The work permit for China: the threshold, the class and the chain
China doesn't select with a pool but with a threshold: a bachelor's degree plus two years of relevant work experience, or sixty points, makes you class B, and your employer files the application. The double legalisation has been replaced by a single apostille, and the work permit card has been digital since December 2024.
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Yes, if you have a Chinese employer. They apply for the work permit for you.
The essentials:
- The threshold is class B: a bachelor's degree plus two years of relevant work experience, up to and including age sixty, or sixty points on the classification table, the points table below.
- The permit itself costs nothing. According to the service guide, the decision comes within twenty working days.
- The Z visa, the work visa, costs € 45 at the embassy.
- After arrival you have thirty days for the residence permit, your Chinese permit to stay.
- A card for the permit no longer exists since December 2024.
The pitfall: thirty days of visa-free travel is not a trial period to start early.
Which class am I: A, B or C?
China doesn't compare you with other candidates, but tests whether you clear a bar:
| Class | Who | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| A, high-end talent | recognised talent lists, senior roles at large or innovative employers, a salary of at least six times the regional average, or 85 points | no limit on age, education or experience; decision within 5 working days; permit up to 5 years |
| B, professional | bachelor's plus two years of relevant experience and no older than 60, a salary of at least four times the regional average, or 60 points | the standard route for whoever is posted or hired |
| C, other | temporary work up to 90 days, quotas for internships and special sectors | rarely the route for emigrants |
Teaching falls under class B with a rule of its own: language teachers in principle teach the native language of their country, with a bachelor's degree and two years of teaching experience. For a Dutch person that means Dutch, not English.
Since 1 October 2025 there is also the K visa for young foreign talent in science and technology. The competent Chinese authority sets the conditions, so read them before you build on it.
How do you count the sixty points?
The table rewards salary, education, experience and age above all:
| Component | Points |
|---|---|
| Annual salary from the Chinese employer | 0 to 20 (20 from ¥ 450,000) |
| Education | bachelor's 10, master's 15, doctorate 20 |
| Work experience | 5 for two years, plus 1 per extra year, up to 20 |
| Months per year in China | 15 for nine months or more |
| Age | 26 to 45: 15; 18 to 25 and 46 to 55: 10 |
| Chinese | HSK 1 to 5: 1 to 5 points |
| Working in the west or northeast | up to 10 |
| Top university, Fortune 500, patent or five years in China | together at most 5 |
So Chinese is not a requirement: it yields at most five points. A knowledge worker in their thirties with a master's, five years of experience and a one-year contract reaches 53 points on age, education, experience and working time alone, before salary counts.
How does the application run, and how long does it take?
| Step | Who | Deadline | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work permit notification | employer, online | decision within 20 working days, sometimes 10 longer | none |
| Z visa at the visa centre in The Hague | you, in person, with fingerprints | 4 working days regular | € 45 at the embassy |
| Residence permit | you, at the police | within 30 days of entry; decision within 15 working days | ¥ 400 (up to 1 year) to ¥ 1,000 (3 to 5 years) |
For the Z visa the embassy asks, besides your passport with at least six months' validity, for the original of the notification. That is the provisional approval your employer receives online.
The old service guide gave you fifteen days after entry to apply for the work permit card. That card is gone. Since 1 December 2024 the work permit sits in the Chinese social security card, which you collect in the app after arrival. With the notification or that app you go to the police for your residence permit.
How the residence permit and the address registration then fit together is in residence permit and registration in China.
Which papers do you need to legalise?
For the work permit the authority looks at:
- your employment contract;
- proof of work experience;
- a certificate that you have no criminal record;
- a medical examination;
- your highest degree.
Since 7 November 2023 the Apostille Convention also applies to China. That is the convention that abolishes the legalisation of foreign public documents. For your Dutch degree or certificate of conduct (VOG) you therefore request a single apostille, instead of a legalisation through the Chinese embassy. In the Netherlands an apostille is a sticker from the court.
May you start on a visa-free trip?
No, not for a day. With a Dutch passport you travel visa-free to China for up to thirty days, but only for tourism, business, visits or transit. Working without a permit is illegal employment: the law sets a fine of ¥ 5,000 to ¥ 20,000, in serious cases also five to fifteen days of detention, and whoever does something other than the purpose of their stay can be ordered to leave the country.
Do use such a trip to see the city and the employer. How the work itself is arranged, from contract to contributions, you read in working in China.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 2 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the clocks of 15 and 30 days watched. See the whole journey to China.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Classification standard for foreign workers (classes A, B, C and the points table) — fuwu.most.gov.cn
- Work permit service guide — conditions, 20 working days, 15 days after arrival, no fees — dxal.gov.cn
- Chinese embassy The Hague — the Z visa and the documents — nl.china-embassy.gov.cn
- Chinese embassy The Hague — processing times and fees — nl.china-embassy.gov.cn
- NIA — the residence permit after arrival (30 days, 15 working days, ¥ 400 to ¥ 1,000) — s.nia.gov.cn
- MOHRSS — the work permit in the social security card since 1 December 2024 — gov.cn
- NIA — Exit and Entry Administration Law (residence permit, illegal work and the fine) — en.nia.gov.cn
- HCCH — the Apostille Convention applies to China since 7 November 2023 — hcch.net
- NederlandWereldwijd — what an apostille is (a sticker from the court) — nederlandwereldwijd.nl
- State Council — the K visa for young talent in science and technology, since 1 October 2025 — gov.cn
- NederlandWereldwijd — travel advice China (visa-free up to 30 days, and for which purposes) — nederlandwereldwijd.nl
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