How to spot a fake ESL job offer in Asia: red flags and how to check a school

Published 2026-10-26 · Updated 2026-10-26 · By ESL Jobs Asia

Most English teaching jobs in Asia are real. But every week, while checking ads for our job packs, we turn some down: ads with no school named, pay that makes no sense, start dates that have already passed, or "programs" that don't say who you'd actually work for. This guide lists the red flags we actually see, what the law in each country says about the worst ones, and how to check a school yourself before you sign anything.

It's based on the ads we checked and rejected for our four country packs (121 listings kept, verified as of 2026-10-23) and on the official sources linked below. It isn't legal advice. If something feels wrong, slow down and check before you send documents or money.

Red flag 1: the wrong visa

Every country in this guide needs a work visa or work permit for a paid teaching job, and in every case the employer starts the paperwork. If a school or recruiter says "come on a tourist visa and we'll sort it out later", the job is illegal from day one, and you are the one who takes the risk.

China

Foreigners working in China need an employment permit and a Z visa, and individuals aren't allowed to hire foreigners (Provisions on the Employment of Foreigners, Articles 8 and 33, in Chinese). The school applies for your work permit first; you then apply for the Z visa with the notification letter (Chinese Embassy: Z visa requirements). A tourist, business or student visa is not a work visa. More in our China guide.

Japan

Teachers usually work under the "Instructor" status (schools) or "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services" (private language schools), and the employer usually applies for a Certificate of Eligibility (Immigration Services Agency: Instructor; Engineer/Specialist in Humanities, both in Japanese). One Japan ad we rejected offered visa sponsorship while asking only for a high-school diploma, which doesn't fit how these statuses normally work. More in our Japan guide.

South Korea

The work visa for English teachers is the E-2 (foreign language instructor) visa, sponsored by the school or EPIK (Korean embassy: E-2 visa). More in our South Korea guide.

Vietnam

The employer applies for your work permit to the provincial authority before you start (Decree 219/2025/ND-CP, in Vietnamese). Ads that say "no degree needed" or "college diploma accepted", or that only pay half the work permit cost, were among the ones we turned down. More in our Vietnam guide.

Red flag 2: you're asked to pay to get the job

The US Federal Trade Commission puts it plainly: honest employers will never ask you to pay to get a job, and honest placement firms don't usually charge candidates, because the hiring company pays them (FTC: Job scams).

What it looks like in ESL ads

"Placement programs" that bundle a TEFL course, "orientation" or "support" with a job somewhere, and don't say what they cost. We rejected several multi-country placement ads in Japan and Vietnam for this, and because no actual employer was named.
A program fee for a "teaching experience" that is really a paid program, not a job.
Vague relocation terms, such as one China ad that required candidates to "financially support your relocation" while giving no city, salary or terms.

What's normal

You will usually pay for your own documents (criminal record check, degree copies, apostilles) and sometimes a health check, and some schools only reimburse the flight or visa after probation. Those are costs you pay to official offices, not to the recruiter. Get any reimbursement promise in the contract. If you've already paid someone you now think is a scammer, contact the payment company you used straight away and ask to reverse it.

Red flag 3: no named school, or details that don't match

By far the most common reason we reject an ad is that we can't tell who the employer is. That isn't always a scam: many recruiters hold back the school's name. But you can't check a school you can't name. We leave generic blasts with no school and no concrete details out of our packs, and we only mark a listing Cross-Source Verified when the employer is named and the vacancy also appears on an independent source.

Patterns we keep seeing

Recruiter blasts: one ad for "many cities", no school, reposted again and again. In China one recruiter's ad was reposted five times in about three weeks; in Korea a templated "Nice/URGENT teaching position" series ran to dozens of near-identical posts.
"Company confidential" or an anonymous reply-relay address instead of a school contact.
Contradictions: a "Beijing kindergarten" ad that says the job is in another city; "Nanjing city, Hubei province" (Nanjing is in Jiangsu); two different salaries in the same ad; a Vietnam ad whose body describes China jobs and the Z visa.
Old ads still online: aggregator copies of ads from 2023 or 2024, start dates that have already passed, or a "contract length: 1 month" field on a full-time job.
Contact details that don't match: a free webmail address for an organisation that has its own domain, or a different email on the ad than on the school's own site.

What to do

Ask the recruiter for the school's full legal name and address before you send your passport scan or documents. A recruiter who won't name the school before you sign is a warning sign. Then check the school yourself (see below).

Red flag 4: pay that doesn't add up

The FTC's rule of thumb works for teaching jobs too: if an offer promises a lot of money for little work, be suspicious (FTC: Job scams). Real examples from ads we rejected:

A Japan ad whose structured salary read USD 230,000 to 350,000 per month.
A Japan ad with a range of JPY 80,000 to 400,000 "per lesson" in the header and about JPY 2,200 an hour in the body, with no guaranteed hours.
A Vietnam ad offering "27.000-40.000 vnd per month", and another that said $1,400 a week in one place and $1,400 to 1,500 a month in another.

