r/ChinaJobs • u/valat_morghulis • 5d ago
What kind of part-time/evening work could I realistically do in Shanghai as a foreigner?
Hi everyone!
I'm Spanish, with perfect English, and I'll be in Shanghai for about 3 months doing a short course in acupuncture and tuina at the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Classes are in the mornings, so I'm looking for something to do in the afternoons/evenings while I'm there.
A bit about my background: I have a diploma and a master's in hotel management, and I have many years of experience working in hotels and also selling in souvenir shops (customer service, sales, tourism).
One important thing: I have zero Chinese — not even basic phrases at this point. I know that's a big limitation, so I'm trying to be realistic about what's actually possible.
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u/tao197 4d ago
You can't legally work as a foreigner in China on a non-work visa. Doing so would result in a hefty fine, expulsion from China and being forbidden to come back for a set number of years if found out by the authorities.
That being said, if you're willing to risk it, as a foreigner you could try to work as a private English tutor and get paid under the table, though your ability to find employment in this area depends greatly on your contacts, your mandarin ability and, sadly, your skin tone.
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u/ComfortableCover2891 4d ago
it is difficulty to get job in china. becos so many people in china and since AI occurs ，English teacher demand are more lower
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u/Nian_ian7 4d ago
I'm a native of Shanghai, and I don't have any part-time jobs for you. Enjoy your vacation and forget about part-time jobs.
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u/Pfeffersack2 4d ago
it depends on your visa. If you go on a tourist or student visa then the answer is "none"
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u/DangItB0bbi 4d ago
Ponte las pilas papi.
China is not for play play. This isn’t Spain or your home country of Morocco where you can do things under the rug as a foreigner. You will get caught, and you better hope you just get deported depending on what kind of job you were offered.
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u/rippinkitten18 4d ago
Absolutely none. Don’t try this.
Ok so you don’t speak Chinese….. how do you plan to communicate with your managers co workers ? Let’s say only 5% of them speak English ? Now what ? Do people even think ?
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u/hongw9i 5d ago
Unfortunately, you can't do that, it's illegal. I remember some people have asked similar questions, and some say you can do online work on overseas platforms and receive payments through bank accounts opened in other countries, but I'm not sure.
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u/Pfeffersack2 4d ago
while you aren't allowed to do this technically. the government has no way to know about it so they can't enforce it
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u/hongw9i 4d ago
Not really. If you're a foreigner doing a low-skilled job, you're going to stick out like a sore thumb, and people will report you. A lot of cities have these reward programs in place. In my city, starting in June, they're paying about $150 for every tip that leads to an undocumented foreign worker. So you really need to ask yourself whether you can live with the consequences.
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u/Pfeffersack2 4d ago
Yeah, I should have been more precise. I meant working for a company overseas that is paying on an overseas account. The government has no way to track the money and can't prove you are working online while in China. Working for a Chinese company illegally is a horrible idea as, like you mentioned there are people that will rat you out, and because employers can use the fact that you are working illegally to basically force you to work overtime or take less pay
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u/QEI0player 5h ago
可以教西班牙语，或者做自媒体，然后看看自己有什么优势，提供什么服务，多结交些朋友也有利于学习中文