MUST-KNOW Issues for processing Work Visa as a Business Owner
If you are the “法人” (legal person) and you have a bachelor degree and more than two years work experience.
You can apply for a category B work permit and work visa. For example, the position can be legal representative & general manager.
When applying for the work permit, the most critical documents are:
(1) Applicant’s Work Reference letter (Original and Scan, at least 2 years relevant working experience)
(2) Non-criminal Record report issued from your country, need to be legalized by China Embassy or your country Consulate in China.
(3) Applicant’s original diploma, need to be legalized by China Embassy or your country Consulate in China
When your work permit expires next year, you can renew it normally. There is no age limit for the legal person.
2
If you are the “法人” (legal person) but you don’t have a bachelor degree or work experience.
You still can apply for a category B work permit and work visa. For example, the position can be legal representative & investor & *** manager, but you need to provide the certificate of receipt for foreign investment record ( The document shows the proportion and amount of your contribution).
The requirements of each district in Shanghai are not the same, some districts may required you to provide the industrial and commercial system filing materials.
There is also no age limit for the legal person when you need to renew the work permit.
3
if you are the shareholder.
If you’re not a legal person but only an investor of the company, and you don’t have a bachelor degree or work experience, you can still apply for a category B work permit and work visa.
For example, the position can be investor& *** manager, but you need to provide the certificate of receipt for foreign investment record, according to the requirements of each district in Shanghai which are not the same. Some districts may require you to provide capital verification report ( any documents which to prove your contribution of capital).
The amount of capital contribution may vary according to the requirements of each district.
Work permits applied for in this way can’t be renewed if you are over 60 years old.
Please be careful:
If you process your work visa as a “法人签”or “投资人签证” (Here refers to the method of applying without a bachelor degree and more than two years work experience), when you renew it, you have to provide the social security certificate of a Chinese employee of the company who has paid for more than 6 months and the invoice of the normal operation of the company.
Here’s a negative example:
We had a customer who has the bachelor degree and more than two years work experience. She found an agency who applied the work permit for her as an investor without providing the bachelor degree and work experience.
This year when she try to renew the work permit, she can not provide the social security certificate of a Chinese employee of the company who has paid for more than 6 months and the invoice of the normal operation of the company, so she failed to renew. She even re-registered a company and wanted to reapply the work permit under the new company, but the foreign affairs bureau also required her to provide the documents of the previous company for applying the work permit.
When need to renew your work permit? What need to prepare?
What to do with your Work Permit if you want to change a job?
