Last updated on August 6th, 2022 at 10:07 pm
Now that China has become the world’s largest economy in the East, with every move affecting the entire world economy, it has become the norm for foreigners to come to China to find jobs.
Over the years, the situation of foreigners coming to work in China has changed fundamentally.
A decade ago, when foreigners came to work in China, it was more like a kind of experiment, or tourism, or even to feel the life and experience the nature of different cultures and life forms, few of them considered China as their home, and very few of them could develop their career in China for a long time; today, the situation has changed dramatically, very few of them come to work in China for tourism or Most of them come to China for career development, and some of them can’t leave China, or have marriage and family in China.
Foreigners working in China, has gradually stabilized, many have been integrated into the Chinese workplace and Chinese employees to do the same work, spend the same holidays, the same holidays; some people will say: is not also get the same salary? The answer is no, because after all, China is not as developed as European and American countries, and the cost of living for foreigners in China is still higher than that of their own countrymen, for example: hotels and guesthouses cannot receive foreigners if they do not have the corresponding qualification and level.
I. About China work visa, work permit and residence permit
Some foreigners once asked: If I can solve the problem of work visa by myself, I don’t need employers to help me solve it, so that I have a wider range of options to find a job. Our answer is: No. Even if your previous visa has not expired, you may not be able to find a job. Even if your previous visa has not expired, after you find an employer in China, your work permit process has to be handled according to the rules.
Even if you had a work visa before, it was not handled by your new employer and your working relationship is not affiliated with your new employer in the future, so the fact that you currently have a work visa in force only gives you more time to stay in China and find more interviews. After you find a new job, you will have to apply for a new work permit and residence permit.
Other people ask: I came to China with my marriage and I have the right to stay in China for a long time, so can I just work after I find a job? The answer is also no. The fact that you have another type of visa only guarantees you the right to stay in China, it does not mean that you can work in China, to work in China, you need to have a work visa, a work permit and a corresponding residence permit. In a nutshell: it is illegal to do anything in China with any other kind of visa.
Many of people also ask: If an employer asks me if I can apply for a work visa and work permit on my own, and they pay us enough to do so, is this okay? The answer is also no. An employer hiring foreigners will apply for a work invitation letter, and the foreigner will apply for a work visa in China with the work invitation letter (applied for by the employer), and then apply for a work permit and a residence permit after arriving in China.
If an employer wants to recruit a foreigner and clearly states that he or she is not capable of applying for a work visa or work permit, the job opportunity is not a regular job opportunity at all and you are advised to give up.
II. Conditions that foreigners should meet in order to work in China
If you are an expert in a field that is in shortage in China, all the procedures are much simpler and the relevant departments have special channels to assist you with the process, which are not covered in this article. This article is aimed at most people who are looking for jobs in the job market, so it is also aimed at most people who cannot reach the qualification of “expert”.
1、 You must hold a diploma equivalent to a university degree (Bachelor Degree Certificate or above), which needs to be certified by the Chinese embassy or consulate in your country, for example, if you are Spanish, your university degree certificate needs to be certified by the Chinese embassy or consulate in Spain, otherwise it is invalid.
2、 After you get your bachelor degree, a certificate of more than 2 years of full-time relevant work experience, which must be issued to you by your previous employer, with the following elements: company logo (logo), company name, company location, time period you worked in the company, job title, signature of the certifying person, job title of the certifying person, contact information of the certifying person
Proof of full-time employment for at least 2 years is a necessary formality, without which you cannot apply to work in China. And the title of your job needs to be the same and basically similar to the job you are applying for in China, otherwise there will be problems too. If an employer provides you with a certificate of only one year, it is not enough, you need another year of full-time work experience also have a certificate, in short, all the certificates together, the same or related total full-time work experience must not be less than 2 years.
3. Proof of a clean criminal record, a certificate of a clean criminal record in your home country, perhaps certified by the Chinese embassy or consulate in your country, is a must.
Also, All the documents have to go through the Chinese embassy or Chinese consulate document authentication process first.
There is another exception, that is, if you are studying in China for an excellent (excellent academic performance, with an average score of not less than 80 (percentage system, other grading system converted into percentage system to deal with) or B+/B (grading system) or above, no bad behavior record during school) master’s or doctoral degree, and have graduated, then within one year of graduation, if you find a job, you can directly apply for a work permit.
If you are studying for a master’s or doctoral degree at a world-renowned university with excellent grades (excellent academic performance with an average score of not less than 80 (on a percentage scale, other grading systems are converted to a percentage scale for processing) or B+/B (on a grading scale) or above, and have no bad behavior record during your school years), you can start working if you find a workplace in China within one year of graduation, without having to provide proof of 2 years of relevant full-time employment. (For details, please refer to the document of Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security [2017] No. 3)
III. Questions about social security and medical care for foreigners working in China
As early as September 2011, the Chinese Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security issued a document on this issue, “Interim Measures for Foreigners Working in China to Participate in Social Insurance” (Order No. 16 of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of the People’s Republic of China), which has been clearly stipulated in the document.
In fact, in general, foreigners are required to pay “five insurance” in China, and the method of payment is basically the same as that of local employees.
In the process of actual operation in the previous years, we received calls from time to time to consult this issue, because this document was issued in 2011, in fact, from that time to now, the implementation of this document is gradually increasing, in actual operation, many companies are in accordance with the requirements of this document to implement. We also met some friends who said that some foreigners don’t want to pay the “five insurance” according to the regulations, they want to buy commercial medical insurance separately, they are more interested in this, our reply is: since China has this regulation, we should try to follow the regulations.
If foreigners are more interested in commercial medical insurance (they don’t want to go to the hospital in China to wait for the medical insurance). If foreigners are more interested in commercial medical insurance (they don’t want to queue up for medical treatment in Chinese hospitals), you can negotiate separately.
This article explains some of the most common and confusing issues for foreigners looking for jobs in China and employment in China. Hopefully, it will provide some help and lessons for people who wish to work in China, and employers and HR managers who need to recruit expatriates can also get some solutions to specific problems from this article.