Choosing your residence route

For most clients, the starting points are study, family and work. The right route depends on what you will actually do in China and which conditions you can continue to meet.

• Study: admission to an eligible school or programme can support an application for a study-type residence permit. The school provides supporting documents; the immigration authorities issue the permit. Not every course qualifies for long-term residence.
• Family: qualifying family relationships can support residence. Joining a Chinese citizen living in China or a foreign permanent resident usually involves the reunion category. Joining a foreigner residing in China for work or study usually involves the private-affairs category.
• Work: an eligible employer in China can support your work permit and work-type residence permit applications. This may be a company you join or your own company, provided both you and the company meet the applicable requirements. Company ownership alone does not confer work or residence rights.

Start with your purpose and eligibility, then compare the commitments involved in maintaining each route.

If your main purpose is education, plan around a genuine course of study. If it is employment or running a business, assess the work route first. Initial application convenience is only one part of the decision.

What will you spend your time doing?

Studying means meeting the school’s attendance, academic and course requirements. If your enrolment ends, the basis for your study residence may also be affected. The school handles academic status and reports relevant changes; immigration authorities decide how your residence documents are handled.

Working means actually performing the approved role. Running your own company also requires time for business development, delivery and ongoing administration.

Can you earn income?

A study-type residence permit does not allow unrestricted employment. Eligible work-study activities and internships have specific requirements, including school approval and residence-permit annotation where required.

A work permit also has limits. Approval to work as a sales manager does not automatically allow you to teach languages on the side. Even another sales role is not automatically permitted if it is with a different employer. Your work must remain within the approved scope.

What are the costs and longer-term commitments?

Study costs depend on tuition, scholarships, accommodation and the programme. When your course ends, you need an appropriate next step rather than assuming residence continues automatically.

Employment can provide income, but work and residence approvals still depend on continuing eligibility. If you operate your own company, budget for its ongoing costs as well as your personal living expenses. Neither route guarantees indefinite residence.

Possibly. First establish your family member’s status in China and your relationship to them.

Family of a Chinese citizen or foreign permanent resident

Joining a Chinese citizen living in China, or a foreigner with Chinese permanent residence, can involve a Q1 visa and a reunion-type residence permit. This route is not limited to spouses: other qualifying family members may also be eligible, subject to the applicable relationship and application requirements.

Family of a foreigner working or studying in China

The usual long-term route involves an S1 visa and a private-affairs residence permit. Common eligible relatives include the spouse, parents, children under 18 and the spouse’s parents of the foreign resident.

The under-18 condition here concerns children. It does not mean that all adults are ineligible for family-related residence, and the Q and S categories do not have identical family eligibility rules. An adult child should not assume eligibility through a parent’s work or study residence.

Family-related residence generally does not authorise ordinary employment. If you also plan to work, assess the necessary work and residence arrangements separately.

Wanting to live in China can be an important reason to consider opening a company. But this route still requires genuine work and business arrangements.

You do not necessarily need an established business or a large client base before registration. However, before committing, consider what products or services you could realistically offer, where customers might come from and how long you can fund the company while it gets started.

Think beyond the first application

Registering a company does not guarantee a work permit or residence permit. In Scott’s casework, applications and renewals can involve evidence of actual operations, such as contracts, receipts and payments, office arrangements, tax filings and your role in the business. The evidence requested depends on the circumstances and local practice.

There is no universal promise that a new company will obtain an initial six-month permit. A company with no revenue needs its genuine preparation and activity assessed; no revenue, no tax payable and no business activity are different situations. Continuing without credible operations can make renewal difficult.

Budget for ongoing commitments

• Company maintenance: the registered address or workspace, accounting, filings, banking and other necessary administration.
• Your employment: actual salary arrangements and any applicable individual income tax and social insurance. Paying a salary does not necessarily mean income tax is due every month.
• Employees: where your business, licensing or specific application arrangements require staff, allow for genuine employment, salaries and social insurance. Do not assume every city requires a Chinese employee, or that a lack of checks removes legal obligations.
• Real business activity: finding customers, delivering products or services, and the expenses and taxes arising from those transactions.

A friend can be a genuine customer, provided there is a real need, actual delivery and appropriate records. A transfer of money alone is not evidence of a genuine business transaction.

Taxes depend on the actual activity and applicable rules; there is no blanket “5% of revenue” charge. Legitimate deductible costs may reduce taxable profit, but zero accounting profit does not automatically mean no tax or filing obligations. Read the tax overview →

Before paying to register, work out whether you can support a real operating company and sustain its costs. Scott can help assess your personal eligibility, city options, possible activities and ongoing budget, so you can decide whether this route fits your plans.