No Degree = No Visa in shaanxi Province as of June 2009?

Hi,

As the Topic line implies, I recently heard from a friend that Shaanxi Province, China passed a law in June stating that a degree (or diploma I assume) is required in order to obtain a work visa. Has anyone else heard anything about this?

After a month of waiting for visa application, my friend's contract with a school in Xi'an was revoked because of this. I don't believe China offers Working Holiday Visas. Can anyone think of any solutions besides the obvious (get a degree)?

I would keep sending resumes as it is still the case that thousands of 'TESOL certificate only' holders are working now in China. While ads state that they want a degree it is more of a wish list and you should apply for all positions.

While PRC "official" regulations in some regions may state that a degree is required for a work permit, businesses operate largely based on "guanxi" - (their $relationship with local authorities).

Below was taken directly from a recent ad (URL included as well).

"A degree or TEFL certificate is strongly preferred yet we consider all applications."

http://www.englishclub.com/tefl/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=9591

Hi Joel,

Thanks for the reply. That's quite reassuring to hear actually. At least having the TESOL certificate still puts us a step ahead of others.