In recent years, as China continues to open up at a higher level, it has become more important to attract top global talent for employment, entrepreneurship, and innovation. One of the key aspects of this is making sure foreign workers can easily obtain longer work permits.

The validity period of visas for foreigners who want to work in China varies significantly depending on the talent category.

In China, the visa duration for foreigners is based on different talent categories, primarily divided into three categories: A, B, and C. When applying for a work permit, foreigners must meet the criteria of any one of these categories.

Category A talent refers to high-level foreign experts urgently needed for China's economic and social development, such as scientists, leading figures in technology, international entrepreneurs, and other specialized high-level talents.

Category B is for professional foreign talent needed for China's economic and social development, in line with the guidance catalog and job requirements for foreigners coming to China.

Category C covers other foreign personnel who meet domestic labor market demands, engaged in work that complies with national policies.

It is worth noting that in most regions, Category C talent is subject to a strict quota management system so, in practice, applications are generally made under Categories A and B.

For Category A foreign talent, i.e., high-level talent, after the initial work permit validity period expires, they can apply for an extension of the work permit for 2-5 years.

For Category B professional talent, the work permit approval period is generally 1 year. The validity period cannot exceed that of the business license or registration certificate, government approval document, labor contract or assignment letter, and the applicant's passport or other international travel documents that can replace a passport.

The good news is that to improve expectations for foreign talent working in Shanghai, the validity period of work permits for Category B has been extended.

For Category B professional talent, after two consecutive work permit applications (one original application and one extension) without changing employers, they can be granted a 2-year work permit upon the third extension, based on the length of the contract.

Policy changes allow some Category B talent to receive 2-year visasCFP

The specific scope of foreign professional talent (Category B) includes:

1. Foreign professionals with a bachelor's degree or above and at least two years of relevant work experience. They must meet one of the following criteria:

• Managers or professional technical personnel engaged in research, teaching, or management in special fields such as education, scientific research, journalism, publishing, culture, arts, health, and sports.
• Personnel executing intergovernmental agreements between China and foreign countries, international organization agreements, or China-foreign economic and trade or engineering contracts. Age requirements may be relaxed for individuals dispatched by internationally renowned academic institutions or international organizations in education and science, in accordance with the terms of intergovernmental exchange and cooperation agreements.
• Personnel hired by representative offices of international organizations in China and representatives of foreign expert organizations stationed in China.
• Mid-level and above employees dispatched by multinational companies, chief representatives and representatives of foreign companies' resident offices in China.
• Foreign management personnel or technical professionals hired by enterprises, public institutions, social organizations, and other entities.

2. Talent with internationally recognized professional skills certifications or those with urgently needed skills.

3. Foreign language teaching personnel. In principle, foreign language teachers should teach the language of their home country. They must hold a bachelor's degree or above and have at least two years of language education experience. Those who hold a degree in education, language, or pedagogy, or possess a national teaching qualification or a recognized international language teaching certificate, can be exempt from the work experience requirement.

4. Foreign talent whose average salary is at least four times the average local salary from the previous year.

5. Specialized personnel and project implementation personnel in compliance with the regulations of relevant national departments.

6. Professionals who score over 60 points on the points-based evaluation system.