A China teaching job scam often becomes clear when you ask for details: the legal employer, work-permit plan, workload, and exact pay. Do not judge an offer by its headline salary. Check whether the employer, contract, visa route, and payment terms match in writing.
Confirm the legal employer
A recruiter may introduce you to a school but may not be your employer. Ask for the employer’s full Chinese legal name, unified social credit code, registered address, and the name of the authorised contract signatory.
Search the company on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (国家企业信用信息公示系统). Ask for both the English and Chinese names, since job-ad branding may differ from the registered entity.
For schools, request the Chinese school name, campus address, and confirmation of where you will teach. If the offer says Shenzhen but the contract names a company registered elsewhere, ask why before signing.
Send this question before providing passport scans:
“Which company will be my legal employer, and will that same company sponsor my work permit and residence permit application?”
If you are told to arrive on a tourist or business visa and start teaching first, treat it as a serious warning sign. Foreign teachers usually need an appropriate work-authorisation route before working, but requirements can vary, so check the current local requirement.
Check the real salary and workload
A high advertised salary may combine base pay, housing allowance, attendance bonuses, overtime, tax reimbursement, and a completion bonus. Ask for an itemised monthly offer showing:
- Base salary before tax
- Housing allowance or employer-provided housing
- Bonus conditions and payment dates
- Teaching hours, office hours, and weekend work
- Overtime rate and approval process
- Expected tax withholding and estimated net pay
- Flight, relocation, and completion payments
A higher package may be realistic in expensive cities, but it should still have a clear explanation. The salary figure alone does not prove fraud; refusal to explain it does.
Ask how long a teaching period is. “Twenty teaching hours” can mean twenty 40-minute classes plus office hours, parent meetings, open classes, summer camps, and unpaid events. Kindergarten roles may also include full-day classroom supervision.
Confirm the payday and payment method. Salary is usually easier to verify when paid on a fixed date into your own bank account. Requests to accept cash later or payment through another person’s account may create avoidable problems.
Read the contract for practical traps
The contract should state the exact campus, job title, working hours, pay, probation terms, notice period, and holiday arrangements. Check whether the employer can transfer you to another campus or city without your written agreement.
Pay particular attention to:
- Salary during probation
- Deductions for leaving early
- Recruitment-cost or training-cost clauses
- Who pays for document translation, medical checks, work-permit processing, and residence-permit formalities
- Whether school closures and public holidays are paid
- Broad “other duties assigned by management” wording
Some flexibility is normal, but vague language should not allow a school to turn an English teaching role into full-time marketing, sales, or work at unrelated campuses.
Do not pay a “guaranteed placement,” visa invitation fee, work-permit deposit, or urgent recruitment charge to a personal account. Legitimate expenses may exist, but they should be explained clearly, documented, and supported by receipts or fapiao where relevant.
Verify the recruiter and protect documents
Ask the recruiter who pays their commission, whether they represent the school directly, and whether they will remain involved after arrival. A reliable recruiter should be willing to arrange a live call with a school manager, academic coordinator, or current foreign teacher.
During a video call, ask to see the school entrance, staff room, and classrooms. A short live walk-through can reveal more than polished promotional photos.
Search the employer’s Chinese name with terms such as 招聘 (recruitment), 学校 (school), and 地址 (address). Reverse-image-search campus photos and testimonials if anything looks copied or inconsistent.
Send watermarked document copies first. Add wording such as “For work permit application with [company name] only” across passport, degree, TEFL, and criminal-record copies. Do not courier an original passport until you understand why it is needed, who will hold it, and how it will be returned.
What People Usually Miss
A real school and a signed contract do not automatically mean your own role is properly arranged. Your contract entity, work permit, job description, and normal workplace should broadly match.
Be cautious if Company A hires you but expects you to teach daily at unrelated schools run by Company B. This may create problems if the employer, role, or location does not align with your paperwork. Ask how the arrangement will be documented under current local rules.
Also check the housing offer. “Free housing” may mean shared accommodation far from campus or an allowance controlled by the employer. Ask for photos, commute time, utility costs, deposit terms, and whether the allowance will be paid to you.
After arrival, there may be accommodation registration, medical examination, work-permit, and residence-permit steps. If the employer provides housing, confirm who will help with address registration and check the current local requirement.
Quick Takeaways:
- Verify the Chinese legal employer and campus before sending sensitive documents.
- Request written salary, bonus, tax, housing, and workload details.
- Ensure the contract entity broadly matches the work-permit sponsor and workplace.
- Ask for a live video call from the actual campus.
- Never send urgent placement or visa deposits to personal accounts.
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