Working or teaching in China: getting your degree and background check ready

China acceded to the Apostille Convention on March 8, 2023, and the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. announced that it entered into force between China and the United States on November 7, 2023. From that date, U.S. public documents within the Convention's scope need only an apostille from the competent U.S. authority, and the Chinese Embassy and consulates in the U.S. stopped providing consular authentication. For a Florida document, the competent authority is the Florida Department of State.

Two cautions from the same notice. An apostille certifies the signature, seal and capacity of the signer; it doesn't guarantee the receiving party will accept the document, so check format, content, time limits and translation with your employer in advance. And the notice says the Convention continues to apply to the Hong Kong and Macao SARs, which run their own systems.

Your Chinese employer applies for the Work Permit for Foreigners on your behalf; you supply the documents from home. Beijing's official guide for working in China lists the highest degree (or relevant approved documents), professional qualification certificates, a certificate of no criminal record, a physical health examination certificate, and the job contract. It says degree documents from Convention countries are authenticated by apostille.

National work-permit guidance published on Chinese government portals adds detail that matters for planning:

• The criminal record certificate must come from a public security, procuratorial or court authority in your country of nationality or of habitual residence (a country where you've lived more than a year after leaving your home country).
• It must be issued within six months of the application.
• Every non-Chinese document except the passport needs a Chinese translation stamped with the employer's company seal.
• A work experience certificate is required in some cases, and for professional (B-class) positions the general standard is a bachelor's degree and at least two years of relevant experience.

Requirements are applied by local foreign-expert bureaus, and they vary by city and province. Your employer's HR or visa team is the authority on what your bureau wants. Ask them before you order anything.

A diploma can't be apostilled as a loose original, and you can't notarize a copy of it yourself. The Florida rule depends on the school:

• Public schools and universities: the registrar or another issuing official signs a copy of the diploma (or a transcript) before a notary when it's issued, with a complete notarial certificate. Florida notaries can't attest copies of public school records.
• Private schools: a printed copy with a notarized statement by the student or custodian that it's a true copy, with a full notarial certificate, can be apostilled.

Ask the registrar's office for "a notarized copy of my diploma for apostille." Details are in our diplomas and transcripts guide and on diploma for China.

Degree from another state? The apostille comes from the state whose official signed or notarized the document. A University of Georgia diploma notarized in Georgia gets a Georgia apostille, not a Florida one.

TEFL or TESOL certificates are usually private documents. A Florida notary can certify a copy of a non-public document, and our online notarization can do it by video before we apostille it. Confirm with your employer that your bureau accepts a certified copy.

This is the most common mix-up. There are two different records, with two different authentication routes:

The guidance asks for a certificate from an authority in your country of nationality or habitual residence. Many employers ask for the FBI record; some local bureaus accept a state check from your state of residence. Your employer will know which one your bureau takes, so ask before paying for either.

If an FDLE check is accepted, request the certified, notarized version from FDLE. A plain printout can't be apostilled. See FDLE and sheriff's letters for apostille and FDLE background check for China.

• A stale background check. A record issued seven months before your employer files is outside the six-month window, even if it was apostilled in time.
• The wrong apostille. Florida can't apostille a federal FBI record or a diploma notarized in another state. Route each document to the authority whose official signed it.
• A self-notarized diploma copy. For public schools, the registrar must sign; a copy you swore to yourself is rejected in Tallahassee.
• Name mismatches. The name on your passport, degree and background check should match. If you changed your name, keep the marriage certificate or court order handy; your employer may ask for it.

Our general rule for translations used abroad: the translator certifies the translation, signs before a different notary, and the notarized translation gets its own Florida apostille. China's work-permit process instead requires a Chinese translation stamped with the employer's company seal, so in most cases you send the apostilled English documents and your employer handles translation. If a different office, such as a school or a residence office, asks for a translation made in the U.S., the Florida route above is available. See certified translation apostille.

The criminal record's six-month window drives the schedule. Order it last among your home-country documents, but early enough that the apostille and shipping fit inside the window. On the Florida side, filing yourself by mail commonly takes several weeks door to door; we file in person and return documents in 5–7 business days. Once you arrive on a Z visa, Beijing's guide says you must apply for a residence permit within 30 days of entry.

Pricing: $220 for one document, $380 for two, and $160 each for three or more, including the state fee, request form, in-person filing and FedEx inside the U.S. Certified-copy fees, FDLE's fee and notarization aren't included; online notarization is $40 for the first document ($10 notarization fee + $30 technology platform fee) and $20 for each additional one. A diploma and an FDLE check together cost $380. Already in China? International return shipping is a flat $100 per order.