Shenzhen‘s booming economy has made it a popular location for people from around the world to find work in China. Below, take a look together at advice for ex-pats working in Shenzhen, including information on the local economy, job search, and work permits.
Economic development of Shenzhen
Shenzhen is one of China’s major manufacturing centers, with only Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou having more economic power in China than Shenzhen. As one of China’s most successful special economic zones, Shenzhen has promoted innovation in the whole city, such as the Science and Technology Park in Nanshan District. There are also close business, trade, and social ties between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
How To Work In Shenzhen
As in other parts of China, English teaching jobs are very common in Shenzhen and are one of the most popular positions for expats working in the city. However, Shenzhen’s booming industries mean that there are plenty of opportunities for foreigners who want to work in Shenzhen, the fastest-growing city in the world. The Internet is perhaps the best place to find a job in Shenzhen, where expats can find job postings in English.
Finding a job as a (native English speaker) foreigner in Shenzhen is fairly easy, and the easiest way to do that is to find a job as an English teacher. Being a teacher in Shenzhen usually comes with free housing, a monthly salary of $1,500-2,000, and the opportunity to tutor English privately outside of class for $50-100 per hour.
Shenzhen has a large number of technology companies based in the city, including the world’s largest drone company (DJI), one of the world’s largest APP companies (Tencent), and several telecommunications network companies (Huawei, ZTE). If you are trained in robotics, coding, etc., maybe you have a chance to get into one of these companies, and if you speak Mandarin, that chance is greatly increased.
Join a local WeChat group
Still, it’s mostly a teaching job, but the official WeChat account for foreigners often posts daily or weekly job postings.
Change your LinkedIn city to Shenzhen.
This can help recruiters find you a local job in Shenzhen. I’ve been approached by several multinational companies (although I’m not looking for a job). You can also search for job openings in Shenzhen on LinkedIn. If you already live in Shenzhen, it’s easier to get a job, so it’s a bit of a chicken-fly, but hey —– Shenzhen is cheap.
Crazy Web.
I have friends who have the coolest jobs in Chinese companies that they got after years of living in China and decided that’s what they wanted to do and then pursued it relentlessly.
Work Permits in Shenzhen
Any foreign-invested company or representative body abroad is eligible to offer jobs to expatriates in Shenzhen, and there are already many expatriates living in Shenzhen. At present, there is a difference between working and non-working residence permits for foreigners, and foreigners working in Shenzhen are required to apply for both a work permit and a working residence permit.
It can take up to 15 days to process a work visa, so expats working in Shenzhen should allow plenty of time before applying for a visa or extension.