Work Permits and Visas for Foreign Employees in China: The 2026 Process

Three documents, in order

Hiring a foreign employee in China is a sequence, and the order is fixed. Each document is a prerequisite for the next:

1. Work permit notification (外国人工作许可通知) — applied for online by the employer before the employee applies for any visa. Approval is a PDF notice with a barcode.

2. Z visa — the employee applies at a Chinese embassy or consulate abroad with the notification, passport, and physical exam record. The Z visa is an entry document only; it is not authorisation to work by itself.

3. Work permit card + residence permit — within China, after entry: the physical work permit card is issued, then the employee applies for a work-type residence permit at the local exit-entry administration. This is the document that lets them live (and lawfully work) in China for 1–5 years.

Points and classes: who qualifies

The work permit classification is points-based:

• Class A (85+ points) — encouraged: senior executives, high earners (salary 6×+ the local average wage), PhD holders, recognised talent. Fast-track processing, longer permit validity, fewer document requirements.
• Class B (60–84 points) — the standard professional track. The practical baseline: bachelor’s degree plus two years of relevant work experience, often with age and salary components added. Most foreign employees land here.
• Class C (<60 points) — quota-controlled: seasonal labour, certain language teachers under programmes, short-term project workers.

Two common pitfalls on qualification: language teachers need a degree plus TEFL certification plus (in many cities) two years’ experience — native English alone is not a qualification; and the “two years’ experience” for Class B is counted after graduation and must be evidenced by reference letters, which take time to obtain from former employers.

The document package

For the employee:

• Degree certificate — notarised + legalised, or apostilled (Hague countries since November 2023)
• No-criminal-record certificate from the home country (or longest recent residence) — same legalisation chain, and typically only valid 6 months from issue
• Physical examination record at a designated clinic (can be done in China after entry on the Z visa)
• Passport (6+ months validity), photos, employment contract or appointment letter

For the employer:

• Business licence, chops, and legal representative documents
• Registration on the work permit management system (Service System for Foreigners Working in China)
• Social insurance and housing fund accounts (foreign employees must generally be enrolled; totalisation agreements — e.g. with Germany, Japan, Korea, and a dozen others — can exempt some home-country contributions)

Employer-specific rules that surprise people

• Rep offices cannot hire directly. A representative office must engage foreign staff through a licensed labour dispatch agency — one more reason rep offices suit liaison, not operations.
• The permit ties the employee to the employer and city. Changing employers requires a new permit application; the process is lighter than the first application but is not a formality — the employee cannot resign and start elsewhere the next day.
• Termination has immigration consequences. When employment ends, the employer must cancel the work permit; the residence permit follows. The practical exit window is short — plan departures as carefully as arrivals.

Practical timeline planning

Start document legalisation (degree, police certificate) in the home country before recruiting closes — that is the longest and least controllable lead time. Employers in a hurry should check whether the candidate qualifies for Class A processing, and whether their city offers the integrated “one-stop” work-and-residence-permit window (available in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and a growing list of cities), which compresses steps 4–5 considerably.