Aires China

Immigration Overview
China Ushers in
New Corporate
Immigration System

In Fall 2016, Chinas State Foreign Expert Bureau announced an overhaul to the Chinese
corporate immigration scheme. This change, which has been expected for quite some
time, aimed to apply uniform immigration procedures throughout mainland China,
attract highly qualified foreign workers, and advance application procedures into a
more sophisticated and streamlined electronic sphere.

Shortly after its announcement of the new immigration scheme, the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Expert
Affairs (SAFEA) began to administer pilot cases under the new process. Pilot cases ran in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and
the provinces of Hebei, Anhui, Shandong, Guangdong, Sichuan, Yunnan, and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region
since November 1, 2016. The new immigration system is expected to be fully implemented throughout all the Peoples
Republic of China on April 1, 2017.

The below examines what this means in terms of immigration changes, how the new system will work, and what factors
employers and their foreign applicants should begin to consider.

What Exactly is Changing?

There are two major changes to note. The first is with regard to a unified work authorization application which
combines two previously different immigration categories the Foreign Expert Certificate and the Alien Work Permit.
The second change is in terms of providing a consistently administered application process on a national level,
performed via technologically enhanced online submissions.

With regard to the first change, previously, two separate work permit applications existed in China one for foreign
experts and one for foreign workers. Foreign experts obtained a Foreign Expert Certificate via the Foreign Expert
Bureau and foreign workers obtained an Alien Work Permit via the Labor Bureau. The new immigration scheme will unify
the administration of all foreign work authorizations by issuing a new document called a Foreigners Work Permit to be
provided by the Foreign Expert Bureau.

With regard to the second change, the new work permit system will require that applications are logged via an
electronic portal. This will be administered via the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs (SAFEA) and
will classify workers as either Class A, Class B, or Class C. Applicants must qualify for one of these three categories to
receive the Foreigners Work Permit (FWP).

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Aires China
Immigration Overview
Classification and Scoring
The three classifications of workers represent a hierarchy of labor within the Chinese foreign national workforce, with
Class A, or highly talented workers, representing the most desirable. Class B is reserved for specialized workers, and
Class C workers are considered normal.

Individuals will obtain classification in one of the categories either by successfully proving they possess a specific
criterion and/or by being awarded a sufficient score based on a variety of factors. Please refer to the table below to
learn more about the allocation of points for foreign applicant workers. It should be noted that those who score more
than 85 points will qualify for Class A and those that score above 60 points will qualify for Class B.

Criteria Description Points Awarded

450,000 + 20
350,000 449,999 17
250,000 349,999 14
Salary to be paid (in Yuan) 150,000 249,999 11
70,000 149,999 8
50,000 69,999 5
49,999 and below 0
Doctorate 20
Education Masters 15
Bachelors 10
5; + 1 additional point for each year
2+
above 2 years; Max 15 points
Work Experience (in years)
2 5
Less than 2 0
9+ 15
6-9 10
Working time in China (in months)
3-6 5
Less than 3 0
Obtained Bachelors degree in
10
Chinese-related major or equivalent
HSK exam 5 10
Mandarin language fluency HSK exam 4 8
HSK exam 3 6
HSK exam 2 4
HSK exam 1 2
Western China 10
Location in China South East China 10
Middle/Poor area 10

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Immigration Overview
Criteria Description Points Awarded
18 25 10
26 45 15
Age 46 55 10
56 60 5
60 + 0
Graduated from top
5
Graduation/Experience 100 University in world
Worked in Fortune 500 company 5
At discretion for local
Provincial Encouragement Points 0-10
jurisdictions to decide

In addition to obtaining enough points to qualify for Class A or Class B, applicants can prove they possess a specific
skill and automatically qualify for one of the necessary categories. Please refer to the table below for specific criteria,
which, if possessed, may automatically qualify a worker for one of the necessary categories.

Designated and approved by the Central Government as part of the China talent import plan
Possess a significant internationally recognized award and/or achievement
Applicants qualified for Chinese positions which are determined to be scarce or in very-high
demand by the local Foreign Expert Bureau
Class A
Designated as a part of the youth-talent project under 35 years of age and hold a degree at
Ph.D. level or higher from one of the top 200 universities in the world (as determined by the Shanghai
Ranking Consultings Academic Ranking of World Universities)
Score over 85 points in point-based system

Possess bachelors degree or higher plus two years of relative experience

Class B Masters degree from a mainland China or top 100 world university
Score over 60 points in point-based system

Applicants working in China on basis of a government agreement

Interns working based on government agreement
Class C
Domestic workers coming to China in support of a Category A worker
Special and seasonal jobs that are approved by the Chinese government on exceptional basis

Category A, B or C What Does it Matter?

These requirements represent a more standardized effort by the Chinese government to restrict the number of
foreign workers in the country. It also shows a motivation to attract more highly skilled talent, evidenced by the strong
qualifications of Class A and B workers and the narrow definition of Class C workers.

Further, being placed in Class A (or deemed highly talented) provides certain advantages. This includes an
exception to the age limitation (60 years old) for foreign workers, less document intensive applications, faster
processing times, and the ability to change status within China from business/tourist.

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Aires China
Immigration Overview
What Should Employers Do Now?
Employers sending foreign nationals to work and live in China should consult with their Aires representative and Chinese
immigration provider to review specific candidates and how they may be affected by the new application system.
Additionally, employers need to remain current with updates on the official nationwide implementation of the system
so they know what to expect and when to expect it going forward.

It is also highly recommended that foreign employers review in a timely manner all Chinese legal entities that have
sponsored foreign workers in the past and/or will potentially be sponsoring foreign workers in China in the future. These
entities should immediately be registered in the Foreign Expert Bureaus online system.

Finally, it is highly advisable that employers pay keen attention to their Chinese foreign labor workforce to ensure
compliance, especially with any changes in circumstances to the employees position while on assignment including
repatriation. With the advent of a new electronic database for application and QR Codes on issued FWP cards,
authorities will be able to more easily identify and track a foreign nationals working relationship in China. Therefore,
any changes in circumstances must be recorded efficiently and compliantly.

This document is prepared solely for informational purposes. It should not be construed as legal advice. It was prepared by Aires in
partnership with Peregrine Immigration Management Ltd and the law firm of Lehman, Lee & Xu.

Any immigration advice contained herein is subject to change at any time. All immigration rules, processes, and decisions are made at the
discretion of the relevant governmental authorities and are outside of Aires control.

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