This guide aims to give an (impartial) overview of some international insurance plans on offer in in China. When I first came to China in 2005, I just used a Dutch insurance (Joho – Special Isis). Because that one expired after 4 years, I was forced to take a new insurance. I wrote this guide, because apparently there are no good guides to picking an insurance for expats in China. I only found some incomplete posts on several forums.

When I first came to Shenzhen at the end of 2005, there were very few foreigners on the streets. This was probably partially due to the fact that I lived in Nanshan district in a modest appartment. After I moved to Futian district in 2007, I noticed more foreigners but recently the number seems to have increased even more. For example before the Olympic Games in 2008 there really seemed to be fewer, but now at the end of 2009 it's a miracle if you don't see other foreigners.

This article explains the procedure for Marriage in the Netherlands between a Dutch guy and a Chinese girl, both living in China: us :)

Hopefully it will help other Dutch-Chinese couples in the future who decide to get married in the Netherlands (the procedure for getting married in China is much simpler - and cheaper!). It helps a lot if you have some family in the Netherlands who can help you (or if one of you is still in the Netherlands). One of the first things you can do is make an appointment for the marriage ceremony. We did this 8 months in advance. After this you can do the pre-marriage (ondertrouw) procedure.We completed the ondertrouw procedure about 3.5 months before our wedding date.

Let's start with stating the obvious: it's very hard to provide specific figures for salaries etc. Look at my article about the costs of living in Shenzhen and then you can make up your mind how much you should be earning to have a comfortable life. My advice would be anything over 10K RMB/month up to several times this depending on position and experience. When you are negotiating your salary, benefits and bonus for your new job in Shenzhen, I believe you should consider these items (housing, insurance, holidays, visa, special government policie, transport costs etc):

 Photos from Shenzhen, taken in 1980. Compare these to the photos of how Shenzhen looks currently, it's amazing. I did really not recognize Shenzhen from these photos!

The quality of the doctors in China varies greatly. Even in the best hospital of Shenzhen (Peking University hospital) the quality does not always seem as good. One example: I went to the hospital and when you register for a consult, you need to say if you want to see an expert doctor or just anyone. We picked an expert (it was only 8RMB in total anyway!). After waiting for a while in the waiting room, the doctor could see us. Downstairs we had read her resume, and it looked impressive. But what a shock!

Luckily my employer takes care of all the formalities related to working in China (Foreign Expert Certificate + Work Visa), but I often see stories about people who work in China without the right paperwork. I wouldn't advice to do this; it's much safer to register and go through the paperwork. 

So what are the penalties if you don't do it? It was not so easy to find out (I'm not a layer), but it seems the document "Rules Governing the implementation of the law of the People's Republic Of China on the Entry and Exit of Aliens " lists the relevant rules:

Er is een kleine Nederlandse gemeenschap in Shenzhen, op dit moment gebruiken we ShenzhenStuff Dutch Group,maar ik ben van plan om in de toekomst hier meer informatie toe te voegen.

Ik raad alle Nederlanders aan om zich te registreren bij het Consulaat in Guangzhou . Ik heb altijd goede ervaringen met ze gehad.  'Vrijwillige registratie ' is erg eenvoudig: download dit Word document en e-mail het naar This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Wanneer je geregistreerd staat, wordt je op de hoogte gehouden van evenementen zoals 'Koninginnedag', 'Nieuwjaarsreceptie' etc.

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Below a list of hospitals, dentists and clinics in Shenzhen. Be sure also to read my article about insurances for expats in China . 

Luohu:

Shenzhen People’s Hospital

    Add: 1017 Dongmen Road North, Luohu District （罗湖区东门北路1017号）

    Tel: 2553-3018

Minglun Dentistry

    Add: 1/F, Dongjia Building, Jiabin Road, Luohu District (罗湖区嘉宾路东佳大厦一楼)

    Tel: 2518-5505

Arrail Dental

    Add: Diwang Masion, 5002 Shennan Thoroughfare, Luohu District (罗湖区深南中路5002号信兴广场地王商业中心)

    Tel: 2583-5788

Shenzhen is quite an international city and there are plenty of jobs for foreigners, but most positions are for English teachers. There are a few job sites for foreigners in Shenzhen:

ShenzhenStuff classifieds

ShenzhenParty classifieds

Besides these two websites, there are various Chinese jobsites (51job, zhaopin etc) that also cover Shenzhen. These sites are mainly targeting a Chinese audience.

Teachers in Shenzhen should be native English speakers with at least a BSc. degree and can expect a salary over 10.000Y/month, accommodation and relaxing working hours.

