Beijing at a Glance
Visa and Permits for Expats in Beijing
Beijing was the center of China's development of a railway network.
Visa Requirements
Unless you are a tourist (L visa), international student (X visa) or foreigner on a shorter academic visit/business trip to China (F visa), you probably need a Z visa in order to move to Beijing. Only Z visa holders are granted a work permit.
No matter what anybody might tell you: Do not come to China with the intention of taking up gainful employment with anything but a Z visa. Self-made expats who would like to teach English as a foreign language and then tour through China are prone to making this mistake because of misinformation floating about some TEFL bulletin boards or shady recruiting agencies that exploit gullible young globetrotters.
Applying for a Visa
Usually, your future employer will take care of obtaining an Employment License from the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Labor and Social Security for you. For this purpose, they might need notarized, legalized, and certified copies of your valid passport, your educational degree, professional qualifications, CV and references, a proof of a clean criminal record, and a health certificate from a medical check-up examination. Ask them exactly which documents they require.
As soon as they have been issued your Employment License, they will use it to get you an official invite to China – a notification letter for your Z visa. Once you have received these two documents, you are ready to go to the nearest Chinese Embassy or Consulate and start your visa application process within 30 days. With your new Z visa, you can then legally enter China, but there’s still quite a bit of red tape ahead of you.
Work and Residence Permits
Within 24 hours after your arrival, you must register as a foreign national with the local police. If you are staying at a hotel etc., the administrative staff will usually do this for you. Now you can go about getting your Alien Employment Permit (sometimes, this may also be unofficially referred to as employment registration/employment card).
However, you will first need to get a health certificate! You can get said certificate at the Beijing Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau. Normally, it’s enough to bring along certified translations of your medical records from a previous check-up at home (including a chest x-ray and negative testing for HIV and other STDs). If you’re lucky, your employer will then settle the Employment Permit for you. Otherwise, you will have to make an appointment with the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Labor and Social Security yourself.
Once you have your Employment Permit, you are still short of a proper Residence Permit. Even a Z visa is valid for 30 days only. In this time, you need to exchange it for the one-year Residence Permit, which is basically a visa in anything but name and has to be renewed on a regular basis.
Go to the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau to change the Z visa into a Residence Permit. With this new permit, re-register with the local police to inform them of your changed residence status.
Journalists and Foreign Correspondents
Please note, though, that the application process for a visa, a work permit, and a residence permit may be different if you go to Beijing on a J1 or J2 visa for journalists. If you are planning to stay there as a resident journalist (J1) or pay China a temporary visit for news coverage of current events (J2), ask both the nearest Chinese Embassy or Consulate as well as the Chinese office of your employer for detailed information on the latest requirements for foreign media representatives in China.
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