China’s new visa policies

In a concerted effort to attract more international talent to China, Chinese authorities have issued new visa policies for foreigners living and working in China.

It is hoped that China’s new visa policies will ultimately enable China to become , ‘a talent importing country, to meet the demand of national development and the nation’s effort to become a technology power.” 

The Chinese Immigration Bureau statement details the department’s plan to simplify and improve the visa application process for foreigners who work in China as well as encourage more talented people to come to China for work.

The improvement and simplification of the visa application process for foreigners or young talents who wish to work or study in China. These policies will be taken effect starting on August 1st of this year. 

The new policies are:

For Chinese Permanent Residence:

1. High-level foreign talents, foreigners who have made an outstanding contribution to China or foreigners whose positions are deemed ‘urgent’ by the Chinese government, will be able to apply for a permanent residence permit along with their spouses and underage children.

2. Foreigners who have worked in China for at least 4 years, with stay of more than 6 months per year, whose salary is more than six times that of the average local salary, will be able to apply for a permanent residence permit along with their spouses and underage children.

3. Overseas Chinese holding a PhD or who have worked in the China Development Area for more than 4 years, with stay of more than six months per year, will be able to apply for a permanent residence permit along with their spouses and underage children.

For Visa on arrival and long term visa:

4. Foreigners who work fo important universities, R&D centers or that are sponsored by elite companies, and foreign talents whose employment has been confirmed by the government, qualify to apply for a visa on arrival. After entering China, they are eligible to apply for a 5-year residence permit.

5. Foreigners who work for industries deemed important by the Chinese government, special talents or members of entrepreneur teams qualify to apply for a 5-year residence permit.

6. Foreigners who have made outstanding contributions to China or that have been especially requested by China are eligible to apply for a 5-year residence permit along with their team members.

7. a. Foreigners hired by any China company who already hold a working permit can apply for a working visa directly, without having to apply for a Z visa first (only available in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou at the moment, but will take effect in all cities after August 1st)

b. Foreigners who have been working in China for 2 years without a bad record are eligible to apply for a 5-year residence permit.


Part Time Job Visa:

8. High-level talents working at renown universities, R&D centers or elite companies can apply for apart-time entrepreneur visa.

For Students:

9. Foreign students who graduate from one of China’s top universities are eligible to apply for a two to five-year entrepreneur visa.

10. Foreign students who graduated within two years from a renown international university are eligible to applyfor a two-year entrepreneur visa.

11. Students who have been invited by the China government or sponsored by public institutions can apply for a one-year internship visa.

Service Centres

12, In addition to these new visa policies, the Chinese government is committed to opening more Service Centers for foreigners in order to simply the process even further. These centers shall provide help to foreigners to better understand the policies, clarify questions about visa applications, provide legal aid and deal with any language and culture-related problems.