Santa Fe A/S : Immigration Update - Shanghai, China | Update on Annual Inspection of Work...

Posted: 06/06/2016 Author: Jane Teng

Effective 1 July 2016, the Shanghai Labour Bureau will start to cancel the Work Permit validity from the system automatically after 3 months if the Work Permit is not annually inspected before the expiry day. This is only applicable only for Work Permit holders whose validity is more than 1 year and above (12 months and above).

Based on current regulations in Shanghai, Work Permits with the validity of over 1 year (12 months and above) must be inspected annually by the Shanghai Labour Bureau.

• The first inspection application must be made by the employer within 30 - 90 days before the end of the first 12-month period from the Work Permit issue date.
• Subsequent inspection applications are in a similar fashion too and must be made within 30-90 days in the next 12-month period starting from the last inspection date.

If this inspection application is not made within the said 30-90 days from the respective expiry dates and last annual inspection date, the Work Permit will be cancelled automatically.

At present, the Shanghai Labour Bureau will not penalize employers if the Work Permit is not inspected within 30 - 90 days prior to the expiry date. The enforcement will take effect from 1 July 2016 onwards.

Please find a sample case scenario below: -

Foreign employee A obtained a Work Permit valid for 3 years (i.e. 36 months) issued by Shanghai Labour Bureau on 1 January 2016 and will expire on 31 December 2018. The 1 annual inspection will be due on 31 December 2016. Hence, the employer will need to bring the employee's original Work Permit to Shanghai Labour Bureau for inspection earliest by 30 September 2016 and latest by 30 November 2016.

If the annual inspection is completed on 30 November 2016, the 2 annual inspection will be due on 29 November 2017 (i.e. 1 year from the last annual inspection date).

In the final year, if the employer would like to continue the foreign employee A's employment, the Work Permit should be renewed 3 months before expiry to allow for sufficient processing time.

All employers must ensure that the annual inspection of Work Permits with validity of 12 months and above and due for inspection are completed before 30 June 2016to avoid having the Work Permits automatically cancelled.

IMPACT

Employers who have not applied for the Work Permit annual inspection within 30 - 90 days before the expiry or last annual inspection date is required to complete this before 30 June 2016. Otherwise, the Work Permit will be cancelled by the Shanghai Labour Bureau automatically from their system and the employer will need to re-apply for a fresh Work Permit for the employee by going through the entire process again from Alien Employment License application to Work Permit completion.

If you have any questions on this issue or any other Visa & Immigration topics, please contact:

Martha Song
Assistant Immigration Manager - South China
Santa Fe Relocation Services
Shanghai, China
Tel: (+86 21) 6233 9700 ext. 134
Email: Martha.Song@santaferelo.com

Or

Jane Teng
Operations Manager Immigration Services - Asia
Santa Fe Relocation Services
Shanghai, China
Tel: (+86 21) 6233 9700 ext. 232
Email: jane.teng@santaferelo.com

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