Before you start

A Chengdu employer willing to sponsor — the only self-sponsored national route is the new K visa
Degree certificate and criminal record certificate, notarised then apostilled (China joined the Hague Apostille Convention in November 2023)
Passport with sufficient validity and blank pages
A Chengdu address with a landlord willing to attend the police station

Step-by-step

1
Ask your employer to score you before filing
The national work permit system classifies applicants A, B or C on a points table covering salary, education, experience, Chinese ability, age and work location. Western China attracts additional points and salary points are measured against the local average wage. Ask for the score before the file is submitted, because Category A brings a longer permit and a lighter process.
Via employerWho: Your employerBefore filing
2
Employer files the Notification Letter
Filed online through the national system. Category A is high-end talent, outside quota and age limits, with permits of up to five years; B is the ordinary professional tier; C is quota-controlled.
Via employerWho: Your employer2–5 weeks
3
Apply for the Z visa at a Chinese mission abroad
Not possible from inside China, and a tourist L visa cannot be converted here. Fees are set by nationality reciprocity and vary widely.
In personWho: You1–3 weeks
4
Register at the neighbourhood police station within 24 hours of moving in
Passport, visa, lease and normally the landlord with their property ownership certificate. You leave with the temporary residence registration slip that every later step asks for.
In personWho: YouWithin 24 hours of moving in
5
Collect the work permit card, then apply for the residence permit within 30 days of entry
The employer completes the work permit application after entry, generally within about fifteen days. The residence permit is then applied for at the Chengdu Exit–Entry Administration, with fees of roughly RMB 400 under a year, RMB 800 for one to three years and RMB 1,000 for three to five, and around fifteen working days to process.
In personWho: YouWithin 30 days of entry
6
Know which mission covers you for consular services
Chengdu hosts a large consular cluster, but the U.S. consulate general closed in July 2020 and Sichuan now falls under U.S. Embassy Beijing. If you are American, plan passport renewals and notarials around a trip to Beijing rather than a taxi across town.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport with Z visa
Notification Letter, then the Foreigner's Work Permit card
Notarised and apostilled degree and criminal record certificates
Medical examination certificate from a designated facility
Lease plus the landlord's property ownership certificate and ID
Temporary residence registration slip

Things most newcomers don’t know

The same person scores better in Chengdu than in Shanghai, and it is worth real money.

The national points table awards additional points for employment in western and north-eastern China, and calibrates salary points against the local average wage — which in Sichuan is far below Shanghai's, so a given salary earns more points here. Someone marginal in Category B on the coast can clear Category A in Chengdu, which means a permit of up to five years instead of one or two, exemption from quota and age constraints, and a lighter documentary process. This is a genuine structural advantage of a second-tier posting and almost nobody weighs it when comparing offers.

Source: Service System for Foreigners Working in China

The consular map changed in 2020, and Americans in Sichuan are now served from Beijing.

The U.S. consulate general in Chengdu closed in July 2020 and has not reopened. Its former district — Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Yunnan and Tibet — was reassigned, with Sichuan now falling under U.S. Embassy Beijing for American citizen services. For most other nationalities Chengdu remains unusually well served, with French, German, Korean, Singaporean, Australian, Israeli, Swiss, Polish and other consulates in the city. For an American, a routine passport renewal is now a trip to Beijing, and that is worth knowing before it is urgent.

Source: U.S. Mission to China — statement on consular districts

The Chinese language points are within your control and take months to earn.

The points table awards points for Chinese proficiency, evidenced by HSK certification. Alongside age and salary, which you cannot change, this is the one lever a candidate genuinely controls. In Chengdu, where you are closer to the Category A line to begin with, an HSK level is often what tips a file over. Certification takes months of study and scheduled exam dates, so it only helps if you start before you need it.

Source: Service System for Foreigners Working in China

A work permit is tied to the city that issued it, and only the Bay Area has mutual recognition.

Moving from Chengdu to Shanghai means a new work permit, a new residence permit and a new police registration — not a transfer. Only the nine mainland Greater Bay Area cities mutually recognise each other's work permits. If your career plan involves moving within China, factor in that each move restarts the administrative clock and can take two to three months.

Source: National Immigration Administration

Common mistakes to avoid

Letting the employer file Category B without asking for your actual points score.
Moving into a private flat and never registering with the neighbourhood police station.
Treating the Z visa as permission to reside and missing the 30-day deadline.
Assuming, as an American, that there is still a consulate in Chengdu.
Arriving without an apostille on the degree and criminal record certificates.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.