Catalog:

I. High-end Foreign Talent (Category A)

II. Foreign Professional Talent (Category B)

III. Other Foreign Personnel (Category C)

IV. Cutting-edge Foreign Talent

V. Point-based system

Applicants coming to Shanghai for scientific cooperation, academic exchanges, or entrepreneurship must satisfy the Recognition Standards for Foreign High-level Talent. This applies to renowned scholars, experts in science and technology innovation, business talent, and emerging young talent.

To establish a scientific and practical foreign talent assessment system focused on ability, achievements, and contributions and guided by market demand, as reflected in market evaluation and international peer evaluation, the point-based system, the guide catalog for foreigners working in China, labor market testing, and quota management are used to classify foreigners working in China into Categories A, B, and C for differentiated management.

I. High-end Foreign Talent (Category A)

Category A includes scientists, leading science and technology professionals, international entrepreneurs, specialized talent, and other high-end foreign talent urgently needed for China's economic and social development. They must meet national priorities and catalog requirements for the introduction of foreign talent and satisfy at least one of the following conditions. Category A applicants are eligible for the "green channel" and may have their applications accepted with certain nonessential materials to be submitted later.

(A) Selected for Domestic Programs for Talent Introduction

Individuals selected for talent introduction programs recognized by talent authorities at the deputy-provincial level or above and approved or placed on record by the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, or the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs.

(B) Conforming to internationally recognized identification standards for professional achievement

1. Nobel Prize laureates in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, or economic sciences.

2. Recipients of the following awards: the National Medal of Science (US); the National Medal of Technology and Innovation (US); a research medal awarded by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS); the Royal Gold Medal (UK); the Copley Medal; the Turing Award; the Fields Medal; the Wolf Prize in Mathematics; the Abel Prize; the Lasker Award; the Crafoord Prize; the Japan Prize; the Kyoto Prize; the Shaw Prize; famous architectural awards (see Achievement Criteria 2); and famous industrial design awards (see Achievement Criteria 3).

3. Members of national academies of sciences or engineering worldwide.

4. Individuals who have served as committee members, members, or council members of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), other internationally renowned academic institutions (see Achievement Criteria 4), or international science and education organizations.

5. Directors and senior research fellows from national research institutes and national labs.

6. Persons responsible for project outcomes, chief scientists, or key members of national science and technology programs in various countries.

7. Those who formerly served as editors-in-chief, deputy editors-in-chief, or senior members of leading international science and technology journals in JCR Q1 or Q2.

8. Those who have published three papers as first author or corresponding author, including authors credited with equal contribution, in leading international science and technology journals in JCR Q1 or Q2 for the relevant field.

9. Those who formerly held middle- or senior-level management positions or were appointed as professors or associate professors at high-level universities outside the Chinese mainland.

10. Those who formerly held senior management positions or served as key R&D personnel at the headquarters of Global 500 companies, or held positions at or above the deputy general manager level or headed R&D at their second-tier subsidiaries or regional headquarters (see Achievement Criteria 5).

11. Former senior managers of prominent international financial institutions (see Achievement Criteria 6) and of international accounting firms (see Achievement Criteria 7).

12. Presidents, vice-presidents, professors, and associate professors at world-famous colleges of music, fine arts, and the arts (see Achievement Criteria 8).

13. Chief conductors and section players in world-famous orchestras (see Achievement Criteria 9).

14. Artists who have held solo performances and shows at world-famous opera houses (see Achievement Criteria 10) or concert halls (see Achievement Criteria 11).

15. Recipients of the highest-level individual prizes in famous literary awards (see Achievement Criteria 12), famous film, television, or drama awards (see Achievement Criteria 13), famous music awards (see Achievement Criteria 14), or famous advertising awards (see Achievement Criteria 15); recipients of grand prizes or first prizes in Category I competitions, or individual grand prizes in Category II competitions, at famous international art competitions (see Achievement Criteria 16); and judges of the above awards and competitions.

16. Well-known athletes who placed in the top eight at the Olympic Games or at either of the two most recent World Cups, World Championships, or other major international competitions in Olympic sports (see Achievement Criteria 17); well-known athletes who placed in the top three at the Asian Games or at either of the two most recent Asian Cups or Asian Championships in Asian Games sports; and the head coaches or core coaching staff responsible for training those athletes.

17. Former officials who held positions at ministerial level or above in foreign government bodies; former senior leaders of famous international organizations or nongovernmental organizations (see Achievement Criteria 18).

