Working in Mainland China

Confirm who is handling the application

Get the name and contact details of the person handling your permit and identify the processing authority. Agree the application category, documents you must supply and dates for each stage. Match the employer, role, location and start date to your contract, and confirm who books appointments and returns your originals.

Shenzhen: work-permit documents and application stages

Get your criminal record check

Proof of no criminal record is required for the standard Mainland work-permit application. Request your New Zealand criminal record check from the Ministry of Justice; it is free, with a published response target of 20 working days. Shenzhen requires the certificate to have been issued within the past six months.

Arrange the apostille through DIA and confirm the submission date, accepted format and Chinese translation with your employer.

Shenzhen allows Category A high-end talent applicants to use a letter of undertaking instead of the certificate. This exception applies to that approved category.

Request your New Zealand criminal record

Apostilles for New Zealand documents

DIA's Authentication Unit accepts criminal record information on the Ministry of Justice's blue letterhead as the original paper document or a PDF. Follow its application instructions and preparation requirements for degree and family documents. Confirm whether the receiving authority wants a paper or electronic apostille and any translation.

The standard apostille fee is NZ$37. Translation, courier and urgent services cost extra.

DIA document requirements

DIA: prepare documents and apply for an apostille

Family joining you in Mainland China

For a family stay of more than 180 days with a foreigner working or studying in China, the S1 family-visit route covers a spouse, parents, children under 18 and parents-in-law. An unmarried partner is not listed in this family category. S2 covers family visits of no more than 180 days and includes a wider range of relatives.

For either family-visit visa, prepare the inviter's signed invitation, copies of their passport and Chinese residence permit, and the original and a copy of your marriage, birth or other kinship certificate. The invitation must identify both people, your relationship, the visit dates and address, and who pays the costs. Apply through COVA using the New Zealand mission for your home address.

For New Zealand birth and marriage certificates used for the Mainland residence application, obtain a DIA apostille and a Chinese translation. DIA accepts the original official certificate; the copy of marriage particulars signed on the wedding day is not the marriage certificate. An apostille replaces Chinese consular legalisation for covered New Zealand public documents.

After entering on S1, apply for a private-affairs residence permit within 30 days. Take your passport, completed application, compliant photo, accommodation-registration record, and the inviter's residence permit and letter explaining the relationship. Keep the relationship originals and copies for verification.

Auckland Consulate: S1/S2 eligibility and visa documents

DIA: original birth and marriage certificates

Chinese Embassy: New Zealand apostilles

NIA: private-affairs residence application (Chinese)

1. Notification Letter of Foreigner's Work Permit

Your employer starts the Mainland application and obtains the Notification Letter of Foreigner's Work Permit for the visa stage. Shenzhen lists the work-permit application as free of charge; document preparation, health checks and visa or residence applications are separate costs.

2. Apply for the Z visa

Use China Online Visa Application (COVA) and choose the mission responsible for your New Zealand home address. Prepare the work-permit notification, a passport with at least six months' validity and blank visa pages, a copy of its bio page and a recent white-background ID photo. After preliminary review, follow the mission's instructions to submit your passport and attend for fingerprints where required.

For applications up to 31 December 2026, Auckland lists a standard NZ single-entry visa fee of NZ$105 and normal processing of four working days after acceptance. Check the published fee again for a later application. Online review and any extra checks take additional time.

Start the official China Online Visa Application

Current Chinese visa application instructions for New Zealand

3. Access your electronic work-permit information

Shenzhen uses the work-permit and social-security-card integration introduced on 1 December 2024. For the overseas application route, the former notification and post-entry permit applications are combined: you do not apply for a separate physical work-permit card after arrival. Your employer completes the online work-permit process and supplies the approved Notification Letter for your Z visa.

After entry, register in the electronic social-security-card app using your name and work-permit or social-security number, and complete identity verification to access the work-permit information. The Notification Letter or electronic card can support the residence application. Shenzhen's implementation FAQ also requires original overseas-application documents to be checked by the Foreign Experts Bureau when arranging work-related residence permission; have your employer confirm the appointment and required originals.

Shenzhen Foreign Experts Bureau: current integrated work-permit process · Implementation FAQ: original-document verification (Chinese PDF)

4. Apply for a work-type residence permit

If your visa requires a residence permit, apply to the exit-entry authority where you will live within 30 days of entry. Prepare your passport, application form, photo and photo receipt, temporary accommodation-registration record, work-permit evidence and employer letter. Shenzhen's checklist also includes a health certificate. Book using the city's official appointment service and keep the acceptance receipt while your passport is held.

National residence-permit fees: CNY400 for under one year, CNY800 from one to under three years, and CNY1,000 from three to five years.

NIA residence-permit fee table (Chinese)

Shenzhen: residence documents and appointment information

NIA work-residence application guide (Chinese)

Accommodation registration

Hotels register their guests. If you stay elsewhere in Mainland China, you or your host must register with the police for your place of residence within 24 hours of arrival. You can register online through the NIA 12367 app or its WeChat or Alipay mini program, or go to the local police station. For the police route, take your passport and rental contract or property document. Keep the registration record: you will need it for your residence application.

NIA accommodation registration: online and police routes

Medical or health checks

Shenzhen requires a health certificate issued within the past six months by a Chinese inspection and quarantine institution, or an overseas institution it recognises. The document checklist permits an undertaking before entry, with the health certificate supplied afterwards. Under the integrated electronic permit process, confirm the submission and original-document verification arrangements with your employer and the processing authority; a separate physical work-permit card is no longer collected.

For a Shenzhen examination enquiry, HIT Shenzhen's 2026 residence guide lists Shenzhen Port Hospital on the third floor of Building 1, Huanggang Port Living Quarters, Binhe Avenue, Futian. Call +86 755 8377 4013 about appointments and the documents for an employment-related examination. Take any existing overseas report for verification; a routine hospital check is not automatically the required immigration certificate.

Shenzhen: health-certificate requirements

HIT Shenzhen: 2026 residence guide and examination contact

Banking, payroll and tax

Give payroll the bank account held in your passport name and confirm your pay date. Check each payslip against your contract: gross salary, deductions and the amount received. The arrival guide explains opening a personal bank account.

Opening a personal bank account

To use the Individual Income Tax app or the relevant official online tax service with a foreign passport, first take your identity document to a taxpayer service hall for a registration code. Register within its seven-day validity using the hall-code option. To obtain a tax record, log in, choose "纳税记录开具", select the period and generate the record; the web portal places this under "特色应用".

Annual reconciliation normally runs from 1 March to 30 June for the previous tax year. It applies to resident individuals with comprehensive income, subject to the official exemptions; non-resident individuals do not make this annual reconciliation. A work permit alone does not determine tax residency. Use the official guide for the domicile and 183-day rules.

Tax authority: foreign-passport registration (Chinese)

Tax authority: generate your tax record (Chinese)

Official online tax services by region

Official guide: tax residency and annual reconciliation

Track document expiry and renewals

Your employer must apply to extend the work permit at least 30 days before it expires. Separately, apply to extend your residence permit 30 days before expiry. Start collecting the renewal documents in time for both deadlines; the local work-permit service may open its application window earlier. Keep the acceptance receipts and renewed documents.

Official guide: work-permit extensions and information changes NIA residence renewals and changes (Chinese)

Changing jobs, work location or address

Changes to work-permit information, such as your name, passport number or position, must be reported within 10 working days. Changes to residence-permit information must be reported within 10 days. Changing employer requires the appropriate cancellation and new work-permit procedure; keep the outgoing employer's release and cancellation documents. After moving, register the new accommodation address within 24 hours as well as updating the residence-permit information.