foreigner in China | company registration
1、All the following situations will be referred to as Situation A:
1. If you worked in China, then transferred off of a work visa for another visa, and now you wish to apply to work in China again.2. If you worked in China, and then left the country, and now wish to work in China again.3. If you are a first-time applicant for working in China.
In all three situations, your application will be considered the same as a first-time applicant for a work and residence permits. The requirements of this are different than for a renewal without leaving a work visa.
2、Do my work permit documents have to be notarized and authenticated overseas?
According to the new national law, if you belong to Situation A, then the no-criminal record should be notarized overseas from a local notarization body, and then authenticated by the Chinese consulate or embassy. This process differs slightly from country to country.
Educational degrees can be notarized and verified in China with the government entity that verifies foreign degrees for Chinese citizens, this is significantly cheaper and easier. however, you will need a Chinese friend or your employer to handle it for you because it is all in Chinese. Some non-Chinese have already used this service.
Generally, notarizations from one’s home embassy in China are not accepted because most foreign embassies/consulates can only notarize documents that relate to conduct in that particular country.
3、Do the notarization and authentication of the documents have an expiry date?
Some consulates/embassies for China around the world say that it expires in 6 months, but in practice, it appears to be 3 months.
4、What if I am the national of country A, but my documents are from country B, which country should notarize my documents?
Documents can only be notarized and authenticated by the country in which they were issued, unless in a special circumstance such as the foreign degrees in China. For example, if you are an American that worked for many years in England, the Americans cannot verify your British documents.
5、Could I register a company to handle my work permit and visa?
You cannot register a company, with no business operation, just for the purpose of your work permit and related visa. The company must conduct operation and meet certain requirements to employ foreigners, and then you can apply for a work permit through the company. However, you will still need to meet the work permit requirements and there is no guarantee that you will be accepted.
6、Could I register a foreign company in China using my passport without having a company overseas?
Is it possible to register a company without paying the registered capital?
Every company requires a registered capital stated in the business license. However, it does not need to be paid during the registration process, but between 2 and 5 years (and up to 20 years for local companies) and that goes well with your proposed operation. This means that they will evaluate case-by-case.
7、 If I work in City A with Company A, the company sets up a new office in City B and asked me to move to the new office; where should my work/residence permit be tied to?
City B. Your work and residence permit should be tied to the city in which you spend the majority of your time in China.
8、 I am missing 2 years of work experience, could I still get a work permit to work in China?
First: It depends on your employment area in China. Shanghai, especially Shanghai Free Trade Zone and Shanghai New Area and some other areas are more flexible, and they do not consider the working experience as mandatory.
Second: It depends on your education. I suggest you review the first article on this subject, which details a few situations that this could be accepted.
Third: It depends on your employer size, reputation, and connections.
If you possess technical skills that are highly demanded by a reputed and powerful employer, you are more likely to be accepted for the work permit without work experience.