Teaching
Teaching English Online to Chinese Students in 2026: What Changed
If you want to teach English online to students in China, start with a rule China brought in during 2021. It changed who can teach whom, and reporting from August 2026 says it still applies. This guide sets out what the rule says, what it did to the online tutoring giant VIPKid, who you can still teach, and what to check before you accept any work.
Key Takeaways
In July 2021 China cut after-school tutoring for children in compulsory education, and its guidelines bar hiring foreign teachers based overseas to teach them.
VIPKid, an online tutoring company once worth $3 billion, announced that by 5 November 2021, students in mainland China would no longer be able to take its classes with foreign teachers living outside China.
- The rules are written for children in school. EdSurge summed them up as stopping foreign educators from tutoring children, but not adults.
A report from August 2026 found the ban on overseas foreign teachers had not been loosened.
What the 2021 Rules Changed
On 24 July 2021, the General Office of the Communist Party's Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council issued guidelines that became known as "double reduction". They set out to reduce homework and after-school tutoring for students in compulsory education, from the first grade of primary school to the end of middle school.
The same guidelines deal with foreign teachers directly. The Chinese business site 36Kr quoted them in August 2026: it is "strictly prohibited to hire overseas foreign personnel to carry out training activities". For an English teacher at home in the United States, the United Kingdom or anywhere else outside China, that line is the one that matters.
What Happened to VIPKid
VIPKid paired children in China with teachers abroad who were largely native English speakers, a sizeable share of them American. EdSurge reported its wind-down on 20 October 2021. Parents could book live classes with foreign teachers until 19 October 2021. Its announcement said that by 5 November 2021, students in mainland China would no longer be able to take classes with foreign teachers living outside China.
EdSurge also reported where the company and its teachers went next. VIPKid was leaning on adult English lessons for some of its future revenue. Some of its teachers moved to tutoring companies outside China, including companies in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Who You Can Still Teach
The rules are aimed at children in compulsory education in mainland China. That leaves two groups worth knowing about.
Adults in China. University students and working professionals who want English for study or for their jobs fall outside the rules' stated target, and EdSurge's summary of the policy says as much.
Learners outside mainland China. The ban covers training for students in the mainland, and some former VIPKid teachers moved to tutoring companies elsewhere.
Is the Ban Still in Place in 2026?
Yes, according to 36Kr. Its report of 26 August 2026 says that five years on "this ban has not been loosened". It adds that the 2025 model contract for off-campus training of primary and secondary school students, issued by China's education ministry and its market regulator, keeps both prohibitions: on hiring overseas foreign personnel, and on providing overseas education courses.
The same report describes lessons with foreign teachers still being sold to families in mainland China, with payment taken by companies registered abroad. Its main example is VIPKid: citing the Yangtze Evening News, it says a buyer in Nanjing bought 144 one-on-one foreign-teacher lessons on VIPKid in 2024, and the payment went to VIPTEACHER PTE.LTD., a company registered in Singapore. It also reports that a lawyer told the media such arrangements are "suspected of evading domestic approval and supervision". If a company offers you work teaching children in mainland China, ask how it is set up before you accept.
Before You Start
Decide who you will teach. Adults in China and learners outside the mainland are the groups the rules leave open.
Read the platform's own terms. Check who its students are and where they live, not only what it pays.
Plan for the time difference. China officially uses one time zone, eight hours ahead of UTC all year round, so an evening class in Beijing falls early in the morning in North America.
Keep your own records. Save your contract, your schedule and every payment, in case a platform changes its terms.
FAQ
Can foreigners still teach English online to children in China?
Not as tutors hired from overseas for children in compulsory education in mainland China. The 2021 guidelines prohibit hiring overseas foreign personnel for that training, and 36Kr reported in August 2026 that the ban had not been loosened.
Can I teach adults in China online?
The 2021 rules are written for students in compulsory education. EdSurge summed them up as stopping foreign educators from tutoring children, but not adults, and VIPKid itself was leaning on adult English lessons for some of its future revenue.
What happened to VIPKid's foreign teachers?
VIPKid announced that by 5 November 2021, students in mainland China would no longer be able to take its classes with foreign teachers living outside China. Some of those teachers moved to tutoring companies elsewhere, according to EdSurge.
Is teaching mainland children through a company registered abroad allowed?
36Kr reported on platforms that take payment through companies registered abroad, and reported that a lawyer told the media such arrangements are suspected of evading domestic approval and supervision. Ask any platform how it is set up before you take the work.