18. Winners of the WorldSkills Competition or national Category I vocational skills competitions, or professionals engaged in training for the relevant competition events; highly skilled personnel holding internationally recognized highest-level vocational skills qualification certificates or China's senior technician vocational qualification certificates.

(C) Foreign talent fulfilling the market demand for government-encouraged posts

1. Individuals employed in senior management or technical positions by enterprises under the central government and their second-tier subsidiaries, the global or regional headquarters of Global 500 companies, national high-tech enterprises recognized by science and technology authorities at the provincial level or above, or large enterprises (see Achievement Criteria 19).

2. Senior managers or technical personnel employed by national enterprise engineering research centers recognized by development and reform authorities; engineering laboratories recognized by development and reform authorities; engineering technology research centers recognized by science and technology authorities; enterprise technology centers recognized by economic and information technology authorities; or local technology innovation service platforms recognized by science and technology authorities.

3. Senior managers or technical professionals employed by domestic and foreign medium-sized businesses (see the Achievement Criteria 19); the chairman of the board, the legal representative, the general manager or the chief technical specialist appointed by small-sized foreign-invested businesses in line with the government-encouraged industries specified in the "Catalogue for the Guidance of Foreign Investment Industries" and the "Catalogue of Competitive Industries for Foreign Investment in Central and Western Regions".

4. Foreign talent appointed to senior management positions or to the positions of associate professor or associate research fellow by higher education and research institutions; senior lecturers, senior internship tutors, and other deputy senior or above technical professional personnel appointed by vocational colleges.

5. Foreign talent appointed to senior management positions or deputy-senior or higher professional and technical positions by Grade A tertiary general hospitals in China, specialist hospitals in cities at the sub-provincial level or above, or foreign-invested hospitals.

6. Chief conductors, artistic directors, and principal players employed by leading domestic orchestras and other arts organizations (see Achievement Criteria 20).

7. Staff in senior management or technical positions, such as editors-in-chief, deputy editors-in-chief, chief announcers, senior hosts, planning directors, and layout design supervisors, employed by central and local mainstream media (see Achievement Criteria 21).

8. Key athletes, head coaches, or core members of the coaching staff employed by national- or provincial-level sports teams or clubs.

9. Foreign talent whose average wage income is at least six times the regional average wage income in the previous year.

(D) Innovative and entrepreneurial talent

1. Founders who contribute major technological inventions, patents, other independently owned intellectual property rights, or proprietary technology as capital; maintain stable investment for three consecutive years; have made cumulative actual investment of at least $500,000 in the enterprise; and hold a personal stake of at least 30 percent.

2. Chairpersons, legal representatives, general managers, or chief technical experts of enterprises to which they contribute major technological inventions, patents, other independently owned intellectual property rights, or proprietary technology as capital, and which have recorded annual sales of at least 10 million yuan or annual tax payments of at least 1 million yuan for three consecutive years.

3. Individuals employed in senior management or technical positions by entities included in innovative enterprise lists issued by relevant provincial authorities, or employed in occupations included in science and technology innovation occupation lists issued by those authorities.

(E) Outstanding young talent

Young talent under the age of 40 engaged in postdoctoral research at high-level universities outside the Chinese mainland or at universities on the Chinese mainland.

(F) Graded 85 points or more in the point-based system

Click to see a detailed introduction of Category A talent.

Infographic: Who qualifies as a High-end Foreign Talent (Category A)

II. Foreign Professional Talent (Category B)

Foreign professionals are classified as Category B if they meet the requirements of the guide catalog for foreigners working in China and relevant positions, are urgently needed for China's economic and social development, and satisfy at least one of the following conditions:

(A) Foreign professionals who hold a bachelor's degree or higher, have at least two years of relevant work experience, and meet one of the following descriptions:

1. Administrators or technical personnel engaged in the posts of research, teaching, and administration in the fields of education, scientific research, press and publication, culture, art, health, sports, and other special areas;

2. Personnel implementing intergovernmental agreements, agreements between international organizations, or Sino-foreign economic and trade contracts or engineering and technical contracts. The age requirement may be relaxed, in accordance with the terms of intergovernmental exchange and cooperation agreements, for personnel dispatched by internationally renowned academic institutions or international science and education organizations;

3. Staff employed by the representative offices of international organizations in China and representatives of the representative offices of overseas expert organizations in China;

4. Middle-level or higher employees dispatched by multinational companies, and the chief representative or the representative of the resident offices of foreign businesses in China; and

5. Foreign managers or technical professionals employed by businesses, institutions, and social organizations.

(B) Skilled personnel holding internationally recognized vocational skills qualification certificates or urgently needed skilled personnel

(C) Teachers of foreign languages

Teachers of foreign languages shall generally be engaged in teaching their native languages. They shall have a bachelor's degree or higher degree and language teaching experience of at least two years. Those who have degrees in education, language, or teaching, or have acquired a qualification certificate for teaching in their own countries or a recognized international certificate of language teaching, shall be exempted from the restriction on work experience.

