11 Steps to Secure a Chinese Z-Visa (Foreign Worker’s Permit)

Gathering all of the materials necessary to legally work in China can be a long and tedious process. I relocated to China from Korea, which required me to move through the process as fast as possible. It took me about ten weeks to complete the process.

The Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles, California. Photo Source: Wikipedia

A Z-visa is necessary if you want to collect income from a company registered in China, not to be confused with the L-visa (for tourists), the X-visa (for students) or the F-visa (for business). If the company decide to work for in China says you can attain any of these instead of a z-visa – find a different employer. During your time in China, provided you have no other family there, no other connections familiar with Chinese law or any other established local relationships with law enforcement, you will be dependent on your employer for legal interpretation. You need to be able to trust them to be looking out for your best interest and to not take unnecessary risks with your security. Working on a tourist visa in China is an unnecessary risk.

Which brings me to the first step:

1. Finding a legitimate employer.

If you are not moving abroad for a company that you have already been working within your home country, there are quite a few sites designed to help you find a position as an expat in China. Most of these jobs are searching for English speakers to either teach or translate. There are legitimate employers out there so do your due diligence. Finding an employer with integrity will likely be the most important step in your process. Your employer sponsors your visa and retains major influence over your “legal life” in China. Be picky and keep your eyes open during your search – even if you are desperate for a job or to get to China.

Recognize the red flags. (Does the employer want you to travel on an l-visa? Did they offer to forge or otherwise create the documents necessary for your visa? Will they give you a bank-slip for your payment records? Does it seem like they are more desperate for you than you are for them?) Notice their word choice and go with your gut. You will not have civil rights in China – breaking the law is not worth it. Also, make sure you get a look at the contract before you accept the job. They should sign the contract before you leave your home country. They are sponsoring a visa for you and this is effectively a contract, they should be willing to sign onto the terms that protect you at this point also. Otherwise, you will have significantly less leverage as a brand-new expat who has just moved their life to China on a visa they sponsored.

One way to feel more confident about making a decision is to chat with folks who work there before you accept the offer. Some employers offer to set you up with people, but these will be individuals selected out of confidence in what they will say to you. Do your own digging on social media and see if you can’t reach out to someone else, as well. Check out multiple reviews, the company website and use Google’s translate feature to search for the company on Baidu.com (a Chinese search engine). If you end up with a legitimate employer but hate your job – don’t get too worried about it. There are many jobs for expats that open-up once you are in-country. I know multiple people who applied for new visas, with new sponsors, once they were in China for a few months.

A good place to start is to decide what city you want to live in. I really like this blog post because it sorts cities by the types of people that are likely to enjoy living there (ie. ‘outdoorsy,’ city dwellers, etc.) I chose Xiamen because it was ranked as the “most livable city in China” and environmental factors were important to me. There were still days when the air quality was in the red – but nothing compared to Shanghai or Beijing. Yet, Xiamen was very limited when it came to cultural activities. If I had it to do over again, I would live in Chengdu and travel around Sichuan every weekend.

Here are a few good job sites to check out:

Non-teaching Jobs:
• ExpatJobsChina.com
• LaowaiCareer.com (Laowai 老外 is slang for "foreigner" in Mandarin)
• China.FindWorkAbroad.com

Teaching Jobs:
• Dave's ESL Cafe (This website does not have the most functional platform – but it is a nonprofit service run by a diligent and friendly expat. No sign-up, no spam emails, and no pushy marketers.)
• TeachAway
• Go Abroad
• Go Overseas

1. Make sure you have a valid passport

You probably already have a passport – but, if you don’t, or if it is expired, apply for a new one right away. This takes time and you will need your passport for the visa process. Your passport needs to be valid for at least six months from your date of travel. Also, if your passport is set to expire during the time you plan to be abroad (or if you are running out of pages) it will be easier – and more affordable – to renew it before you leave your home country as opposed to when you are in China.

