Document Authentication
After accepting a teaching position in China, the following three documents must be authenticated in order to begin the Chinese Z Visa process:
Bachelor’s Degree – You’ll need your physical bachelor’s degree certificate.
TEFL Certificate – You’ll need to have a minimum 120-hour TEFL certificate.
Criminal Record Check – You’ll need to obtain a criminal record check. Depending on whereabouts you are from these can have different names, such as DBS Check (UK) or FBI Check (USA).
For each document to be ‘authenticated’ it must be:
- Notarised by a notary public.
- Authenticated with an apostille.
- Stamped at a Chinese embassy.
Authentication Process
There are two ways in which you can go about getting your documents authenticated. The first way is for you to do each authentication step individually by yourself. This involves finding a notary public to notarise the documents, then sending them off for the apostille, and finally booking an appointment at your nearest Chinese embassy to get all three documents stamped. This method of authenticating your documents is hugely time-consuming, and we would not recommend doing it this way!
The alternative method, that we at Teach English Global strongly recommend, is to use the help of a Visa Agency. With this method, all you’ll be required to do is send your documents to the agency and let them take care of the entire document authentication process for you! Using an agency will save you an incredible amount of time, which will ultimately lead to you departing for China a lot sooner than if you try to authenticate your documents alone.
Visa Agencies
For all UK based teachers who need assistance with their document authentication, we highly recommend that you use the services of Mandarin Visa! They offer a reliable, efficient and rapid service that is unmatched. In addition, due to the close partnership they have with the Chinese Visa Centre in London, they can also help teachers with their official visa application, when the time comes.
For all teachers based in The USA, we would definitely recommend using Teaching Nomad! They’re a brilliant agency, that offers a reliable and comprehensive document authentication service. They make a somewhat complicated process seem extremely straightforward, thanks to the constant guidance that their team provides.