China Visa Scam Alert Issued By China Foreign Teachers Union

[CFTUBeijing]

Happy Chinese New Year to you and yours. We want your China adventure to be a positive one - perhaps a dream come true for you. But if you are not alert to the facts, your dream can quickly become a nightmare. We urge you all to read this article and then remember that most agents trying to recruit teachers for China are shady at best and criminal at worst. No matter what they tell you, it is 100% illegal to work in China on an L (tourist) or F (Business) visa, and if you are caught, you will be fined $150 per day, deported, and banned from reentry for five years. Agents will tell you that you can fix this problem when you get to China. This is a lie and they do not care about the problems they create for you so long as they get your signature on a contract so they can collect their fee.

http://open.salon.com/blog/china_busine ... _hype_lies

Also, do not even buy a plane ticket until you have a signed and sealed contract in your hand that specifically states your working location, days, hours, and work description. And avoid any and all agents that:

1. Ask for any upfront money/fee of any kind no matter what explanation they give

2. Refuse to send you a copy of their SAIC or Ministry of Education license

3. Ask you to send them a copy of your passport or visa (This is only given to actual employers when you receive a written job offer directly from the employer and you confirm it to be true) 20% of all "agents" are really identity thieves.

Avoid using agents altogether as they will take anywhere from 25% - 65% of your salary. Don't believe it? Read the story of what just happened to American teacher KTC at http://www.thebeijinger.com/forum/2013/ ... ll-rip-you

To find your own job with direct employers go to www.ChinaScamBusters.com and scroll down for the links. It is much easier than you could ever imagine to find your own job in China.

Lastly, before you sign anything or buy your airplane ticket, please check our blacklist of schools and agents posted at www.ChinaForeignTeachersUnion.org (just scroll down).

If you take 30 minutes to read all of the above, you will reduce your China fraud risk by 95%. Also be very weary if anyone contacts you from the below web sites as ChinaScamBusters.com will explain:

chinatefl.net
work-in-china.net
globalcrossroads.net
chinaesl.com
eslchina.com
tefl.cn
teachabroadchina.com
tefl.cc
0086.com
teach-in-china.net
china-tesol.com
abroadchina.org
workabroadchina.com
chinatefl.cn
bilingual-institute.com
directcareers.com
employment.com
chinatefl.net
humanresource.com
jobsearchdirect.com
jobvacancies.com
myreplymate.com
primesolutionsservices.com
personnelrecruiters.com
personnelservices.com
recruitmentservices.com
response4free.com
staffsolutions.com
chinatefljobs.com (not a scam - just greedy agents)
teachers-international.org
teachinginchina.com
teachinchinatoday.com
teacherwantedchina.com
nextstepchina.org
nextstopchina.com
teachinginchina.net
silu.com
teachcn.com
chinatefl.cn
teachcn.com
chinateachers.com

If you do decided to take your chances and use an agent, at least use the below form letter which will give you full disclosure, and some recourse if you do get swindled or have your identity stolen...

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Cwr6phRxu3M/U ... er-001.jpg

[Magic]

What happened with the 359 foreign teachers that were detained in March for working without a Z visa? I saw the original news on TV but then there was no follow-up story. Anyone know?