Things are about to get a lot more complicated for foreigners looking for employment in Beijing. KTA Legal via The World of Chinese points out new regulations that will require foreigners to “prepare criminal record clearances to receive work authorizations.”
As quoted in the post:
“The certificate must be issued by the relevant public security or judicial authority in the applicant’s country of nationality, and must show that the applicant has no criminal record from the age of 18 through the present. The certificate must be legalized by a Chinese diplomatic post in the country of issuance. The Beijing Labor Bureau has not provided guidance with respect to applicants who reside in a country other than their country of nationality, except to advise that the regulations are still in development.
The certificate will be required during the first stage of the application process. For standard work permit applications, it will be required when the employment license application is filed. For applications sponsored by a representative office of a foreign company, the certificate will be required when the work permit application is filed, as employment licenses are not required in these cases. “
According to the KTA post it appears that the new procedure applies only to the application process for new work permits – current Z Visa holders in Beijing who merely need to renew their work permits going forward have nothing to worry about (for now). If you need to process a new work permit and want to save yourself the hassle of having to obtain a certificate from your home country, you’d better hurry – the new law goes into effect July 1st.
Continue reading at agendabeijing.com.
