Has anyone actually heard of illegal teachers getting deported for working a few hours on the side in Kunming? I haven't heard anything. Only some crackdowns on film sets, but they apparently were able to bribe their way out.
Has anyone actually heard of illegal teachers getting deported for working a few hours on the side in Kunming? I haven't heard anything. Only some crackdowns on film sets, but they apparently were able to bribe their way out.
Come on guys...everyone knows that the Chinese authorities turn a blind eye to "teachers" working on student visas. Nobody cares as long as you don't commit a "real" crime or upset anyone.
China isn't the US yet when it comes to enforcing action against overstayers and those that have worked illegally. Nor does working illegally mean you can't come to China again if caught.
Consider this example: I know of a young Lao Chinese language student who used to "study" at Yunnan University of Nationalities. This kid, who was 21 or so at the time, didn't really do much in the way of study, but only showed up to class once a month or so, the rest of the time partying at night and sleeping during the day.
Once his money ran low, he was forced to drink at the dorms, and that's where the trouble started. One night he was drunk and became violent, hitting another student and then smashing a door (this is after he had already damaged something in his own room).
The kid was deported to Laos, but his parents simply applied for a new passport and Chinese visa and lo and behold, he came back to Kunming to study at another university within a few months.
Something like this couldn't happen in Australia or the USA - if you get deported you can't automatically come back, even with a new passport.
Not that working illegally as a teacher is a good idea nor is smashing a door (haha) but, when it comes to the former, many schools will insist it's OK if asked. I'd say, keep a low profile and don't worry.
to Yuanyangren:
Things like that happen in Australia, too. But a student visa there does give you a legal opportunity to work 15 hours per week.
If you get a new passport in France you also get a new passport number. The Australian immigration authorities issue visas according to passport numbers. So yes it is possible to cheat, but not if you come from let`s say Germany where the passport number doesn`t change.
to castor:
How do you want to get your teaching hours acknowledged if you work illegaly? I think if you want to work for a legally registered school and want them to give you some sort of proof for your teaching time there, you need to have a working visa. Otherwise you could as well just get one of your friends to confirm you have been working as a teacher for x hours in y.
Juli_an,
truth be told I hadn't considered this aspect.
I was just assuming that once I was able to provide them with the school's website (assuming it was a language school) and an email address, then they would take care of the rest and contact them to double check.
I have no idea how they go about assessing applications, nor am I 100% sure of what counts as a proof..
one thing that I'm sure of, though, is that despite this requirement being set out by Cambridge itself, of all the providers that run this course not two of them seem to state the same exact number of hours.. some of them say 1000, some 1200, some one year, some two years of teaching full-time..
In fact the reason why some of them are more anal than others about this seems to be (so I've been told by my former CELTA tutor) that they just want to be sure you are thoroughly prepared to embark on the course, so that u don't end up failing the course and they can keep
their pass figures high. In that respect things seem to be way more flexible than otherwise stated.
But thanks Juli_an, this is food for thought. Guess I should just contact them and ask to be sure
Be cautious, no one knows as yet whether the new clamp down on illegal workers or existing teachers with a second job will amount to anything real.
But I would not move country banking on it's not going to happen.
Even the long term expats (with relationships) might get surprised, we don't know.
Seems there is a new law and a crackdown. See this Washington Post report:
Also from Xinhua:
Read and Heed - news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2012-06/30/c_131686539.htm
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