1. Applying for a criminal record check

You will need to submit a criminal background check to qualify for a Chinese z-visa. I can only speak to this process for individuals in the United States. If you are a US citizen, you will need to apply for a background check through the FBI. This can take from two to three months. Once you are sure you have a valid passport number, you can apply for the background check without any further information from your employer. Some employers may request that you submit the background check through a channeler to speed up the process. A channeler is a private company that has been granted priority access to the service of securing a background check. They charge you a fee to act as a middleman. I have done the process both ways. The channeler will get you the documents significantly faster, often in a week or two. Here is a list of FBI-Approved Channelers. Alternatively, you can easily submit the forms yourself using this process, which will take several months depending on the volume of requests at the FBI. Once your documents are received, you are able to call and request an ETA for your record check. Whichever way you choose, you will need to complete the required FBI application and submit two fingerprint pages. You can secure fingerprints from a private servicer or local law enforcement - but they must be professionally printed.

1. If you are applying for a teaching position, you will likely need to obtain a TEFL certificate

Most legitimate teaching jobs in China require a TEFL certificate. These courses can be taken online and completed quickly. I started my TEFL course during this process and completed it by the time I had accepted an offer. I used the Global TEFL 120-hour course. Make sure to check with your employer regarding how many hours they will need you to complete for your visa. (I think the 120-hour course is a pretty standard credential for China.) Some employers will pay for your TEFL course. Once you have completed the course, they will send you a TEFL certificate with your name and grade.

1. Obtaining a color-copy of your original degree

You will need to send your degree to your employer in China. Your degree will be returned to you at the end of the process but will, by that point, contain stables and wear marks. For these reasons, you may want to request a copy from your university, even if you have one on hand. You can certainly use the one you have and replace it, to make the process go quicker. Just be aware that you will need to send it away and the physical integrity `will be altered. Most universities have a process for requesting a copy of your degree online. You will likely have to pay a fee and it will be mailed to you within a few weeks.

1. Have a passport photo taken

While you are waiting for your documents to come in, you will need to have recent passport photos taken. Pharmacies usually sell these in pairs of two. I recommend getting four to six, as you will need them at multiple stages of your process and it doesn’t hurt to be prepared.

1. Notary

You will need to get the following documents notarized:

1. Original color-copy university degree

2. TEFL certificate

3. FBI Criminal background check

4. Authentication

Authentication is a bit of an odd process that you may not otherwise be familiar with. US citizens can get authentication from the Secretary of State of their home state. You will want to check online for how to go about this in your state. Typically, you can either mail the documents to the office or, if you live close enough, you can take them in person. I was able to do the latter and the entire process took about twenty minutes. Also, if you choose this option, you could call ahead to see if your state offers “on-call notarization.” You can call a notary to meet you at the Secretary of State’s office, where you can have the documents notarized and authenticated in the same visit. (This notarization is a bit more expensive for the convenience.) The documents need to be notarized before they can be authenticated. The following documents need to be authenticated:

1. Original color-copy university degree

2. FBI Criminal background check

3. Obtaining a Visa Notification Letter

After you have completed steps 1-8, your employer will need to apply for approval for you to be eligible for a foreign worker’s permit. To do this, you will need to send them all the documents you have obtained so far. These include:

1. Authenticated university degree
2. Authenticated FBI criminal background check
3. Notarized TEFL certificate
4. A scan of the photo page on your passport
5. (At least one) passport photo

Additionally, they may ask you for a few other documents including:

1. A copy of your CV
2. A pledge to abide by Chinese law (This is a document your employer may provide that is exactly what it sounds like. It is a legal clearance for them in the event that you violate Chinese law while working on the visa they sponsored.)
3. A reference letter from a past employer

Make copies of all of your documents before you send them off. I recommend also sending digital copies to the employer to make sure everything is in order. Once your employer receives the documents, they will submit them to a government agency. This step can take about two weeks. Your employer will then send you a Visa Notification Letter.

1. Getting your Visa

You can obtain a visa either by mailing the necessary documents to the Chinese consulate in your country or by going to the consulate in person. There are five Chinese consulates in the US and you must submit the documents to the one with jurisdiction over your state of residence. You can find that information here. You will need to submit the following documents:

1. The Visa Notification Letter
2. A copy of the business license of your employer
3. An invitation letter from your employer
4. Your passport
5. Payment (This link is only relevant for people living in the US.)

You may choose to also send or bring copies of each of the documents you sent to your employer.

1. In-Country Steps

The visa in your passport is only good for your first entry into the country. Once you arrive, you will need to undergo a health check and a apply for a residence permit within your first two weeks. Your employer should help you through each of these steps. If you do not do these things, your visa will expire, and you will be in violation of Chinese law.