Hooray! You’ve received your work visa to teach English in China, booked your flights, packed your luggage and are ready to begin your China adventure. Maybe some anxiety sets as it’s such a big move to the other side of the world or you’re just flat out excited but whichever the case it’s best to be fully prepared for what comes next after touching down in the middle kingdom. So today we’re going to look at just what you can expect during your first week here.
Landing and Airport Pick-Up
This is it, you’re in China. The plane has landed, taxiing and you’re waiting to get off. Hopefully you’ve been able to get some decent enough sleep or enjoyed an in-flight movie. Make sure you collect all your belongings and carry-on luggage. You’re either at your arrival airport or you’re heading to domestic transfer, regardless, you will need to go through customs and immigration here as it’s your first point of entry. Follow the signs or other passengers to immigration. Before you go through inspection, you will need to fill in an arrival card, you can find this near the immigration counters or look where there are international travelers with pen in hand. After the immigration officer has collected your arrival card, checked your passport and legit work visa, you can proceed to baggage claim. Relief! Your suitcase has not been lost. Take a breather and make sure your phone is connected to airport WiFi so that you can access your WeChat and get in touch with your contact from your school. They will be waiting to pick you up. Heading out to arrivals you see a line of faces waiting for passengers, you see one waving at you and calling out your name. Greetings and Pleasantries take place.
Accommodation or Hotel Stay
If you’re teaching in the city you’ve just landed in and have free accommodation already arranged by the school then you’re likely to head there first to put your things down and have a short rest. However if your school provides you with housing allowance rather than free accommodation and you need a few days to search for a suitable apartment or if you’re teaching school is located in a further close by city, you’ll stay in a hotel for the first few nights. The first few days in China can be a lot to take in from the traffic, size of the city, culture, customs and language. But don’t worry, you’ll ways be supported and taken care of. You’ll have your first taste of original authentic Chinese cuisine in these few days, we know you’ve been craving for that haha. And you’ll get some good rest to shake off the jet lag.
Medical Check
As you should have already been told you will also need to do an inbound medical check in China after arrival. Nothing to worry about though. Generally, and best practice is to do the medical the day after you arrive – as the work visa is only valid for 30 days once you enter and your school or agent will need to complete work permit processing which requires the medical. Better to do the medical asap to ensure sufficient time your work permit to be processed and so you can then apply for a residence permit for long term stay.
Your school contact will take you to do the medical check at the designated Inspection and Quarantine Health Center which is generally located in the provincial capitals or major cities. Whilst most health centers have staff that can communicate in basic English, you don’t need to worry about the language barrier this time. Some health centers require bookings in advance (which will have been done in this case) and some there is no need. Please remember to take your passport and a few passport-sized photos of yourself against white background as this will be needed. Also do not eat anything from 8pm onwards the night before.
Upon arriving you will need to fill in a form then register at the desk and receive a ticket/number. Then wait until your number is displayed at the service counter. To avoid larges queues it’s advised to get to the health center around 8am in the morning. Once your number is up, you can go to the service counter, hand in your forms and passport photos, and pay for your medical. You will then receive physical examination form which checklists the items/tests you need to complete with the room number where each tests are conducted. You just need to navigate the floors looking for the correct room numbers to do X-ray, ECG, blood, lab, ultrasound tests etc. It’s quite straightforward and you’ll find the whole experience very efficient, it’s like an assembly line or a conveyor belt, you just move from one test to the next. You’ll probably finish all the tests in an hour then can go. Your school contact will be in charge of the medical report collection or delivery.
Now you can finally eat something! Then can head back to your new home or hotel. Or if your school is outside of the provincial capital your school contact will have arranged transportation to get there.
Registration Voucher of Residence for Visitors from Overseas
Once you have settled or found a suitable apartment to reside in, your school contact will take you to the local police station to get the ‘Registration Voucher of Residence for Vistors from Overseas’ which is necessary for your residence permit. To get this you will need to bring your passport, clear scanned copies of your passport, scanned copies of your visa, scanned copies of your entrance stamp and copies of landlord’s contract and their identity cards. All international visitors who will be residing in China for a period of more than 90 days must do this and update each time they reenter China or change address in the country.
Work Permit and Residence Permit
After your medical check report and registration voucher of residence has been received, the school will complete your work permit processing on your behalf. You’ll be notified once your work permit has been granted then you’ll be taken to apply for your residence permit at the foreign affairs bureau. Please remember to take all your physical original and apostilled documents with you (a reminder of which documents/materials you need, please check our blog post: Full Guide to get Work Visa to Teach in China).
For the residence permit the foreign affairs bureau will need to hold your passport for a specified number of working days (varies between cities and regions in China) and upon collection you will find your residence permit which takes the place of your visa. The residence permit allows you to reside and work in China and also allows you to depart and reenter China limitlessly. Phew! Finally, it’s sorted.
Get a Chinese Phone Number
Been surviving on an expensive E-Sim or just not having access to mobile data, well now it’s time to solve this. And the cheapest and best option is to get a Chinese sim card. There are three main telecom providers: China Mobile, China Telecom or China Unicom. You school contact will take you to the relevant branch to do this, please make sure you bring your passport.
Get a Chinese Bank Account
You will also need a Chinese bank account to receive your monthly salary. Your school contact will also help you set this up. Some of the main banking institutions in China are Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China etc. After setting up your bank account you should receive a letter with your bank account details, please keep this safe and remember your bank account details accurately so you receive your salary on time.
Settle Down and Prepare to Teach!
Ok, now most of the formalities are out the way, it’s time to settle down and prepare for what you’re really here to do – To teach English and make a difference. By now you should have received your teaching schedule and started preparing for your first lesson. Time to rise and shine. Then from here your TEFL China adventure truly begins. Good luck!
If you have any questions about the first week in China as a TEFL teacher or if you’d like to teach English in China yourself, we’re here to help, get in touch at [email protected]
