Discover a founder's roadmap from company registration in Shanghai to securing work permits and long-term family residence in China. Learn key route criteria.
Tags:Company Setup to Long-Term Stay in China: A Founder's Roadmap
A foreign couple had just registered a company in Shanghai. Both founders needed work permits, while their child needed a long-term residence arrangement. But the new company had no Chinese employees.
Their situation raised a question shared by many foreign entrepreneurs: “How can a founder move from company registration to legal work status—and then build a stable long-term stay in China?”
The answer was not one standard application. The company structure, each founder’s qualifications and the child’s residence needs had to be planned as connected parts of one roadmap.
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01
Company Registration Is Only the FIRST Step
Owning shares in a company does not automatically make a foreign founder eligible for a work permit. The founder’s individual background must support an available application route.
That makes the work permit assessment part of company planning—not a separate task to consider only after registration is complete.
Two possible directions may be assessed:
1. Regular application route
An applicant with a qualifying degree and the normally required two or more years of full-time relevant work experience may be assessed for a Category B work permit route based on that individual background.
2. Investor-related route
When an applicant does not have the relevant degree or work experience, an investor-related route may be considered. In practice, the assessment may also look at the applicant’s age and shareholding, the company’s Chinese employees and social insurance contributions, and its actual operations and revenue.
For example, some applicable cases may involve all of the following:
• Under 60 years old
• At least 20% company ownership
• At least one Chinese employee with social insurance contributions
• Quarterly revenue of at least RMB 90,000, supported by invoices
The exact conditions still need to be confirmed against the policy and practice of the place of application, as well as the facts of the individual case.
Key point: The work permit route should be assessed while the company and its share structure are being planned—not improvised after registration.
Feel free to reach out to our visa consultant Maggie for a one-on-one consultation!
02
Match EACH Founder to the Right Work Permit Route
The couple were founders of the same company, but their education and work histories were different. Their applications therefore needed separate assessments rather than one shared route.
Founder A |Recent master’s graduate
We assessed one founder under the Category C route available to qualifying recent master’s graduates, organized the required materials around that background, and followed the application through to approval.
Founder B |Bachelor’s degree + two years of relevant experience
We assessed the other founder under the corresponding Category B route, prepared the supporting materials, and followed the application through to approval.
Two founders. Two supported routes. Both work permit applications were approved.
Their result did not come from treating them as one couple or one shareholder group. It came from matching each founder’s actual qualifications to the appropriate route.
03
Add the Family’s Residence Plan BEFORE the Move
The founders’ work permits solved only part of the family’s long-term stay in China. Their child also needed a suitable residence arrangement.
While the two founders’ applications were moving forward, our team also reviewed the child’s residence needs and assisted with the corresponding procedures.
A complete roadmap had to cover three connected needs: the company, both founders’ work status and the child’s long-term residence.
Feel free to reach out to our visa consultant Maggie for a one-on-one consultation!
FINAL TAKEAWAY
Build One Roadmap from Company Setup to Long-Term Stay
This case began with a newly established company and no Chinese employees. It ended with two approved work permit applications and support for the child’s long-term residence procedures.
For foreign entrepreneurs planning a long-term future in China, the company structure, each founder’s eligibility and the family’s residence needs should be mapped together from the beginning.
If you have any questions about China visa applications(work visa, company registration and more), please contact our visa consultant Maggie.
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