My person story:

when I first came to Shenzhen in early 2006 I also found it very hard to find an interesting job, even though with my background (MSc. Computer Science) I would have been able to easily find a job in the Netherlands. I first did some freelance work, and was lucky that Tencent hired me as a recent graduate without working experience.

At the moment, because of the financial crisis, it is much more difficult to find a job. Tencent for example is also hiring fewer people and only considers people with exceptional technical skills. If you want to come to Shenzhen now, perhaps you could consider first studying Chinese for a few months at Shenzhen Universit. It will look great on your resume, you will come into contact with more people in Shenzhen, have more time to look for jobs and it's just very useful :)

When you study Chinese, you can also apply for a special student visa which has a longer validity than normal tourist visas I believe.

If you have a valid drivers licence from your home country with at least 60 days prior to expiration you can apply at the Xili Drivers Licence Office. You can't drive with international driver's licence here in China as they don't honor it as valid licence.

1. you have to Notarize your licence in Shenzhen, they had couple of notary offices there, they will translate it into chinese.
2. you have to go to the Xili Drivers Licence Office. There you will have an eye exam, after passing, then with your notarize document along with your drivers licence plus photos and passport copy you have to submit it at the 2nd floor office, they will give you schedule of the Chinese Driver's Exam. Normally it's every 15th and 30th of the month.
3. the Chinese Driver's Exam, it's literally in Chinese. You'll be given exams in Chinese which does not really make sense since most of us do not understand Chinese. The way how to deal with this is that every examinee has to bring an English interpreter with valid English Certification. I suggest you post ad here as there are many Chinese here who can help you with the exam. Mine, I passed on the second try. Mind you that passing grade is 90 out of 100. They are handing book at the exam place for your interpreter to review, you can have a glance also so you'll know about road rules in China.
4. after you pass the exam which you'll know the result straight away after you finish the exam, they will take digital photo to place in the drivers licence. Then 15 days after you can pick up the licence at the same office. There are nothing to pay in any of these procedures, however you will have to pay the interpreter and the notary public.

Shenzhen is one of the most expensive cities to live in China, but still relatively cheap compared to most Western major cities.To give you an indication of how much things cost, I collected some prices. I'm sure prices will vary a bit depending on where you buy and which brand you buy, but this should give you a good indication. I rarely eat in Western restaurants and have adopted a Chinese eating pattern. If you enjoy Western restaurants, you obviously will spend more. Living costs are relatively most expensive, house prices came down in 2008, but have risen a lot again and buying a house in a good location in Shenzhen is expensive.

The areas near the border with HongKong (traditionally Futian and Luohu, but now also increasingly Nanshan) are a bit more expensive to live. Living in the center also has other benefits, for example closer to library, more shopping malls, more restaurants etc. Bao'an is currently fast expanding and when the subway finishes in 2011, Bao'an will be more convenient to live as well. Whenever you go to Bao'an (where the airport is) you definitely feel that it's further away from the center: less high buildings, broader roads, less people.

Compared to the Netherlands, Shenzhen is still much cheaper to live. Especially eating in restaurants in much cheaper. House prices had gone up a lot and were approaching Dutch levels, but have since dropped off quite a lot; since the start of 2009 they are rising again. Never trust prices you see advertised online, but come here and look around. Because house prices dropped so much, it's now easy to find a place to rent. Also realize that 100m2 is already quite big in China and it should cost below 5000Y/month. (I sometimes see advertisements targeted at foreigners asking ridiculous prices -be warned and just look around and bargain). 

All foreigners in China need a visa. In 2008 China has created stricter rules and started to enforce existing rules more strictly. For example it is quite difficult/impossible to get an F-visa or L-visa for over 30 days at the moment. Possibly this will be relaxed after the Olympic Games, but there is no way to tell at the moment. On this page I give practical information about a Z-visa / Residence permit for foreigner in China. According to the guy at work who helps me, a Z-visa == residence permit.  Read more to see a copy of my visa.

If you already have a Z-visa, you probably also have a Foreign Expert Certificate. Before I started to work, my employer helped me to obtain this certificate, which takes the form of a small book, very similar in shape and colors to a passport:

All foreigners in China need to be registered with their local PSB (Public Security Bureau, like Police station). This rule has existed for a long time, but was never enforced strictly. From July the 1st 2008, they will start to enforce the rules more strictly: with fines of up to 5000 RMB! It is strongly recommended that all expatriate personnel living in apartments in China register with the local PSB prior to July 1st to avoid problems. Read more below for the procedure and who need to do it.