Sometimes it's a typo, sometimes it isn't. Either way, ask for the exact monthly salary before and after deductions, in writing, and compare it with the pay ranges in our country guides. Hourly and part-time jobs should state a guaranteed minimum number of hours.

Red flag 5: a contract that doesn't match the ad

The offer you sign is what counts, so read it against the ad. The law backs you up on several points:

Written terms

In Japan the employer must clearly state wages, working hours and other conditions when the contract is made, and if the real conditions differ you may cancel the contract (Labor Standards Act, Article 15). In Korea the employer must state wages, hours, weekly holidays and annual paid leave in writing, and if those terms aren't kept you can claim damages and end the contract immediately (Labor Standards Act, Articles 17 and 19, English translation). In China the employer and the foreign employee must sign a labour contract (Provisions, Article 17).

Fixed penalties for leaving

A clause like "pay us 2,000 dollars if you leave early" is a red flag. Japan's Labor Standards Act says an employer must not make a contract that sets a penalty or a fixed amount of damages in advance (Article 16), and Korea's has the same rule (Article 20). Repaying a genuine cost you agreed to, such as part of a flight, is a separate question, so ask exactly what you would owe and why.

Your passport stays with you

A school may need to see or copy your passport for the visa, but it shouldn't keep it. The US State Department lists confiscating identity documents among the coercive tactics used in forced labour (US State Department: Understanding human trafficking). If an employer insists on holding your passport, contact your embassy.

Other things to compare

The employer on the contract is the school you interviewed with, and the same one sponsoring your visa.
Salary, hours, holidays, housing and insurance match what you were told, including probation and holiday months.
You get a translation if the contract isn't in a language you read, and time to read it. "Sign today" is pressure, not a deadline.

Our interview guide has a longer list of contract red flags and questions to ask.

How to check a school before you sign

None of these checks proves a school is a good employer, but each one makes a fake much harder to hide.

1. Find the school's own website

Search the exact name and address. Look for the same job on the school's own careers page. In our packs, a listing is only marked Cross-Source Verified when the vacancy also appears on a source independent of the original ad, such as the employer's own site; a repost of the same ad on another board doesn't count. You can apply the same test.

2. Look the company up in the official register

China: the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (gsxt.gov.cn, in Chinese) shows whether a company is registered, its address and its legal representative. It can be hard to use from outside China, so a friend there may need to help.
Japan: the National Tax Agency's Corporate Number Publication Site lists registered companies by name and head-office address.
South Korea: hagwons (private academies) are registered with the local office of education, and the NEIS academy service (in Korean) lets you look up an academy's registration.
Vietnam: the National Business Registration Portal has an enterprise search by name or enterprise code.

3. Talk to a current foreign teacher

Ask the school to put you in touch with one, and ask about pay day, hours and housing. A good school usually says yes.

4. Search for complaints

Search the school or recruiter's name with words like "scam", "review" or "complaint", as the FTC suggests. No complaints doesn't guarantee anything, but complaints can warn you early (FTC: Job scams).

5. Check the visa route matches the job

Ask who sponsors your visa, which visa it is, and what documents they need from you. Compare the answer with the official pages linked in the first section.

FAQ

How can I tell if an ESL job offer in Asia is fake?

Watch for being told to work on a tourist or business visa, any fee to get hired, no named school, pay that doesn't add up, contradictions in the ad, and pressure to sign quickly. Then check the school's own website and official business register, and ask to speak to a current foreign teacher.

Is it normal to pay a recruiter for a teaching job in Asia?

No. Honest employers don't charge you to get a job, and honest placement firms are usually paid by the hiring school, not by the candidate. You may pay for your own documents, such as a criminal record check and apostilles, to the official offices.

Can I teach English in Asia on a tourist visa?

No. China, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam all require a work visa or work permit for paid teaching, and the employer starts the process. A job that asks you to come on a tourist or business visa means working illegally.

Can a school in Asia keep my passport?

A school may need to see or copy it for your visa, but it shouldn't keep it. Confiscating identity documents is a known forced-labour tactic. If an employer insists on holding your passport, contact your embassy.

Can a school charge me a penalty for leaving early?

In Japan and South Korea, the Labor Standards Acts ban contracts that set a penalty or fixed damages in advance (Japan Article 16, Korea Article 20). Ask exactly what any early-leaving clause would cost you, and why, before you sign.

Does buying a job pack guarantee a job?

No. Our packs are lists of checked openings with links to the original ads. You apply directly to employers. We are not a recruiter and there is no job or visa guarantee.

Sources

This guide is general information, not legal or immigration advice. Rules and job ads change; confirm details with your employer and the official sources.