Before you start

A Shenzhen 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 adequate validity and blank pages
A Shenzhen address with a landlord willing to attend the police station

Step-by-step

1
Employer files the Notification Letter, checking the GBA concessions
Filed online through the national work permit system, which assigns Category A, B or C on the points table. In the Greater Bay Area the age ceiling is raised to 65 for urgently needed skills and major project staff, and experience requirements are waived for young specialists on priority science programmes. Ask explicitly whether either applies to you.
Via employerWho: Your employer2–5 weeks
2
Apply for the Z visa abroad
At a Chinese embassy, consulate or visa application service centre outside mainland China. Fees vary sharply by nationality under reciprocity. This cannot be done from inside China and a tourist L visa cannot be converted here.
In personWho: You1–3 weeks
3
Register at the neighbourhood police station within 24 hours
Passport, visa, lease and — normally — the landlord and their property ownership certificate. You leave with the temporary residence registration slip. Do this before anything else once you have keys.
In personWho: YouWithin 24 hours of moving in
4
Collect the work permit card
The employer completes the application after entry and the card is issued, generally expected within about fifteen days. You are not lawfully working until it exists.
Via employerWho: Your employerWithin ~15 days of entry
5
Apply for the residence permit within 30 days of entry
At the Shenzhen Exit–Entry Administration, with passport, work permit, registration slip, medical certificate, photographs and employer letters. Fees run roughly RMB 400 under a year, RMB 800 for one to three years, RMB 1,000 for three to five. About fifteen working days to process.
In personWho: YouWithin 30 days of entry
6
Make sure the residence permit is multi-entry before crossing to Hong Kong
Hong Kong is a separate immigration jurisdiction. Your Chinese residence permit governs re-entry to the mainland, and crossing on a status that does not permit re-entry leaves you outside the country you live in. Check the entry endorsement before your first weekend across the border.
In personWho: 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

Greater Bay Area work permits are mutually recognised across the nine mainland cities.

A foreigner holding a work permit issued in another mainland GBA city — Guangzhou, Dongguan, Zhuhai, Foshan and the rest — can apply for the same type of permit in a neighbouring one without resubmitting the whole documentary file. Nowhere else in China works this way. If your work spans the delta, or you expect to move between Shenzhen and Guangzhou, this converts what would elsewhere be a full re-application into a transfer.

Source: Greater Bay Area work permit optimisation measures

The age ceiling is 65 here rather than the usual 60, for urgently needed skills.

China's work permit regime applies age limits that stop many experienced professionals cold. The Greater Bay Area raised the ceiling to 65 for foreign staff with urgently needed skills and for those on major industrial projects, and relaxed experience requirements for young specialists in priority science programmes. For anyone at either end of the age distribution, the Bay Area is measurably the most accessible mainland option — and this is not something a recruiter will think to mention.

Source: Greater Bay Area work permit optimisation measures

Crossing to Hong Kong is an immigration event, not a day trip.

Hong Kong operates its own immigration system, so your mainland residence permit gives you nothing there and your Hong Kong entry gives you nothing back on the mainland. Re-entering Shenzhen needs a valid, multi-entry residence permit or a re-entry endorsement. People with a permit in process, or with a status that does not carry re-entry, have crossed for a weekend and found themselves unable to return to their own flat.

Source: National Immigration Administration

The K visa does not remove the residence permit or the registration.

The K visa for young science and technology talent came into force on 1 October 2025 under State Council Order No. 814 and requires no Chinese sponsor, which is genuinely new. Several implementing details were still unpublished well into 2026. Whatever category gets you into China, staying still means a residence permit within 30 days and a police registration within 24 hours — the K visa changes who may apply, not what you owe on arrival.

Source: gov.cn / State Council Order No. 814

Common mistakes to avoid

Skipping the 24-hour police registration because the hotel did it for you last time.
Treating the Z visa as permission to reside and missing the 30-day deadline.
Not asking whether the GBA age or experience concessions apply to your file.
Crossing to Hong Kong without checking that your residence permit allows re-entry.
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.