Z-Visa problems.

When we were first coming to China to teach, we had to go through a process of exchanging information with the school and sending papers to get our Visa. We believed until recently that everything was alright. It turns out that the first school did not give us the correct visa. We had a Z-Visa for working, but not for teaching. As a teacher, you should also have an expert certificate book. We thought the first school had this, but kept it for some reason when we left and that the second school would get another for them. An expert certificate book is something that is gotten once and is not the schools, but the teachers. Something else that you keep with you is a resident registration book. This is something the school helps you get, but you hold onto and get a new one each time you change schools. If you are coming to or are already in China, be sure you have the correct paperwork. A sticker in your passport may say you have a Z-Visa, but it might not be the correct kind. Your passport may have a sticker that says 'resident permit', but this is only used for entering and exiting the country and is not the same as a resident registration permit. All the correct paperwork takes about 6 to 8 weeks to process. The school should pay for everything and the total cost is less than $100. you should also ask to see the schools license to hire expert teachers. It will have a license number and you should make note of this for future reference. There are places you can contact and may get some help if you have problems with a school, but the best thing is to be alert to fakes or scams.