外国人永久居留：申请条件与办理路径

English

China Permanent Residence: Eligibility and How to Apply

Permanent residence in China is available to foreign nationals who meet specific long-term conditions. The legal basis is the Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China and the Measures for the Administration of the Approval of Foreigners' Permanent Residence in China. This guide covers the main categories, the residence requirements, the document checklist, where to apply and how long approval takes.

• What it is: Foreign nationals who have made outstanding contributions to China's economic and social development, or who meet other conditions for permanent residence in China, may apply for permanent residence status. Once granted, they may reside and work in China on the strength of the permanent residence document, and enter and leave the country with their own passport plus that document.
• Basic conditions: Applicants must abide by Chinese law, be in good health and have no criminal record, and must meet one of the specified categories. Applications from those who do not meet the conditions will not be accepted.
• Category 1 — investors: Direct investment in China, with stable investment for three consecutive years and a good tax record.
• Category 2 — senior employees: Holding a position at or above the level of deputy general manager or deputy factory director in China, or a senior professional title at or above associate professor or associate researcher (or equivalent treatment), having held continuous employment for four years, with at least three years of cumulative residence in China during those four years and a good tax record.
• Category 3 — special contributors: Persons who have made major, outstanding contributions to China or whose skills are particularly needed by the country.
• Category 4 — accompanying family: The spouse and unmarried children under 18 of the investors, senior employees and special contributors described above.
• Category 5 — spousal reunion: The spouse of a Chinese citizen or of a foreign national who has obtained permanent residence in China, where the marriage has lasted at least five years, the applicant has resided continuously in China for at least five years, has spent at least nine months in China each year, and has a stable livelihood and residence.
• Categories 6 and 7 — parent-child reunion and family dependency: Unmarried children under 18 joining their parents; and persons with no direct relatives abroad who join direct relatives in China, are at least 60 years old, have resided continuously in China for at least five years, have spent at least nine months in China each year, and have a stable livelihood and residence.
• Residence requirements in short: investors must have maintained stable investment for three consecutive years; senior employees must have four years of continuous employment with at least three years of cumulative residence within those four years; spousal reunion and family dependency applicants must have resided continuously in China for five years, spending at least nine months a year in the country. All of these periods must be supported by verifiable entry and exit records and tax records.
• Document checklist (basic documents): a valid foreign passport, a health certificate and a certificate of no criminal record from abroad.
• Document checklist (category-specific): investors submit a copy of the business licence of the enterprise, proof of annual report disclosure, a confirmation certificate for the foreign-invested project and a copy of the capital verification report, among others. Senior employees submit a copy of the employment certificate, a copy of the foreigner's work permit in China, a copy of the entity's registration certificate and a copy of their personal tax payment certificate, among others. Special contributors submit a copy of the recommendation letter and copies of relevant awards and achievement certificates. Spousal reunion, parent-child reunion and family dependency applicants submit marriage certificates, birth certificates or proof of parent-child relationship, identity documents, proof of property rental or ownership, and proof of livelihood.
• Where to apply and how: The accepting authorities are the public security organs of cities divided into districts, and the public security sub-bureaus or county bureaus of municipalities directly under the Central Government. The application is filed by the applicant in person, by the parents of an unmarried child under 18, or by an authorised representative, with the accepting authority in the place of principal investment or long-term residence. Where a representative files the application, a power of attorney notarised by a notary office must be submitted; a power of attorney issued abroad must be authenticated by a Chinese embassy or consulate in that country.
• Processing time: The accepting authority completes its investigation within three months of acceptance and refers qualifying applications to the reviewing authority; the reviewing authority completes its review within two months and refers qualifying applications to the National Immigration Administration for approval. The public security authority makes a decision to approve or not approve within six months of accepting the application, and that decision is final.
• Fees: Under the relevant reply and notice of the Ministry of Finance and the National Development and Reform Commission, the application fee is CNY 1,500, the document fee is CNY 300, a replacement for loss or damage is CNY 600, and renewal on expiry is CNY 300.
• Authentication and cancellation: Certificates of no criminal record, marriage certificates, birth certificates, proof of kinship and certificates of change of name issued by foreign authorities must be authenticated by a Chinese embassy or consulate in the issuing country. Where a foreign national of Chinese origin changed their name after acquiring foreign nationality (so that the English name is not a transliteration of the Chinese name), the change of name must be notarised. Permanent residence status may be cancelled, and the permanent residence identity card confiscated or declared void, where the holder obtained the status by fraud, was sentenced to deportation by a people's court, or spent less than three months a year or less than one year in total in China within five years without approval.

Note that the review of permanent residence applications is strict about periods of residence and tax records: the amount invested, the position held, the number of days spent in China and the length of a marriage all need to be supported by verifiable documents. The specific quantitative standards in each category (for example the investment threshold or the qualifications of the employing entity) are governed by the Measures for the Administration of the Approval of Foreigners' Permanent Residence in China and by what the accepting authority publishes; nothing here is speculation.

Health certificates and certificates of no criminal record from abroad usually have a limited validity, and foreign-language documents must be translated into Chinese and authenticated, which itself takes time. Before submitting a formal application, ask the exit-entry administration in the place where you intend to apply about that year's document checklist, validity requirements and the order in which things should be done, so that documents do not expire and have to be obtained again.

The above is general guidance only. For specific requirements and the latest rules, please refer to official announcements.

References

• 国家移民管理局政务服务平台：外国人永久居留资格审批服务指南
• 国家移民管理局：中华人民共和国出境入境管理法（全文）
• 国家移民管理局政务服务平台：外国人入出境及停（居）留办事指南
• 国家移民管理局