China Brings in New Foreign Work Permit Scheme

With effect from April 1, 2017 a unified foreign work permit scheme will be rolled out across the country.

The new unified foreign work permit arrangement will replace the existing alien employment permit and the foreign permit system.

The new scheme will be based on a points classification model taking into account such factors as the applicant’s education background, age, salary, work experience and knowledge of the Chinese language.

Applications will be placed into a three tiered system. Tier A will have a fast track option while applicants in Tiers B and C will be subject to conditions and quotas.

International companies operating in China should become familiar with the new approach.