K. Some institutions in "mainland China" will avoid the Public Security Bureau process by asking a potential teacher to get a Hong Kong work visa. The institution may suggest that this is quasi-legal. It is illegal but it is also common. Getting caught is not common. I have never been approached by any officer of the Public Security Bureau in my three years here.

The web site http://ciep.chinajob.com/ is not for the State Administration of Foreign Affairs but is for the Conference on International Exchange of Professional. This is just a business enterprise. The web site for SAFEA is http://www.safea.gov.cn/english/ but don't expect to find any useful info about the certification processes there. That is not their affair. They act as a liaison between Foreign Experts and institutions and between Chinese experts and foreign institutions. You can find their 268 word statement of main functions by clicking on the "Responsibilities" link in the left column.

Jim Miller Foreign Expert, PRC