Studying abroad: status, work, insurance and degree recognition

Mainland China only 10 tips

These tips describe mainland-China rules and do not apply in the United States; they are here for people living in China.

• 🎓Before paying tuition, check whether the school is on the Study Abroad Service Center's list of schools it can authenticate

  If you want to use the diploma after returning to China to take the civil service exam, join a state-owned company, get a household registration (落户) or apply for a professional title, it first has to go through authentication. The authentication is done by the Study Abroad Service Center of the Ministry of Education (教育部留学服务中心, 留服中心). If the school isn't on the list of schools that can be authenticated, the tuition and time are wasted, and the diploma can't be used in China. Checking the list is free. Check it first, then pay tuition.

• 🛂Keep watch on the lawsuit over the new U.S. F-1 rule: “a maximum of four years, leave within 30 days of finishing” was due to take effect on September 15, 2026, was put on hold by a court the day before, and for now it is still “until the program ends”

  The United States had planned to change F-1 status to a maximum of four years, with departure within 30 days of finishing. The day before it was to take effect, a federal court put it on hold. So for now the old rule still applies: you can stay as long as the program lasts, and after finishing you have 60 days to prepare to leave. A hold is not a repeal, the government can still appeal, and the rule could change again at any time.

• ⏱️Work hours are a firm line written into the rules of all four countries, the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia: going over by one hour violates the visa conditions

  All four countries set an upper limit on how many hours a student visa holder may work. Going over is a violation of the visa conditions, and you may have the visa canceled and be sent home, and later applications will also be questioned. The limits are: the U.S., 20 hours a week; the U.K., 20 hours a week for a degree course and 10 hours for below degree level; Canada, 24 hours a week; Australia, 48 hours per two weeks. If you hold two jobs, the hours are added together.

• 📚The root of your status is being a full-time student: during a leave, after dropping out, or in a gap between transfers, you may not work at all

  Whether you may work depends on whether you are currently studying full time. Once you take a leave, drop out, are expelled, or are not in class during a transfer, your right to work ends on the spot. If you keep working then, it is illegal work. Many people think they are fine as long as the visa hasn't expired, but their status has already been broken.

• 📍United States: report your new address within 10 days of moving

  If you change where you live in the United States, the law requires you to notify the immigration authorities within 10 days. Not reporting is no small matter. First, it is itself against the law. Second, letters the immigration authorities send you can get lost.

• 🧭Before leaving and while you are studying, take a look at the Ministry of Education's study abroad alerts

  The Ministry of Education (教育部) issues alerts for particular countries or regions, saying that recent public safety or policy there is unfavorable to Chinese students. These are officially published risk notices that you can look up in black and white, more reliable than what an agent says. Looking costs nothing.

• 🛡️Australia: OSHC must cover the whole stay with no gap, and arriving without proof of insurance may mean being refused entry

  Australia writes international students' health insurance into the visa conditions; it is not optional. The insurance has to cover the whole period of stay. When you renew and switch policies, there can be no gap in between. If you can't show proof of insurance on entry, you may be refused entry on the spot. If family members come along to accompany you, each one has to buy a separate policy.

• 🧾United Kingdom: besides the visa fee there is a yearly health surcharge, £776 a year for students, paid in one lump sum when you apply

  Going to the U.K. costs more than the visa fee. You also pay the health surcharge in advance for the number of years of the visa, and only then can you use the National Health Service (国民医疗服务, NHS). For a two-year visa you pay £1552 at once. Together with the visa fee, this has to be paid in full before you leave, so don't leave it out of your budget.

• 📜Leave time for authentication before returning to China: authentication by the Study Abroad Service Center takes 10 to 20 working days

  To use a foreign degree back in China, you first have to have the diploma and degree authenticated. The review alone takes 10 to 20 working days. In the job-hunting season, or if your materials are sent back, it takes longer. Autumn recruitment, civil service exam registration and household registration (落户) all have deadlines, so don't wait until you need it to start.

• 🛡️More schools are put under “enhanced review” for authentication every year, and buying a diploma no longer works

  The Study Abroad Service Center (留服中心) names a group of foreign schools whose degree authentication gets separate, stricter review, and it also suspends accepting authentication applications for a few schools. The ones named are often the kind advertised as “no language test, no need to leave China, a master's in a few months.” Searching the school's name once before you sign up is far easier than appealing afterward.