A Z work visa is single-entry and allows a foreign national to enter China within 90 days after their visa is issued and stay for up to 30 days to complete the post-arrival applications. The accompanying dependents should enter China with an S1 visa, which is also single-entry.

Within 15 days of arrival on a Z visa, the foreign national holding a work permit notice or a Representative Certificate must apply for a work permit from the relevant local authorities.

Within 30 days of arrival on a Z visa and upon issuance of the work permit, the foreign national and accompanying family members must apply for residence permits with the PSB. Residence permits function as multiple-entry visas, replacing the single-entry Z/S1 visas.

Work permits and residence permits are employer- and location-specific. Typically, a foreign national can only work for the entity shown on their work permit and should reside where the permits were issued. If there are any changes in the registration items shown in the work permit or residence permit, amendments must be promptly filed with the relevant authorities. If a foreign national no longer works for the employer, the work permit must be de-registered with the relevant authority, while the residence permit should be canceled with the PSB within 10 days after the employment end date.

If foreign nationals will be seconded by their overseas employer to work with its subsidiary in China for no more than 90 days per calendar year, and their employment and compensation is maintained by their overseas employer, the foreign nationals could be exempted from obtaining a work permit. Instead, foreign nationals can apply for an M business visa and enter China with the M visa to accomplish the short-term assignment.

Foreign nationals who would like to work in China must meet the following conditions:

• Be 18 years of age or older and in good health
• Have professional skills and job experience required for the intended employment
• Have no criminal record
• Have a clearly defined employer
• Have a valid passport or other international travel document in lieu of a passport

Pursuant to the current system, the authorities have introduced a comprehensive foreign talent assessment system that divides applicants into three categories based on academic background, professional qualifications and the nature of the assignment/employment in China. The assessment includes various lists of achievement criteria and a score-based system. Applicants may apply for work permit notices based on either the achievement criteria or the score-based system. In principle, a foreign national will be eligible to obtain work authorization in China if they meet the above conditions and have a bachelor's degree and two years of relevant postgraduate work experience.

The three categories include the following:

• Type A — Foreign High-Level Talent
• Type B — Foreign Professional Talent
• Type C — Foreign nationals who engage in temporary, seasonal, nontechnical or service-oriented work that also meet the needs of local labor markets

In general, Type A applicants are encouraged, Type B applicants are controlled and Type C applicants are limited. If an applicant is classified as Type A, they may skip the work permit notice application, enter China with a valid visa of any kind and then apply for a work permit directly. They will also be exempt from the age and work experience restrictions.

The applicant is also required to undergo a medical examination. If the examination is completed at an approved hospital overseas, the medical report can be forwarded to the relevant health center in China for verification. However, health centers in China will sometimes not verify overseas medical reports and will require the applicant to complete a new medical examination in China. Accompanying dependents of 18 years and over must also complete medical examinations.

A foreign enterprise's resident representative office does not need to apply for a work permit notice when appointing a foreign national as its chief representative or representative in China. The representative office must, however, seek authorization from the appropriate "approval authority" and register this approval, generally with the Local Administration for Market Regulation (previously known as Administration for Industry and Commerce). Upon registration, a Representative Certificate will be issued to the chief representative and each of the other representatives. Under the governing regulations, representative offices may only register up to four representatives, effectively capping the number of foreign representatives.

If the foreign national is accompanied by family members (e.g., spouse, parents or children under 18), the family members should apply for an S1 visa to enter China. For an S1 visa application, kinship certificates legalized by the relevant China consular office must be provided.

Effective from 7 November 2023, China officially joined the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, commonly referred to as the "Convention." Consequently, the time-consuming consular legalization will no longer be required for foreign public documents of a contracting state of the Convention to be used in China, and vice versa. Rather, the foreign public documents (such as the foreign national's degree certificate or the family members' certificates, etc., that are required for the foreign national's and the family members' immigration) will only need to be apostilled by the authorities designated by the respective document's state of origin. This would significantly shorten the processing time for a foreign national's work permit notice application and the family members' visa process.

Upon receiving the work permit notice or Representative Certificate, the foreign national may apply for a Z work visa from the appropriate China consular post (usually in the foreign national's home country).

In certain cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, a simplified procedure has been introduced as part of a series of policies that encourage foreign talent to seek employment in China. If a foreign national is already in China on an M business visa when their work permit notice is approved, they may apply for a residence permit directly and then a work permit without the need to obtain a Z visa offshore. Whether a foreign national is eligible for the simplified procedure will also be at the local PSB's discretion.

In general, foreign nationals who would like to work in China either under a local employment contract or under an international assignment for more than 90 days must apply for a work permit and a work-type residence permit, regardless of whether they are intracompany transfers or skilled workers. For work permit applications, the local authorities have tightened local requirements on recognizing international assignments for work permit purposes. Some localities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, have implemented a new practice where an international assignment can only be recognized for work permit purposes if the overseas home company (actual employer) is a direct shareholder of the host company in China (local sponsor), which also holds at least a 50% share in the host company. International assignments between affiliated companies within the multinational company are no longer accepted. Employers are advised to seek guidance from local counsel for up-to-date advice based on individual circumstances before determining an international assignment structure.

Under the standard work permit process, foreign nationals need to enter China on a Z visa. To apply for a Z visa, a foreign national must obtain one of the below-listed documents (the application for these documents must be sponsored by China host entity (typically, the employer)):

• Foreigner's work permit notice
• Representative Certificate, confirming that the foreign national is a registered representative under the representative office of a foreign company
• Approval document for taking up commercial performance in China, issued by the local authority responsible for cultural affairs
• Letter of invitation to foreigners for offshore petroleum operations in China, issued by China National Offshore Oil Corporation