# legal work v. "Hong-Kong trick"



## jacklondon (Mar 9, 2015)

Hi guys,
me and my partner are thinking to go to China. I am a fully qualified teacher, with experience, living in the UK for years, but I am not a native English speaker (Polish passport).
I hear informations that Guangdong province, which is where we are looking, is not BY LAW accepting non-natives for teachers of the English language, however some say "it really depends on the school". Obviously, agents have plenty of offers for me, asking about my availability (asap preferred), but where's time for visa arrangements!?
All in all, this is a bit confusing and we are not sure what the next step should be.
Any hints, guys?
Regards
Jack & Ewa


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## celticwill (Feb 23, 2015)

Hi,

BY CHINESE LAW, you are not legally allowed to teach English anywhere in China unless you are a native English speaker.
Another thing to know about employment in China is that you need to have at least a Bachelor degree in order to get a working visa (full time or part time).

I personally have a Chinese family visa (married to Chinese), but I am still not legally allowed to work in China, because I have a 2 years university degree certificate.
So I am not legally allowed to provide for my family, even though I graduated from university.
It sounds stupid, and my diploma is accepted in any other country, but this is part of the China anti-immigration policy.

That said, you might still be able to work there as a teacher, because a lot of schools and companies do not mind to break the law.
Be careful though, they will not back u up if you get caught.

Cheers,
William


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## jacklondon (Mar 9, 2015)

*@ William*

Hi William and thanks for your reply and points u made.
Well, this must be terrible for you then! Not being able to legally support your family in a profession of your own? What do they expect you to do then? Turn into a junk picker or what?
However, as for the alleged ban for non-natives being in place all across China and not just Guangdong, as I heard so far, I have just found out there is one exception: that if one holds a British Residence Documentation and it is a few years old (dont know exactly how old though), it would be treated on the same level as a British passport. And I am lucky, cause I have one issued back in 2009, so Im good to go and teach! 
Cheers!


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## celticwill (Feb 23, 2015)

jacklondon said:


> Hi William and thanks for your reply and points u made.
> Well, this must be terrible for you then! Not being able to legally support your family in a profession of your own? What do they expect you to do then? Turn into a junk picker or what?
> However, as for the alleged ban for non-natives being in place all across China and not just Guangdong, as I heard so far, I have just found out there is one exception: that if one holds a British Residence Documentation and it is a few years old (dont know exactly how old though), it would be treated on the same level as a British passport. And I am lucky, cause I have one issued back in 2009, so Im good to go and teach!
> Cheers!


Yes, it is possible that they would count on how many years you actually lived in China.
There are too many foreigners in China who never taught in their life and improvise themselves "teachers". That is because too many schools hire people according to the color of their skin. And they are not afraid to really say it. I've seen more than once online, schools asking for "no black people, thank you". They really need qualified people here.
Good luck to you!

Cheers,
William


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## jacklondon (Mar 9, 2015)

*some clarification*

True, experienced that, too.

As for residence doc, I think theres a misunderstanding here. You say


celticwill said:


> Yes, it is possible that they would count on how many years you actually lived in China.


whereas it is years spent in the UK that would matter here. Please note I am still in the UK, never been to China yet, applying for work in China and I hear being a holder of a British Residence Documentation (for some period of time, unknown to me) makes an exception, so you do not have to be native speaker to teach English in China, even if their law says so. This is one exception to that rule there.
Hope this clarifies.


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## celticwill (Feb 23, 2015)

jacklondon said:


> True, experienced that, too.
> 
> As for residence doc, I think theres a misunderstanding here. You say
> whereas it is years spent in the UK that would matter here. Please note I am still in the UK, never been to China yet, applying for work in China and I hear being a holder of a British Residence Documentation (for some period of time, unknown to me) makes an exception, so you do not have to be native speaker to teach English in China, even if their law says so. This is one exception to that rule there.
> Hope this clarifies.


Yeah, my bad, I meant UK of course, not China.


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## Eric in china (Jul 8, 2014)

I believe your chances of getting a Legitimate job as a teacher in China are nil. But there are plenty of illigitimate positions, however, as pointed out above, they will not support you if you get caught out. It is a 1000 yaun fine and possible deportation if caught.

The legal requirements are a Bachelors degree and full British Passport to start with and you must be able to pass a normal medical examination plus some provinces require evidence of no criminal record. Also native English speakers with a heavy accent, ie Liverpool, Scotland etc will find it difficult to secure a position.

Sorry to sound negative but China is really clamping down on this sort of thing just now.


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