Regulations on Legal Employment and Residence for Foreign Nationals in China

According to Article 37 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China:
Foreigners staying or residing in China shall not engage in activities unrelated to the purpose of their stay or residence and shall leave the country before the expiration of their permitted stay or residence period.

According to Article 39 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China:
For foreigners accommodated in hotels within China, the hotels shall handle accommodation registration for them in accordance with relevant regulations on hotel security management and report the foreigners' accommodation registration information to the local public security authorities. Foreigners residing or staying in places other than hotels shall, within 24 hours of check-in, have themselves or their hosts register with the public security authorities of the place of residence.

According to Article 41 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China:
Foreigners working in China shall, in accordance with regulations, obtain work permits and work-type residence permits. No entity or individual may employ foreigners who have not obtained work permits and work-type residence permits.

According to Article 43 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China:

Foreigners engaging in any of the following activities shall be considered as working illegally:
(1) Working in China without obtaining a work permit and work-type residence permit as required;
(2) Working in China beyond the scope specified in the work permit;
(3) Foreign students working in China in violation of regulations on part-time work, exceeding the permitted job scope or time limits.

According to Article 45 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China:
Entities employing foreigners or enrolling foreign students shall report relevant information to the local public security authorities as required.

According to Article 76 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China:
Failure to register for temporary accommodation as stipulated in Paragraph 2 of Article 39 of this Law, or failure to update registration when details on a foreigner's residence permit change, shall result in a warning and may also incur a fine of up to 2,000 yuan.

According to Article 78 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China:
Foreigners illegally residing in China shall be given a warning; in serious cases, a fine of 500 yuan per day of illegal residence, with a total not exceeding 10,000 yuan, or detention of 5 to 15 days shall be imposed.

According to Article 80 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China:
Foreigners working illegally shall be fined between 5,000 and 20,000 yuan; in serious cases, they shall be detained for 5 to 15 days and fined between 5,000 and 20,000 yuan. Entities illegally employing foreigners shall be fined 10,000 yuan per illegally employed person, with a total not exceeding 100,000 yuan; any illegal gains shall be confiscated.

According to the Administrative Licensing Law of the People's Republic of China, "If a licensee needs to extend the validity period of an administrative license obtained in accordance with the law, they shall apply to the administrative organ that made the licensing decision 30 days before the expiration of the administrative license."

Effective from February 28, 2018, applications for extending the work permit for foreigners in China must be submitted at least 30 days before the permit expires. Late submissions will not be accepted, and a new application must be filed instead.