1. How to apply for Foreigner’s Work Permit in China?

Search “Management and Service System of Foreigners Working in China” in Google Chrome to enter the official website or directly enter https://fuwu.most.gov.cn/lhgzweb/. If you have already registered on the system, please click “Log in” and apply for corresponding business; if you haven’t registered yet, please click “Register now” and operate as prompted.

Before application, please first make sure if the applicant is eligible to apply for Foreigner’s Work Permit in China (See Classification Standard for Foreigners Working in China (Tentative) on the official website for details). Then make sure if the Permit can be applied for within China; if so, the Permit can be applied for Domestic Application for Foreigner’s Work Permit in China (See Service Guide for Foreigner’s Work Permit in China (Tentative) on the official website for details); if not, apply for Overseas Application for Foreigner’s Work Permit in China. Refer to the flow chart and materials required on the official website for details.

2. If the applicant is already in China, can the Work Permit be applied for directly in China?

If the applicant is in China, make clear(sure) if the Permit can be applied for within China; if so, the Permit can be applied for directly in China (See Service Guide for Foreigner’s Work Permit in China (Tentative) on the official website for details); if not, apply for the Permit as per the before-entry requirements. Refer to the flow chart and materials required on the official website for details.

3. If the foreigner’s employing unit(company) is changed, how to change the Work Permit?

If the foreigner’s employing unit(company) is changed but the working post is the same and the Residence Permit is still valid, the change of Work Permit may be applied for as per the condition that “the foreigner working in China has changed the employing unit(company), but the working post (occupation) is the same and the Residence Permit is still valid”; if not, please make the application as per other corresponding requirements. Refer to the guide on the official website for detailed business type and materials required.

4. How can I know if a foreigner employed by the unit(company) meets the requirements of the Work Permit?

The foreigner to be employed must conform to the following requirements:

①Above 18 years old, healthy, without criminal record, with a certain employing unit in China, and technically or academically competent for the job;

②Professional talents urgently needed for our economic and social development;

③Subject to other laws and regulations on foreigners working in China.

Please refer to Classification Standard for Foreigners Working in China (Tentative) on the official website for specific standards.

5. What are the requirements for foreign language teachers?

In principle, foreign language teachers should teach their native language and should have a bachelor’s degree or above as well as more than 2 years of language teaching experience. Therein, teachers that have a bachelor’s degree or above in education, languages, or teaching or that have obtained the teacher qualification certificate of their country or a satisfactory international language teaching certificate can be exempt from providing work experience. Satisfactory international language teaching certificates refer to: TEFL in China certificate issued by Foreign Talents Information Research Center under State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs; those who have obtained an international language certificate through training and testing given by foreign social training and educational agencies need to be trained for more than 120 hours, covering classroom management, curriculum planning, grammar, lexicology, phonology, and other skills required for language teachers, and the applicant should provide relevant interfaces of the training course’s website for inquiry; for relevant international language qualifications granted by foreign universities, such universities should be in the Directory of Foreign Colleges and Universities published by the Foreign-related Education Supervision Information Network of the Ministry of Education of China.

In principle, foreign language teachers should teach their native language. If they have obtained a doctoral degree or a master’s degree in education, languages, or teaching in any country that speaks the language they teach or have obtained teaching qualification in any country that speaks the language they teach, the requirements on their nationality can be relaxed, while the said qualifications need to be identified by authentication agencies in China.

6. Is there an age limit for foreigners working in Shenzhen?

They should be at least 18 years old. There’s no age limit for A-Class foreign high-end talents. B-Class professional talents usually can’t exceed 60 years old. If necessary, for foreign talents that are innovative and entrepreneurial talents, skilled talents, outstanding foreign graduates, that have enough points and that introduced as per intergovernmental agreements, limitations on age, education background, work experience, etc. may be relaxed to some extent.

There is no age limit for Foreign High-end Talents (Category A). The upper age limit for applying for a work permit for Specialized Foreign Talents (Category B) in China follws the legal retirement age stipulated in our country.

7. When should the employing unit(company) sign the employment contract with the foreigner to be employed?

The time of signing the employment contract shall be negotiated by the two parties. However, the Foreigner’s Work Permit will be issued after the employment contract takes effect.

8. How to interpret the requirement in the Measures for the Implementation of Administrative Permit on Foreigners Working in Shenzhen that the jobs for the foreigners shall be special demand without proper candidates in China?

“Special demand without proper candidates in China” refers to the urgently needed talents that cannot be found in the domestic labor market.

9. Who shall keep the cancellation certificate of the Foreigner’s Work Permit, the employing unit(company) or the foreigner?

The employing unit(company) shall go through the cancellation procedures for the Foreigner’s Work Permit; the cancellation certificate shall be handed over by the unit(company) to the foreigner.

10. If a Chinese citizen that has obtained the right of settlement in foreign countries but without foreign nationality will work in Shenzhen, is the Foreigner’s Work Permit needed?

A Chinese citizen that has obtained the right of settlement in foreign countries but without foreign nationality is not a foreigner, so the Foreigner’s Work Permit is not needed.

11. Can foreigners get their Certificate of No Criminal Record in Shenzhen?

The certificate should be issued by the police, security, court, etc. of the applicant’s home country or country of residence, and should be certified by an embassy or consulate of China.(Please note that as China officially joined the Convention on the Elimination of Certification Requirements for Foreign Official Documents (referred to as the Convention) on November 7, 2023, if the country where the certificate of non criminal record is issued is on the list of contracting parties to the Convention, the Hague Additional Certificate of Certification issued after November 7, 2023 (inclusive) can be provided without further authentication by the consulate.) Traditional consular authentication procedures will still be used between China and non contracting states of the Convention) or by a foreign embassy or consulate in China. If the certificate is issued by Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan, it should be notarized by the local notary office. The country of residence refers to the last country or region where the applicant has lived for more than one year after they left their home country. The certificate should be issued within the last six months. If Shenzhen is the place where the applicant has lived for more than one year after they left their home country, the certificate can be issued in Shenzhen. Pledge system can be adopted for A-Class foreign high-end talents.

12. What’s the difference between Foreigner’s Work Permit in China and Notification Letter of Foreigner’s Work Permit in China?

The Notification Letter of Foreigner’s Work Permit in China is a temporary document used when the applicant is applying for the visa. The applicant shall not work in China without the Foreigner’s Work Permit and corresponding Residence Permit, or they may face legal risks.

13. What are the countries and regions that use English as their native language or first language?

Ascension Island, Australia, Bermuda Islands, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, Canada, the Falkland Islands (i.e. Malvinas Islands), Gibraltar, Guernsey, Guyana (former British Guiana), Ireland, Isle of Man (British Irish Sea Territory), Jersey Island, New Zealand, Pitcairn Islands, Singapore, South Africa, the UK Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha, the UK, the USA, the US Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, British Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Jamaica, Montserrat, the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos Islands.

14. How should the name be filled in the basic information?

The name must be filled in according to the rules indicated in the machine-readable zone of the passport information page, following international conventions, with a clear distinction between "surname" and "given name." If the passport information does not allow for a distinction between "surname" and "given name," the full name should be filled in under the "given name" . If a name change occurs, a name change application should be submitted promptly.