Foreigners who want to stay in China legally need to apply for a residence permit. What is this residence permit? In layman's terms, the full name of the residence permit is the "Residence Permit for Foreigners of the People's Republic of China", or residence permit for short. It is not a type of visa, but it is also affixed to the passport for use like a visa. There are 5 types of common residence permits: work, group, private affairs, study, and journalist. How useful is the residence permit? Its role is particularly prominent in the epidemic, because it can ensure that foreigners return to China on schedule.

According to the feedback from our customer service and consultant colleagues, many customers have asked several questions about residence permits. Here I will also summarize them and list them so that everyone can quickly and effectively understand:

1. Question: I see the policy that I can go to China if I have a residence permit. Can foreigners apply for a residence permit if they are outside of China? Answer: No, a foreigner can apply for a residence permit after entering China with a visa, and apply for a corresponding long-term valid residence permit with the corresponding visa.

2. Q: Can a foreigner obtain a residence permit for reunion, can he work in China? Answer: No. For work and employment, you need to apply for a work residence permit. The reunion residence permit only means that you are legally visiting relatives in China and staying in China for a long time due to family visits and reunions, but it does not mean that you can be employed in China.

3. Q: The residence permit has a 5-year validity period. Is it permanent residence? Answer: No, the residence permit is usually valid for 1 to 5 years, and it is affixed to the passport for use. It is invalid after expiration and does not enjoy policy benefits. The full name of the permanent residence is "The People's Republic of China Permanent Residence ID Card for Foreigners". It is a card, like an ID card. The validity period is 5 years for minors and 10 years for adults. It is renewed after expiration and enjoys the policy. Welfare.

4. Q: I have a residence permit, do I need to re-apply for a visa after leaving the country? Answer: No, as long as the residence permit is valid, foreigners can enter and exit China multiple times without having to apply for a visa again. Because the certificate depends on the foreigner's legal right of abode in China, there is no period of stay within the validity period, which is different from visas. The 3-year residence permit is valid. Foreigners can stay abroad for 3 years or travel abroad every month for 3 years. No visa is required to enter the country.

 5. Q: Why is the residence permit more meaningful than the visa? Answer: Because the residence permit is for staying in the country, the visa is for entry, the residence permit is for long-term residence, and the visa is for short-term stay. Therefore, in many formalities, the application conditions require foreigners to hold residence permits, not visas.

 Having said so much, now that I know how important and practical a residence permit is, then I will start to echo the title and talk about why I buy social security and a house. The residence permit is the key document.

1. Foreigners purchase social insurance

Friends with house buying experience know that people who are not registered in this city need to meet certain requirements to buy a house in this city. Just work locally, and it is common to purchase social insurance for two consecutive years in the local area without interruption.

In fact, in these matters, foreigners who hold residence permits can be regarded as non-local Chinese citizens, that is, the passport of the foreigner is equivalent to the ID card of the non-local Chinese citizen, and the residence permit of the foreigner is equivalent to Temporary residence permits of non-local Chinese citizens, work permits and social guarantees of foreigners are proof of local occupation and economic income.

Relevant regulations: Article 23 of the Regulations on the Administration of Employment of Foreigners in China stipulates that the working hours, rest, vacation, labor safety and health, and social insurance of foreigners employed in China shall be implemented in accordance with relevant state regulations. Article 97 of the "Social Insurance Law of the People's Republic of China" stipulates that foreigners who are employed in China shall participate in social insurance in accordance with the provisions of this law.

Article 3, paragraph 1, of the "Interim Measures for Foreigners Working in China to Participate in Social Insurance" stipulates that enterprises, institutions, social organizations, private non-enterprise units, foundations, law firms, Accounting firms and other organizations (hereinafter referred to as employers) recruited according to law shall participate in the basic pension insurance for employees, basic medical insurance for employees, work-related injury insurance, unemployment insurance and maternity insurance, and the employer and the employer shall pay social insurance in accordance with the regulations. fee.

 It is known from the above that if a foreigner wants to purchase social insurance, he must be employed in China, then he must apply for a work permit and a work-type residence permit in China. For other types of residence permits, I am not sure whether it is possible to purchase social insurance.

For foreigners purchasing social insurance in China, it is stated in the required materials that "Foreigner Employment Permit, Foreign Expert Permit, Foreign Resident Journalist Permit, Work Residence Permit (for overseas students), one of the four is sufficient", That is, the foreigner's work permit in China; the "foreigner's residence permit" is also required, that is, the foreigner's work-type residence permit. It can be seen that the residence permit must be submitted. It is very important, not only because it is one of the materials, but also because the residence permit is the core of everything. Without a work permit, you cannot apply for a work-type residence permit. Without a residence permit, just Social security cannot be purchased.

