CHINA – Three-Year Work Permits Available in Beijing
As of December 25th, 2014, three-year work permits are now available to certain foreign employees in Beijing. Prior to this change, the work permits were only valid for one year. The new three-year permits are available to foreign workers that are employed by wholly foreign-owned enterprises, branch offices of foreign companies, and ventures/cooperatives between Chinese and non-Chinese companies in Beijing. Documentation requirements are as follows: the application must include the original work contract, original passport, and original business license or business registration certificate. Please note that all supporting documents must remain valid for a minimum of three years at the time of application submission. This change should not affect processing times, however, it will eliminate the need for certain employees to renew their work permits annually.