This article was last updated 9th November 2024

For any questions please get contact with your Gold Star recruiter, contact us here or speak with the HR department at your school.

Important note about your passport:
Your passport must have at least 1 year validity and 2 blank pages and have no damage such as creased pages or water damaged pages. If your passport does not meet these criteria your work visa could well be rejected, so please apply for a new passport.

1) Get required documents notarised and authenticated

Apply for a criminal background check at from a local police station in Canada or here. This is an official statement stating that you do not have a criminal record in the country that issued your passport. This document will be valid for the purpose of the China visa application for six months from its issue date.

-Get your degree certificate, TEFL certificate (in some cases required, check with your school) and criminal background check notarized and authenticated.

Process:
1- Get a high quality colour copies of your degree certificate and TEFL certificate notarised by a local public notary or lawyer.
2- Then get your degree certificate, TEFL certificate and criminal background check documents authenticated by the provincial authority responsible for authentication, as listed here:

Québec – Chambre des notaires de Québec

Ontario – Official Document Services

British Columbia – Order in Council Administrative Office

Alberta – Deputy Provincial Secretary’s Office

Saskatchewan – Ministry of Justice and Attorney General

Manitoba – Commissioner for Oaths/Notary Public

New Brunswick – Executive Council Office

Nova Scotia – Department of Justice

Prince Edward Island – Department of Justice and Public Safety

Newfoundland – Deputy Minister’s Office

Nunavut – Nunavut Court of Justice

Northwest Territories – Department of Justice

Yukon – The Commissioner of Yukon

List of all contact details for locations in Canada where to get documents authenticated.

Visa Agents

-Consider using a visa agent to assist with the process. They can offer free advice or take care of the entire process for a fee. Some suggested visa agents:

ALSC
CIBT Visas
China Visa Canada Service

Google China visa agents in your city for more options

Medical check certificate
You may be required to provide this, however, you may not. Please check with your school to ask if it is required.
-Book an appointment with your local doctor
-Download and print this form and take it to the doctor’s with you
-You might not have to have the blood test, chest x-ray or ECC tests done, please check with your school
-Make sure the doctor writes ‘healthy’ and signs at the bottom of the form
-Doctor must stamp over your photo on the top right of the form and at the bottom of the form
-The health check certificate is valid for 6 months from date it was issued

2) Documents do NOT need to be authenticated by Chinese embassy anymore

-On 11th January 2024, China joined the Hague Convention, meaning that your documents do NOT need to be authenticated at the Chinese embassy anymore.

3) Email notarized and authenticated documents to your school in China

They will then send you the Work Permit Notification letter that you need to apply for the work visa

4) Apply for your Chinese “Z” work visa from the visa center

– https://www.visaforchina.cn/globle/ – select your country and city

5) Book flight

6) Arrival at the airport

IMPORTANT: When you arrive at the airport you may need to provide the name, email address, phone number and address of a contact person from your school in China.

-Get to the airport at least 2 hours before your flight.

Things to bring:
-Passport
-All your original notarized documents (degree, TEFL, criminal background check)
-Phone with WeChat installed (recommended but not required)
-Name, phone number, email address and address of a contact person in China
-Download a VPN, if you wish, for use in China as they are hard to get once you arrive

Procedures may vary so be sure to check at each stage.

For teaching jobs in China please browse our Job Board.

About the Author: Frank