Z-visa age restrictions

[Benjameno]

I have a B.A. in Linguistics and Discourse Studies and TESL accreditation from a Canadian university, but am growing increasingly concerned that despite my solid credentials I will not be able to obtain a Z-visa. I fulfill most of the requirements: I have a university degree, a teaching certificate as the result of a two-year long program complete with 8 months of teaching experience, and am a native English speaker of Irish descent. However, I am only 21 years old. Must I really wait another 3 years? And needless to say, whether or not I am legally entitled to apply for a visa is entirely unrelated to the problem of schools hiring teachers illegally. Can anyone shed any light on whether I have a chance or not?

[zhouhaochen]

The age regulation is applied not very consistently. We have had a case where we had to wait until the candidate turned 24 before applying for a Z visa (was only three months back then), but I also know of people who got Z-visas at the age of 23. One of the main problems that you will face is that for applying for a Z visa you need to prove two years of work experience after graduating from university. Not sure if there is a special visa for English teachers, but a standard Z visa you would most likely not get.

Important Reminder: bring your university degree originals with you to China. You will need them for a Z visa application (well, almost always - we managed once without as well, but I wouldnt risk it).

[Benjameno]

Thank you for your prompt reply -- out of curiousity, do you know if the procedures for applying for a work visa in Taiwan are any more lenient in this respect?

[WestTexas]

I moved here when I was 23. I know a guy who moved here when he was 22. All on legit Z-visas. Try the northeast, Jilin or Liaoning province, they seem more lenient here.

[WestTexas]

Important Reminder: bring your university degree originals with you to China. You will need them for a Z visa application

Been here 3 years and this has never happened to me or anyone I know.

[roddy]

I would say that unless you have a burning and urgent desire to be in mainland China specifically, it would be worth looking at other options.

Even if you do get yourself set up with a school that can obtain the work visa, you may find that six months later the school is rubbish and you want to move - but no other school can help you. Or you may have an excellent first year, then the second year the local visa folk are being stricter and you find yourself visaless.

There are plenty of other places you can get a couple of years TEFL experience - pretty much the entire planet.

If you do stick with plans to go to China, I'd start applying for jobs and see who bites. Put your CV up on a few sites and half of China will have read it by teatime. But be wary of schools who want you to come over on a tourist visa and change it to a work visa - it may not be as easy as they hope, and they may just string you along. Have a plan B - if things don't work out, are you going to bum around on tourist visas and teach privately, or head to Thailand for a couple of years, or....?

[Flying Pigeon]

I'm going to riff on what Roddy said and suggest the JET Programme. I did it for three years and then came over to China. There isn't a minimum age limit.

Give their website a gander: http://www.jetprogramme.org/e/faq/faq01what.html

You can come to China during your holidays, travel around, get a feel for the place, check out some schools, make some connections, etc.

[icebear]

I've also had a few friends go through the JET program and really enjoy the experience. You may also look into South Korea for similar reasons - decent market for English teachers, close enough to China to make a trip or two to explore and see if its for you, and pay is relatively good.

I'm a huge fan of living and working in China but wouldn't do so under sketchy conditions - not a good place to get desperate.

[roddy]

Actually, mention of the JET program reminded me of CIEE's Teach in China program, so I had a look to see what they say about age limits / experience:

*Note that since the 2008 Olympic games, the Chinese government has begun to arbitrarily enforce a clause in their visa regulations that calls for two years of teaching experience. Please make every effort to include all of your applicable teaching experience on your resume.

That's a very well established program (first went to China with them myself, way back in '98) which must have pretty solid links with universities. If it's an issue for them...

I wouldn't completely rule out China, and if it's what you've got your heart set on you'll be able to make it happen (get a job at West Texas's school. Seriously, send him a pm and get the contact details). But if you're willing to consider other options, there may be decent alternatives.

[Benjameno]

Thanks again, everyone.

I wouldn't say that I'm motivated by "a burning and urgent desire to be in Mainland China specifically", but teaching in a Sinophone country in order to improve my Mandarin has always been my primary reason for getting TESL accreditation -- although an interest in pedagogy helped.

I plan on visiting China throughout my lifetime and cannot afford to risk irreparably damaging my professional record by teaching illegally on an L visa. Although I'm willing to start applying for jobs in China to see what the result is, I would be immensely relieved if this two years of full-time work requirement did not exist in Taiwan. Does anyone know? I have searched a few websites for this information and they have lead me to believe that there is no such restriction for English teachers, but that it does exist for most other professions.

[jbradfor]

So how old were you when you entered college?

You say you have a university degree -- I believe the Z-visa requires the equivalent of what in the USA is called a Bachelor's (4-year) degree. Then you have a 2-year teaching certificate. [i assume the 8 months experience is part of that?] I count 6 years.

[Benjameno]

I entered university in September 2008, when I was 17 (turned 18 shortly after, in October). My Bachelor's degree, as you mentioned, required four years of instruction. Honours students can concurrently enroll in the CTESL program in their third year if they are willing to take a course overload, and the 8 month experience was a practicum placement at two different institutions (four months each). The first offered courses that employed the LINC curriculum (Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada) and the second was for professionals looking to enter the Canadian workforce. During that time I contributed to lesson planning and execution, and for all intents and purposes assumed the role of a new teacher with the supervision of a "host" teacher, who effectively acted as a mentor.

[WestTexas]

I plan on visiting China throughout my lifetime and cannot afford to risk irreparably damaging my professional record by teaching illegally on an L visa.

?? irreparably damaging your professional record ?? I don't really understand what you mean.

Just start sending out applications and make sure you get a legit invitation letter and other paperwork from the school before you come over. You get the Z-visa in your passport before you step on the plane, so it isn't as if you are going to accidentally work illegally. You will either get a Z-visa or not, there's no harm in trying. Type up a CV and send it to different schools you might want to work for. It shouldn't be that hard to get some bites if you really have the credentials you say you do. If you are white, you should also attach your photo to the emails.

It's common knowledge that the Chinese government just doesn't really apply some laws, for example in some cities you can't turn around without seeing a brothel, yet technically prostitution is illegal. The same thing with pornography, or the traffic laws. The 2-year rule is like this, in my experience. Half the teachers I know here had no experience before they came over.

FYI I know a girl from the Philippines who speaks awful English and graduated from some provincial technical college in the Philippines. Guess what, she has a Z-visa and teaches English here. Granted, she teaches in a horrible little village that is like 4 hours by bus from the nearest major city, and she only makes like 3k a month, but if you are from an English-speaking country and have a degree you should not have much trouble finding a decent job that gives you a Z-visa.

BTW I have heard getting a job in Taiwan is much harder than getting one in mainland China (which, IMO, is stupidly easy).

[zhouhaochen]

@WestTexas

that sounds very lucky, does not change the regulation though. You need your university originals and in almost all cases I have seen (and thats quite a lot) that rule is enforced.

@Benjameno

no idea how things are handled in Taiwan

[lordnikon]

the age restriction is very loosely enforced especially for english teachers. Your best bet is to get a job at a government run university. At a university they will have no problems getting work visas for any of their staff because they are state-controlled and have direct connection to the foreign affairs office, they handle getting visas for their teachers all the time. I have seen plenty of people under 24 get visas to work at universities as long as they had a degree and tefl certificate it was no problem for the university to get the visa