2. Foreigners buy real estate

After talking about social security, we arrived at the real estate. Once foreigners have paid full social security, they can refer to the local qualifications for house purchase to increase housing security for their lives in China.

The purchase restriction policy for foreigners. The domestic investment and purchase of domestic real estate by foreign individuals began with the "Opinions on Regulating Foreign Investment Access and Management in the Real Estate Market" (Jianfang (2006) No. 171). Although fine-tuning has been made since then, the basic regulatory framework has not changed. According to the "Notice on Further Regulating the Management of House Purchases by Overseas Institutions and Individuals" issued in 2010: Foreign individuals can only purchase one set of residential houses for self-occupation in China.

Relevant regulations stipulate: The purchase restriction policy for foreigners, and the domestic investment and purchase of domestic real estate by foreign individuals began with the "Opinions on Regulating Foreign Investment Access and Management in the Real Estate Market" (Jianfang (2006) No. 171).

According to the "Notice on Further Regulating the Management of House Purchases by Overseas Institutions and Individuals" issued in 2010: Foreign individuals can only purchase one set of residential houses for self-occupation in China.

It is learned from the above that foreigners who want to buy a house in China are restricted and can only buy one set. Therefore, foreigners cannot buy a house in China for the purpose of real estate investment. In order to be able to live and work regularly, it is more recommended to be stable Buy real estate in the city where you work.

When local real estate authorities handle the registration of pre-sale contracts for commercial houses and housing property rights for foreign individuals, foreign individuals also need to submit: certification issued by relevant departments that foreign individuals (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan residents and overseas Chinese) have worked in China for more than one year; Proof of Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan residents and overseas Chinese working, studying and staying in China. The proof that the foreign individual has worked in China for more than one year can be understood as the foreigner’s work permit, residence permit and social guarantee certificate, and only these can prove that the foreigner has been working and living in China. There is a need to buy real estate in China. Immediately after the purchase of social security, the residence permit is the core key material.

3. Processing of residence permit for work

The application of a work-type residence permit is different from other residence permits. Its particularity is that the approval of a work-type residence permit must be based on the validity period of the foreigner’s work permit in China. At the same time, the residence permit application materials are divided into two parts: enterprise and individual. Freelancers in the workplace cannot apply.

Requirements for work-related residence permit

 [Enterprise aspect] 1. The enterprise must be established in accordance with the law, have actual business premises, pay taxes in accordance with the law, pay social insurance, and have no record of major violations of law or dishonesty. Employment of foreigners in positions with special needs shall provide industry licenses in accordance with the law, and shall not violate relevant national regulations. The wages for hiring foreigners shall not be lower than the local minimum wage standard, and foreigners who are legally employed are protected by the labor law. 2. If the provisions of laws and regulations are approved in advance by the competent authorities of the industry, they shall be approved, and the enterprise shall not declare indiscriminately. For foreigners who do not meet the requirements, the enterprise shall not apply for work permits for them.

 [personal aspect]

1. Foreign applicants must be 18 years of age or older, be healthy and free of infectious diseases, have no criminal record in China or abroad, have a domestically-determined employer, and have the professional skills or knowledge required for the job.

2. For general work, a bachelor degree or above is required, and 2 years or more of relevant work experience after graduation is required to meet the development needs of my country's talents and labor market.

3. If laws and regulations provide otherwise for foreigners to work in China, those provisions shall prevail.

 Documents for applying for a work-related residence permit

【Corporate aspect】

1. The business license or relevant registration certificate of the employing enterprise, if the unified social credit code is not included, the organization code certificate shall be submitted;　

2. Application letter from the enterprise.

 [personal aspect]

 1. Submit your passport and valid visa for inspection;

2. Submit the health certificate issued by the domestic entry-exit inspection and quarantine department within 6 months;

 3. Permit for foreigners to work in China.

 After preparing the above materials, you can go to the immigration department of the place where the company belongs to apply for a work residence permit. If everything goes smoothly, it will be completed within 7 working days. When the immigration authority considers it necessary to interview the applicant, or request other supplementary materials (certificate of source of income, certificate of name and other information changes, certificate of business operation, etc.), except for reasons of force majeure, it is not accepted within the agreed time. In case of interviews or submission of materials, the acceptance shall be cancelled.