[2024 Latest] For those working in China - Obtaining a work visa / Z visa (Shenzhen)

Introduction

Nice to meet you, I'm Hira, who is holed up in the dome due to the cold weather.

we introduced a way to enter China without obtaining a visa in advance ( Special Zone Travel Visa at Shenzhen Port .

There are many types of visas depending on the purpose of your visit, such as "tourist (L)", "exchange/visit/inspection (F)", and "commerce/trade (M)".

*At the time of writing this article (January 5, 2024), the "15-day visa exemption" for Japanese nationals has not yet been resumed. Therefore, before traveling to China for purposes other than transfer, it may be a good idea to consider using a ``tourist visa/special zone travel visa'' or ``transit visa.''

Now, let's start explaining the main topic: obtaining a work visa.

About work visa (Z visa)

As the name suggests, this is a visa for people visiting China for the purpose of working.

However, in order to work legally in China, you will also need a "Foreign Employment Permit" and "Foreign Residence Permit" issued within China's borders.

*If the permits are not complete, it will be considered illegal work.

(Illegal employment risks detention and fines for both the employer and the company!)

This time, our employees will be stationed and working in Shenzhen, China, so we decided to obtain a Z visa in advance and apply for a work permit and residence permit after visiting China. When applying, there are many materials that need to be prepared, and it takes quite a while to obtain them. Once you have decided to move to a new position, start preparing as soon as possible.

According to the official information of the Visa Center, the required documents for the Z visa are as follows.

Selection of Chinese visa type and required documents (as of 2023/11/16)

Several materials were listed, but the one that required the most time and energy was ``one of the following.''

What is “Foreign Work Permit Notification (Foreign Work Permit)”?

A foreign employment permit is a document that allows foreigners to legally work in China.

Some people may be troubled by the slightly different names, but the one applied for in China is the "Foreign Work Permit (Foreigner Work Permit)" and the one applied for overseas is the "Foreign Work Permit Notification (Foreign Work Permit Notification)". Notification of permission for foreign operations).

There are three types of foreign work permits: "A (highly skilled personnel)," "B (specialized personnel)," and "C (ordinary personnel)," and we will explain the application for type B.

Class B personnel are further divided into six types of qualifications.

1. Foreign professionals under the age of 60 with a bachelor's degree or higher and 2 years or more of relevant work experience
2. Persons with internationally recognized professional qualifications or skilled human resources with serious labor shortages
3. Foreign language teaching personnel
4. Foreign personnel whose income is more than four times the previous year's regional average income
5. Professional personnel and project implementation personnel in accordance with national sector regulations
6. Professional personnel with a score of 60 points or more

Let's apply~

If you are applying for ① in Shenzhen, please enter your personal information, work permit application information, academic background (from higher education), work history, family information (accompanied by family members) in the " Foreigner Comprehensive Management System ", and submit the necessary documents. This is the process of uploading.

Once you have submitted your application on the system, it will be examined by the China Foreign Residents Bureau, and if it passes, a work permit will be issued.

Step1. Personal information

All you have to do is enter your personal information and upload your ID photo.

*Required materials 1⃣ Face photo data for uploading

(Unlike the visa center's requirements, the photo must be 354x472 pixels or more / The size is 20KB to 120KB / Use a blue photo for the background)

Step2. Work permit application information

After filling out the details of your job in China, you can complete the form by answering whether you have any qualifications or other qualifications that will give you additional points.

Of course, if you answer "Yes" to the additional points, you will need to add those explanatory materials later.

Step3. Academic background

Enter your academic background from higher education.

＃"If you do not have a history of higher education, please enter your most recent academic background," but this is for cases other than foreigners with a bachelor's degree or higher in ①.

*Required materials 2⃣ Certificate of final educational background（Consular certification from the Chinese Embassy in Japanfrom the Ministry of Foreign Affairsapostillerecognition)

How to obtain: Graduation certificate (school) → Official seal confirmation (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) → Consular authentication (China Visa Center)

#update

From November 7th, with the entry into force of China's ``Convention on Not Requiring Authentication of Foreign Official Documents,'' consular authentication at the visa center is no longer required, and an apostille authentication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is required. (No need to confirm official seal)

Step4. Work history

Please enter your work history (other than internships) within the last 10 years.

*Required materials 3⃣ Employment history (work resume)

How to get it: Create a work history that details your position, period of employment, projects you have participated in, etc., get the official seal or signature of the person in charge from the listed company, and fill in the contact information of the person in charge.

#Note: You must have ``2 years or more'' of experience related to the job you will be working on (or in the same type of job) in your work history.

#You will also be required to confirm and approve the places you have worked in the past, so please think carefully when creating your application.

Step5. Family information

If your family is not in China, there is no problem with just skipping.

Step6. File upload

Required materials 1⃣ Employment history

Required materials 2⃣ Certificate of final educational background

Required document 3⃣ Criminal history certificate (certificate of no crime)

How to obtain: Apply at Police Department

Please submit the unopened package for official seal authentication at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and consular authentication at the Visa Center.

*After November 7, Apostille certification from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be accepted.

Required materials 4⃣ Labor contract (with Chinese company)

This is an employment contract written in Chinese with the applicant's name and the official seal of the employing company stamped.

Required materials 5⃣ Health examination certificate

At a hospital designated by the Chinese embassy, ​​you will undergo a medical examination for applying for a Chinese residence permit, and receive the foreign physical examination record and attached report.

Foreign national physical examination records include X-ray films, electrocardiogram results reports, blood test reports, etc., so all of them must be converted into data and uploaded.

By the way, the hospital I used this time was the Japan-China Friendship Clinic

Required materials 6⃣ Passport

You will need a scan or photo of your passport cover photo and personal information page.

Required materials 7⃣ Work permit application form (Foreigner's Work Permit Application Form)

After completing Steps 1-5, click "Download application form" at the bottom of the "Additional information" screen.

A work permit application form containing the information you entered will be downloaded.

If there is no problem with the contents of the application form, approve and sign that the application contents are true.

Upload the signed version to your system.

Required materials 8⃣ Others

If you have any supplementary materials, please upload them here.

Step7. Submit

Please wait after submitting.

Officially, it says it will take 7 business days, but I actually received a revised opinion 3 days later, made the changes and resubmitted it, and it was approved for review on the 5th day.

(Visiting the airport→Visiting the foreign company)

Foreign work permit notice (work permit notice book) itself

If you pass the final examination, you will receive two foreign work permit notices in Chinese and English as shown below.

Now you have all the Z visa application materials! ! !

🍕Let's go to the center~

end

It took more than four months from preparing the materials to officially obtaining the Z visa.

I finally got my visa, so I'm going to Shenzhen in January!

Please look forward to the “Foreign Residence Permit” edition!