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anonymous
Q: Visa when starting own company
I'm going to start a company, probably a Joint Venture, with a local partner but we're a little concerned about my visa situation when doing this.
If I start my own company will I be able to offer myself a Z visa?
And will I be able to hire other foreign people and offer them visas too?
I'm already living in China and have had a Z visa with my current employer for over 2 years now if that plays any role.
It's hard to find any reliable and up-to-date info about visas for entrepreneurs on the web. Some articles I've read claim that a new company only gets a limited number of "visa slots" - like 2 or 3 - which means they can only hire up to 2 or 3 foreign employees.
Other articles claim that a new company needs a minimum starting capital of 100,000 USD in order to be allowed to offer Z visas to foreigners. But again, I'm not sure if any of this info is reliable.
Does anyone have any recent experiences with this that might shed light on the whole process? Thank you!
9 years 45 weeks ago in Visa & Legalities - China
Information as current as the last five minutes:
If you're a senior partner/manager: you can get the work permit and FRP IF the position cannot be filled by a Chinese national.
Hiring additional foreigners requires a set revenue and time (minimum one year).
It looks like a school set-up, so you may be restricted as to how many foreigners can be employed once you do receive permission from SAFEA (one in the first year of approval, then more later on).
There's no definitive answer as each province, municipality, city, town and village will interpret the "law" differently (oddly enough, money seems to help the "interpretation" more so than language skills)
Almost:
This is interesting news. Where did you find it and can post a link please? Thanks.
Sinobear:
Joking aside: Kaiwen's answer is very good. If you're thinking of a school, then go here: http://middlekingdomlife.com/guide/opening-your-own-school-part-one.htm
Interesting. Where did you find this? Can you post a link?
Firstly, what you are talking about is not a joint venture or JV. A joint venture is when two existing companies or enterprises come together to complete a particular project or plan. What you are talking about becoming is an equity partner in a new company. They are entirely different in business terms and have different legal status.
Regardless of the registered capital or investment, providing you are the named legal representative on the business licence, you can apply for a work permit/foreign experts' certificate, 'z' visa and residence permit. You should be aware though that none of the process of obtaining the work permit can begin until you have the business licence and the official government stamps in your hand. In the meantime, you will have to begin with a tourist visa. Note that if you are already employed in China, neither the Labor Supervision Bureau in the case of work permits or SAFEA in the case of foreign experts' certificates will allow you to start the process until you (your employer) have canceled the previous RP and they will only start the process if you currently have a tourist or business 'F' visa.
The process of getting the new 'Z' visa is long and laborious. I have previously described each stage in detail if you care to search for it. However, as a guideline, it costs roughly 700 rmb in fees to get the invitation letter for the 'Z' visa, the price of leaving the country and getting the visa and then about 800 rmb for the RP.
If you are not the company legal representative, not only are you entering into a partnership that is fraught with danger and which puts you in a weakened position but will also make it more difficult for you to get the necessary work authority and visa. There are no clear cut guidelines for this and it varies from province to province. You may have to get a Chinese lawyer and negotiate with the local government. Certainly some provinces do stipulate that businesses need 100K USD registered capital or more to employ foreign nationals.
LesterF:
That's a really good answer. Just like the original poster I'm also struggling to find any kind of info about these things on the internet. Can I ask which websites you visit to get the newest info?
And do know of any websites with some good info about applying for the SAFEA license?
Thanks!
yes, I have a friend who is specialized in this field. If you need more detailed answers, you could email me: zoushanqilaura@163.com
Well. it depending on which state you going to start your business. Some province pay up capital is 1 million USD if 100% own by foreigner. For the Z visa slot. Yes. It also have term and regulations. Usually is 300K rmb pay-up capital per slot.
For my advice , if you wanna set up the company in Shanghai, then go to Shanghai PSB ask for further information. If Beijing , Just go to Beijing's PSB ask for more. Hope this will be helped.
hello, this is Laura.Our company is specialized in overseas company registration. And if you wanna more details, email me at :zoushanqilaura@163.com and we could discuss.
