Teaching in China requires a clean FBI background check for your work permit and foreign expert certificate. Since November 2023 it needs only a U.S. Department of State apostille, not consular legalization. We deliver it in 7 to 10 business days.
Until late 2023, an FBI background check for China needed federal authentication and then legalization at a Chinese consulate, a slow two-step process. China joined the Hague Apostille Convention effective November 7, 2023, and Chinese consulates in the U.S. stopped doing legalization. Now your FBI background check for a China teaching job needs only a U.S. Department of State apostille. Many teachers and even some agencies still do not know this.
To teach legally in China you need a work permit and a foreign expert certificate, and the authorities require a clean criminal background check. For Americans that is the FBI Identity History Summary, apostilled by the U.S. Department of State. Because it is a federal document, only the Department of State can apostille it.
Get your fingerprints on a standard FD-258 card.
No. Since November 7, 2023, China is in the Hague Apostille Convention, so an FBI background check needs only a U.S. Department of State apostille. Chinese consulates discontinued legalization.
The U.S. Department of State, because the FBI check is a federal document. State apostilles are not accepted.
7 to 10 business days, because we walk documents into the Department of State in person.
Yes. Get fingerprinted on an FD-258 card, mail it to us, order the $95 mail-in FBI background check, access your result, then apostille it online.
Often yes. Many Chinese institutions require a Chinese translation of the apostilled FBI background check. Apostille first, then translate.
Apostille replaced legalization in 2023. 7 to 10 business days, return shipping included.
Birth, marriage, death, and divorce certificates are among the most commonly apostilled documents for visas and citizenship. We apostille vital records from all 50 states, with the same expedited handling and return shipping included.