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Q: Can you work legally and get paid with F visa in China?
12 years 33 weeks ago in Business & Jobs - China
yes i know many aussies who worked with the f visa and it gives you more freedom to change jobs
I am sorry, but with a F visa, you are actually not working legally. During the Olympic Games, there was a crackdown on people working in China holding a F visa (especially teachers). They got caught and given a 10-days notice to leave China.
A F visa is you usually granted to businesspeople who comes to China for a short term projects or for a couple of months with no intention to reside in China. Their actual residence must still be in their home country.
Check the police website and it will give you all the information about visas and conditions.
It's not very safe to work in china with an F visa. But Usually if you are a teacher your school can also give F visa if they do not have their license yet to hire a foreigner. I worked in lanzhou before in a training school with an F visa. and It was okay.
No, it's illegal (even in Lanzhou) 
It's clear as day only on a work Visa can you "work" I don't get how so many people here get confused about that... That's why it's called a "work" Visa so you can "work" the other is a business Visa so you can do business not "work" if you don;t get the difference then that's sad. The other is a visitors Visa, that's so you can "visit" that's why it is a "visitor" visa (some are fooled by calling it a "spouse" visa but it's the same it's so you can visit your family here, not work.) No matter what the nice police man says to any of you, it is illegal, unless it's a "Z" or work Visa that explicitly says "you can work" then you can not. Having said all this I don't give a rats ass which visa you work on but this is the fact when it comes to legality.
Well basically it it is illeagal but if you do things quietly in china everything is possible, i used to work on L visa for six months with good pay but ssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
I have been a director of studies handling visas and visa applications in China for the last 12 years. The simple answer to your question is 'No' it is absolutely not legal to work here on an F visa.
There is a huge difference between not checking up and actual legality.
Please also note, if you work on an F visa, even if you have a degree and all the qualifications for a foreign experts it may affect you later
Major provinces are now sticking much closer to the regulations. If you submit a resume showing illegal work of any kind, in any province, regardless of whether you thought you were legal, they will now instantly blacklist you from getting a Foreign experts license throughout the country.
So, tread very carefully and do not accept that what is not affecting you at the moment will not affect you later
techezee:
You pompous a**, I leave for a few months on business and I come back to find another lao wai writing things that are absolutely incorrect. I was a Director of Studies for three years in China, I now work for a legal company. There is no black list of foreigners in China. Each province is different, government and the Foreign Expert Offices. You should find a different job GA. Although working on a F visa is illegal, hello, you're in China. Most everything is done illegaly, making my job stable and profitable. Stay in Chengdu, because obviously, you don't have the qualifications to teach at a real school. There is no networking among cities, much less from province to province. Working on a work visa is best, F visas can be worked on in schools in the Southern Parts of China for 6 months and can be changed to resident visas after this. Most cities will accept working on L and F visas up to 30 days as a way for schools to see if the teacher is qualified and able to teach. After that probationary period, you will be asked to exit and get a z visa, re enter and get your residents visa. If you need help with that or anyother legal situations, please drop me a line. My company has a license for every major city in China, including Chengdu.
nevermind:
Okay... a couple things. Note you say you "were" this person says they "are." Note this person says "now" implying these are recent developments.
Hi there slightly of the subject but I have a job offer in Yinchuan they recommended coming on a tourist visa and then they sort out a z visa, its not a scam as wife's sister friend works there, but question is would i need to leave china to get the z visa
chances are it's a scam if they want you to fool and deceive the govt in order to gain entry. if your sis in law is chinese i would be cautious because it is nothing to lie and deceive even family members here. but proceed with caution in ningxia i believe they are autonomous so they can bend the laws so the school will have flexibility . ask them if you would have to leave the country again (the answers here will not apply to your situation)
Ok thank will ask, ideally i would like to sort out a z visa before but when i was considering getting a student visa the university said the same thing, that the way they do it once you come over.
