Documents Teachers Usually Need for Work Visas

From 123rf.com

Gone is the day of the backpacker teacher. Ok, for the most part. Countries are requiring more and more documentation and exams in order to get a work visa. Here's a list of things that are often required, thank goodness there's no Chinese test yet!

Behaviour Test: China just started this with their Evaluation System for Foreign Language Expert just started this. You've got about 20 minutes to answer 100 questions. You're supposed to put 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree). It's basically to see how well you'll fit into Chinese life. They have statements such as "I like being in crowds" or "I like to spend time alone" I did poorly on that part since I hate crowds and love spending time alone. If you want to score high, just think like a Chinese person. You're scored on warmth / friendliness, gregariousness (aka sociable), positive emotions, trust, straight-forwardness, altruism, cooperation, sympathy, competence, orderliness, dutifulness, self-discipline, anxiety, anger / hostility, depression, self/consciousness, impulsiveness, and vulnerability.

Criminal Background Check: If you have small offenses it might be ok. Depends on the country. See teaching with a criminal record.


Degree: you often need the original, an apostillised / authenticated copy, and original sealed transcripts. Korea's fanatical about this.

General Knowledge Test: Another requirement from China. More like trivia than general knowledge. You'll be asked stuff such as "what's the music capital of the world?" and "Who wrote the Leaves of Grass?" Not sure how either of those will help with life in China. They also have questions related to China, such as "Which of the following is a traffic law in China?" and "When is the official first day of class?" Even though they're related to China, I'm pretty sure they're not much help since people don't follow traffic rules and I have never, ever been asked about Chinese trivia. They should put up realistic questions like "what do you think of Taiwan, Tibet, etc?" or "What do you think of China?"

Medical check: blood, urine, EKG, height, weight, vision, X-ray, sonogram to make sure you have all your organs

Recommendation Letters: Always have extras.

Transcripts: Sealed, originals are needed. Get them ahead of time so you're not scrambling for them last minute.

Written test: multiple choice, short answer, matching, essays (another requirement for China), etc.

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