(D) Foreign talent whose average wage income is at least four times the regional average wage income in the previous year.

(E) Special personnel under the relevant state regulations or for the implementation of special projects

(F) Professionals graded 60 points or more according to the point-based system

Click to see a detailed introduction of Category B talent.

Infographic | Foreign Professional Talent (Category B)

 

III. Other Foreign Personnel (Category C)

Foreigners employed to meet the demand of the domestic labor market in accordance with state policies and regulations are hereby classified as Category C. This category includes:

1. Foreign nationals who meet current regulations governing foreigners working in China;

2. Foreigners engaged in temporary or short-term (no longer than 90 days) posts; and

3. Foreigners under the quota system, including young foreigners coming to China for internships under intergovernmental agreements, international students and foreign graduates of overseas institutions of higher education who meet the prescribed conditions, and foreigners engaged in distant-water fishing and other special fields.

Click to see a detailed introduction of Category C talent.

Infographic | Other Foreign Personnel (Category C)

 

IV. Cutting-edge Foreign Talent

Shanghai's criteria for identifying highly skilled, sophisticated, and cutting-edge foreign talent further expand the scope for recognizing High-end Foreign Talent (Category A).

Determining who qualifies as highly skilled, sophisticated, and cutting-edge foreign talent in Shanghai requires a comprehensive set of criteria.

Click to see the detailed criteria for identifying cutting-edge foreign talent in Shanghai.

Policy | Criteria for identifying cutting-edge foreign talent in Shanghai

V. Point-based system

Under the point-based system, applicants scoring 85 points or more qualify for Category A, while those scoring at least 60 but fewer than 85 points qualify for Category B.

The points can be calculated as follows:

Qualifications	Standards	Points
Direct qualification	Be selected for a domestic talent introduction program or meet internationally recognized professional achievement criteria	—
	Fulfill the market demand for government-encouraged posts	—
	Innovative and entrepreneurial talent, outstanding young talent	—
Annual Salary (yuan) Paid by the Employer in China ≤ 20 points	≥450,000	20
	More than 350,000 but less than 450,000	17
	More than 250,000 but less than 350,000	14
	More than 150,000 but less than 250,000	11
	More than 70,000 but less than 150,000	8
	More than 50,000 but less than 70,000	5
	Less than 50,000	0
Education or Vocational Qualifications, etc. ≤ 20 points	Doctoral degree; an internationally recognized highest-level vocational skills qualification certificate; or qualification as a senior technician or equivalent	20
	Master's degree; technician or equivalent	15
	Bachelor's degree; senior worker or equivalent	10
Related Working Years ≤ 20 points	More than 2 years: 5 points for the first two years, plus 1 point for each additional year	Up to 20 points
	2 years	5
	< 2 years	0
Annual Work Duration (months) ≤ 15 points	9 months or more	15
	More than 6 months but less than 9 months	10
	More than 3 months but less than 6 months	5
	Less than 3 months	0
Chinese Language Proficiency ≤ 5 points	Foreigners who held Chinese nationality before	5
	Bachelor's degree or higher obtained through a program taught in Chinese	5
	HSK 5 or above	5
	HSK 4	4
	HSK 3	3
	HSK 2	2
	HSK 1	1
Working areas ≤ 10 points	West China	10
	Northeast China or other old industrial regions	10
	Special areas, including national-level poverty-stricken counties	10
Age ≤ 15 points	18 – 25	10
	26 – 45	15
	46 – 55	10
	56 – 60	5
	> 60	0
Graduation/Experience ≤ 5 points	Graduated from a high-level university outside the Chinese mainland	5
	Have work experience at a Global 500 company	5
	Hold a patent or other intellectual property rights	5
	Have worked continuously in China for five years or more	5
Encouraged points from Provincial Government ≤ 10 points	Special or urgently needed talent for local economic and social development needs (specific standards shall be formulated by the provincial-level authority responsible for the administration of foreigners working in China)	0-10

 

 

Updated Aug 12, 2026