1) Get required documents notarised and legalised

Apply for a ‘police certificate’ criminal background check at ARCO Criminal Records Office. This is an official statement from a national or local government agency stating that you do not have a criminal record in the country that issued your passport. Another option is the basic Disclosure & Barring Service check. Please check with your school to confirm which one they require. 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 ARCO criminal background check notarized and authenticated.

Process:
1- Get a high quality colour copy of your degree, TEFL (in some cases) and ARCO police check notarised by a public notary
2- The Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) must then legalise the documents by issuing a stamp (apostilled)

–Contact us for a more detailed Visa Guide for step by step instructions and support on getting your documents notarised and authenticated

-Confirm with your school what needs doing

-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:

Vital Consular
Apostille of the Hague
5 Star China Travel
China Visa Direct
CIBT Visas
i2visa

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 7th November 2023, China joined the Hague Convention, meaning that your documents do NOT need to be authenticated at the Chinese embassy anymore.

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

The school will use the documents to process 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

-Email address for help is ukcentre@visaforchina.org

5) Book flight

-Confirm the target arrival date with your school before booking the 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.