Several cautions when you collect the documents for a work visa
- Authenticated documents from the Chinese Embassy or Consulate.
From 2018, no schools don’t require authenticated documents. I believe all foreigners are aware of this. However, some foreigners don’t know how to get this done. Here I, as an experienced agent, will give you some instructions about the procedure. These documents are requested by the Foreign Expert Bureau when your employer applies for a work permit notice for you. Therefore, before you come to China, you had better get them, that will be an advantage of you. It will take 2 weeks to 8 weeks or even longer time to get those documents, depending on the nationalities, the local government and the holiday time. As far as I know, getting a police clearance for South Africans could take around one month. This will delay everything. If you want to start as soon as possible, preparing for the authenticated documents in advance is better. For an American, the steps of getting the degree authenticated include three steps The first step is going to a notary public, sign the degree and get it notarized. The second step is going to secretary of state office, they will authenticate the notary. The last step is going to the Embassy with the documents, they will authenticate it. This doesn’t fit all foreign teachers, but it should be similar. One important thing you need to note is that if you get your degree from a different country, you will have to get it notarized and authenticated in the country where you got your degree. Otherwise the Foreign Expert Bureau doesn’t admit it. Another important thing when you get your documents authenticated is that you should put them separately, and get the Chinese stamp for each of the document, namely the degree and the police clearance. One Chinese stamp from the Chinese Embassy doesn’t work. For those who got their degrees in China, they can not and they do not have to authenticate it at the Chinese Embassy. However, such degree could get an online attestation from a Chinese website.
- Medical check
Most schools will need a medical check before you come to China, unless you don’t need a work visa. Some schools need it only after you arrive, some need it before. After you enter China, you will need to do a medical check anyway. There is a certain form of the medical check, and it has two pages. Some schools only need you to fill out the two pages and stamp, but some schools need the detailed medical report including the blood test result, ECG and the other papers if there is. This depends on a specific school.
- TEFL or CELTA certificate
If you will teach children, a TEFL to young learners is good. Most schools accept both certificates, but a small part of kids training centers or kindergartens, and primary schools don’t admit a CELTA certificate, this is mainly because it is not proper to apply for a work visa. Almost all schools will need at least a 120h certificate. Some schools request it not be an online one, some schools accept it only when you get it in Beijing. A few schools need you to get your TEFL or CELTA certificate to be authenticated at a Chinese Embassy as well.
- Reference letter
Z work visa will require a reference letter stating you have two years’ teaching experience, which couldn’t be a part-time job, which had better be continuous experience. Besides, it should be gained after you graduate from the university. The more important thing is that your supervisor or leader should sign it in handwriting and stamp on it.\
- A recent photo of two inch
You should get a photo of two inch, which has high pixel, at least reaches 1MB, with a white background. Otherwise it can not be uploaded to apply for the work permit.
- Resume
You should modify it and make the working experience complete. The working experience should be continuous since graduation of the high school. The start date and the finish date of the education part and experience part should be included.
Finally, all documents should be color scan copies when you send them to your employer. This is very important. When you come to China, remember to bring all the original documents to your school. They will be needed when the school take you to register and get a residence permit and also the work permit card