by Clair Lasater, Ph. D.

Step 1. Get a passport. A passport from your government allows you to travel abroad. Without one a person cannot cross international borders. Passports are relatively inexpensive, and quite easy to obtain. (Even I got one!) You probably will receive yours in the mail within a week or two.

Step 2. Get your TEFL job on the internet. After accepting you to work with them, the school or company will send you a letter of invitation.

Step 3. Take your letter of invitation to a P. R. China consulate or embassy, and apply there for a visa. They will affix a visa into your passport, so that you can enter China. This can take one to three days. Same-day visas and one-day visas are possible, if you get to the consulate or embassy early enough in the morning. These quick visas cost extra.

Step 4. Get on a non-stop flight from Canada, (if you intend to avoid the more strict security measures in the U. S. – no-fly lists for example). Take a bus or train into Canada. (There is a P. R. China consulate in Vancouver. I'm an American citizen, yet I obtained my first China visa there.)

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