So what do you need to legally teach and/or tutor in China? To be as brief as possible, here are the mandatory requirements as SAFEA and your own embassy and local China consulate can confirm for you by email...
{1} You must be at least 22 years of age
{2} You must have a verifiable bachelor degree in any major from an accredited university. Yes, they will verify your degree. Degrees issued by these universities are NOT accepted: http://consumerfraudreporting.org/Education_Degree_Scams_Unaccreddited.php
{3} You must have a certified police certificate issued by your state police or FBI proving that you do not have a criminal record.
{4} You must have a legitimate Z visa in your passport that is issued by your direct employer and not a third party BEFORE you teach or tutor a single student.
{5) You must have either 2 years previous teaching experience or a post-graduate degree.
{6} Some provinces require that you be a native-English speaker.
Do not be fooled by agents or recruiters who try to convince you there was a recent "change", "update", or "amendment" made to the law since they only want to sign you up and collect their hefty fees (now averaging about 30% of your wages). In fact here are the top ten most common lies they will you use to get you to sign on the dotted line... http://opnlttr.com/letter/top-10-lies-told-china-job-recruiters-foreign-...
There surely are some honest agents and recruiters but they are getting harder and harder to find every year. That is why most new TEFL teachers are now going the DIY route that is explained here: https://www.reddit.com/r/TEFLScams/comments/6w2joi/earn_at_least_5000_mo...
For those who still want to use a recruiter make sure they are not on any of these blacklists https://www.scam.com/showthread.php?739744-Most-Current-China-Blacklist-... and then take a quick visit to reddit and check here for current updates: http://reddit.com/r/chinascamcentral. Once you have found yourself what appears to be an honest agent or recruiter, make sure by asking them 7 simple questions;
http://opnlttr.com/letter/china-esl-tefl-teacher-school-recruiter-blackl...
Before leaving for China be sure to get vaccinated for Hepatitis with a full-spectrum vaccine since China has a well-hidden Hepatitis epidemic that WHO estimates infects 20% of their population. Although Hepatitis is highly contagious, the vaccination will protect you.
If you suffer allergies or medical issues pack a 6 month supply of your meds because it is very difficult to even find Sudafed in China and all western medications are super expensive. Other tips about teaching in China can be found here:
http://www.chinascambusters.com
http://eslwatch.info/forum/china
https://www.scam.com/showthread.php?704467-UPDATED-China-Liars-List-ESL-...
http://chinascampatrol.wordpress.com
VERY IMPORTANT: Never Ever Upload Your Resume for an overseas job. About 35% of all the online job ads you see to teach abroad are posted by identity thieves. Read up here: http://chinascamwatch.wordpress.com.
BTW, please ignore the current rumor flying about the internet that you MUST have a TEFL certificate in order to teach in China. This is patently false, although if you have not taught English to non-English speakers before, a REAL classroom-based TEFL course taught at local colleges and universities or the CELTA 120 hour course would be extremely helpful. TEFL Software DVDs and online courses are not effective nor worth the money. Besides most of the certificates they provide are not recognized by China's Ministry of Education and only private schools who are desperate for native English-speaking teachers will accept them.
We know this a lot to digest, but we want your visit and stay in China to be fun and worry-free. Make yourself scam-proof now and all your memories will be good ones!
WARNING: Do not come to China is you have asthma since the winter air is polluted from coal plants toxic levels are common at least 30 days of the year and it can be lethal for you. A photo speaks a thousand words... https://www.scam.com/showthread.php?704467-UPDATED-China-Liars-List-ESL-...
For current updates as they occur, you can visit: http://reddit.com/r/chinateachers
