Hiring a foreign employee in China: work-permit checks before day one

1. Separate permission to enter from permission to work

Article 41 of the PRC Exit and Entry Administration Law requires work permission and a work-type residence permit in accordance with the applicable rules. Article 43 treats work without the required permission, and work beyond the permitted scope, as unlawful employment. Checking a passport and a visa expiry date alone is therefore insufficient for an ordinary hire.

A business visit, visa-free entry or a family-related stay should not be assumed to authorize a regular China job. Describe the actual activities before choosing a route. Calling a person a visitor, consultant or secondee, or paying the salary abroad, does not by itself resolve the permission question.

Permanent residence is a distinct route: Article 48 permits qualifying foreign permanent residents to reside and work using their permanent-residence documents. Verify that status and the document’s validity instead of mechanically requiring the ordinary work-permit package from every foreign national. Any other claimed exception needs its own legal and documentary basis.

2. Check employment status separately from immigration compliance

Article 4 of the Supreme People’s Court Interpretation (II) on Labor Disputes, Fa Shi [2025] No. 12, applies where a foreign national establishes a working relationship with a mainland employer. It supports a request to confirm a labor relationship in three situations: permanent-residence qualification; a work permit together with lawful stay or residence in China; or completion of the relevant formalities under national rules.

Read that rule alongside the facts of the working arrangement and the immigration requirements, not as a replacement for them. For a group assignment, identify the contracting entity, the entity directing daily work, the permit sponsor and the payer. Explain discrepancies before onboarding. Nationality or an overseas contract alone is not a complete analysis of the relationship.

If work has already begun and a document gap is found, preserve the real dates, duties, approvals and payment records and seek a specific remediation assessment. Do not backdate records or assume that a permit defect eliminates every payment or dispute risk.

3. Verify the current work-permit record, including electronic evidence

The MOHRSS notice on integrating foreign work permits with social security cards, Ren She Bu Fa [2024] No. 75, introduced the integrated arrangement from 1 December 2024. Applications, extensions, changes and cancellations are handled online, and a foreign national need not obtain a new physical work-permit card after entry. Existing physical cards follow the notice’s transition arrangements when an extension or change is requested.

The notice provides work-permit information query, download and QR verification functions through the electronic social security card. HR should verify the permission information itself and retain a dated, appropriately secured record of what was checked. The absence of a newly issued plastic card does not establish a lack of permission; an old card or undated screenshot does not establish current validity either.

Distinguish an application receipt, a Work Permit Notice and the current record of permission, and confirm what each establishes in the applicable process. The integrated card does not replace the separate review of the required residence documentation. Collect the evidence needed for the employment decision, with access limited to staff handling the matter.

4. Match the permission to the job the company actually needs

Compare the approved employer, duties, work location and validity period with the proposed arrangement. A candidate’s permission connected with a previous employer should not be treated as automatically transferable. Before a change of entity, role or location takes effect, confirm whether a change, cancellation and new application, or other procedure is required with the responsible authority.

For a transfer between group companies, align headquarters’ assignment letter, the local contract and the permission file. Name the person responsible for confirming that the new arrangement is permitted before work starts. Internal reporting-line changes and unchanged overseas payroll do not prove that the existing authorization covers the new role.

5. Keep a separate calendar for residence and work permission

Article 30 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law gives a 30-day period from entry to apply for residence documents where the visa requires them after entry. Article 32 requires an application to extend residence at least 30 days before the residence document expires. These are different triggers, not one universal onboarding deadline or a grace period for unauthorized work.

Record passport, work-permission and residence-document expiry dates separately. Confirm the current work-permit extension requirements and local processing arrangements instead of copying the residence deadline into every column. Allow time to obtain missing materials, and preserve the final decision as well as the submission receipt; a filing is not an approval.

A contract or assignment document may be needed during the application process. Keep signing, entry, approval and the authorized start of work distinct, and document how a delayed or refused application will affect the proposed start. Do not promise a guaranteed permit outcome or silently move the start date while work is already being performed.

6. Prepare an employer decision file before confirming day one

Bring together the employing-entity details, role and location, proposed dates, passport and status documents, the verified permission record, residence evidence and relevant application decisions. Add the proposed contract or assignment letter and any prior-employer exit or permit-change records needed for this route. Check the local official material list; this is a review file, not a universal application checklist.

The useful output is a documented decision: the proposed role is supported by the verified route and records, or named steps must be completed before work begins. For an initial discussion, send a non-confidential outline of the China entity, city, role, current document types and proposed date. Agree secure document-sharing arrangements before sending passport or personnel files.