Employing foreign employees over 60 years old: a complete guide to corporate compliance operations and risk prevention and control

Employing foreign employees over 60 years old: a complete guide to corporate compliance operations and risk prevention and control

With the acceleration of global talent flow, more and more companies want to bring in experienced foreign retired experts or highly skilled personnel. However, the employment of foreign employees over the age of 60 involves special policy restrictions and compliance requirements. If enterprises operate improperly, they may face visa rejection, labor disputes and even administrative penalties. This paper systematically combs the core points of employing over-age foreign employees from the three dimensions of policy interpretation, process optimization and risk prevention and control.

1. policy threshold: analysis of access conditions for over-age foreign employees

1. work permit classification restriction
according to the classification standard for foreigners to work in China, the upper age limit for category B (professional talents) foreign employees is 60 years old, but the following circumstances can break through the restriction:

• category a talents : high-end talents such as Nobel Prize winners, academicians and senior executives of multinational enterprises have no age limit and can directly apply for a 5-year work permit.
• experts in shortage fields : if the post is listed in the national or local shortage of talents catalogue (such as chip research and development, biomedicine), enterprises can submit "post necessity explanation" and apply for relaxing the age limit;
• Rehire Retired Experts : Foreign experts who have retired in China can apply for short-term work permits with retirement certificates and recommendation letters from their original units.

case : a new energy automobile enterprise once introduced a 72-year-old German battery expert and successfully obtained a class a work permit by submitting "proof of shortage of talents in China's new energy automobile industry" and three international patent certificates of experts.

2. Proof of health and competence
Over-age foreign employees are required to provide:

• Medical report : issued by Chinese inspection and quarantine institutions or overseas designated medical institutions, including screening of common elderly diseases such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, bone and joint diseases;
• ability assessment : professional ability certificate issued by industry authority. if engineers need to provide international certification certificates, teachers need to provide teaching qualification documents of their original countries.

risk point : a university once failed to verify the health certificate of a foreign professor, resulting in his sudden resignation due to heart disease after 3 months of employment, and the enterprise was required to bear medical expenses and compensation for breach of contract.

2. employment model innovation: the compliance path to break the age limit

1. Flexible employment plan

• Project-based cooperation : sign a service agreement as an independent contractor, pay according to the project results, and do not need to apply for a work permit (ensure that it does not constitute a de facto labor relationship).
  Applicable scenarios : short-term technical consultation, training guidance and other non-continuous work.
• remote collaboration mode : assign tasks through the online platform, foreign employees complete their work abroad, and enterprises only need to withhold and remit personal income tax according to their remuneration for labor services without going through entry formalities.
  case : an internet company once hired a 65-year-old American algorithm expert as a part-time consultant to guide the team through online meetings, saving 400000 yuan in annual labor costs.

2. Visa type optimization

• R visa (talent visa): class A talents can apply for a multiple-entry visa valid for 5-10 years, with a stay of no more than 180 days at a time, which is suitable for retired experts who need to travel frequently.
• m visa (business visa): if foreign employees only need to enter the country for a short period of time (e.g. within 30 days) to attend meetings or training, they can apply for m visa without applying for a work permit.

data comparison : the traditional work visa processing cycle is about 45 days, while the R visa only needs 15 working days and is exempt from visa fees.

Key points of 3. compliance management: prevention and control of over-age employees' employment risks

1. Labor contract design

• term limit : the term of the contract shall not exceed the validity period of the work permit, and the "automatic termination upon expiration" clause shall be specified to avoid labor arbitration caused by renewal disputes.
• health clause : add "conditions for termination of contract for inability to perform duties due to health reasons" and stipulate the frequency of physical examination (e. g. once every six months).
• non-competition restriction : if the core technology is involved, the scope of non-competition restriction, compensation standard and payment method should be clearly defined to avoid being invalid due to vague terms.

case : a manufacturing enterprise once signed a non-competition agreement with a 68-year-old German engineer, but did not agree on compensation. finally, the court ruled that the terms were invalid and the enterprise lost its core technology confidentiality right.

2. Social Security and Commercial Insurance

• Statutory Social Security : If over-age foreign employees do not enjoy overseas pension insurance, enterprises are required to pay pension, medical, work-related injury, unemployment and maternity insurance in accordance with the law.
• Supplementary Commercial Insurance : It is recommended to purchase high-cost insurance covering overseas medical treatment, emergency rescue and accidental death to reduce the cost of sudden risks for enterprises.
  reference plan : an enterprise insures 70-year-old foreign experts with "global medical insurance" with an annual premium of 20000 yuan, covering 1 million yuan of medical expenses and 24-hour rescue services.

3. Retirement and Retirement Connection

• Advance Planning : Start the renewal evaluation 6 months before the contract expires. If you decide not to renew, employees must be notified in writing 30 days in advance.
• Retirement benefits : If a foreign employee retires in China, the company is required to assist in the pension collection procedures and keep the relevant documents for at least 15 years.

risk point : an enterprise failed to handle the retirement procedures for foreign employees in time, resulting in their inability to receive pension, and was eventually sued for compensation for losses and interest.

4. local policy differences: key regional practice cases

1. Shanghai Free Trade Zone Pilot

• Green Channel : For foreign retired experts in key industries such as integrated circuits and biomedicine, the time limit for work permit approval is reduced to 5 working days.
• long-term residence : category a talents can apply for a 5-year work residence permit, and their spouses and minor children can move with them.

2. Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Policy

• Talent Endorsement : Retired experts from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and foreign countries can apply for "Greater Bay Area Talent Endorsement", valid for 5 years, each stay does not exceed 90 days.
• personal income tax concession : for overseas high-end talents working in the big bay area, the government will give financial subsidies to the part of the actual personal income tax burden exceeding 15%.

3. Hainan free trade port innovation

• zero tariff equipment : foreign experts import production equipment for their own use and can enjoy zero tariff policy, reduce enterprise research and development costs.
• International talent community : provide supporting services such as apartments for foreign talents and international schools to solve the worries of over-age experts.

Conclusion: Value Mining and Compliance Management of Over-age Foreign Talents

Employing Foreign Employees Over 60, it is not only a strategic choice for enterprises to gain high-end experience, but also a major test of compliance management capabilities. Enterprises need to establish a full-process management system of "policy tracking-risk assessment-dynamic adjustment", combine local pilot policies to innovate employment models, and fully release the value potential of over-age talents while controlling legal risks. Only in this way can we build a differentiated talent advantage in the global competition and achieve sustainable development.