The whole process guide for enterprises to employ foreign workers: the necessary steps from qualification examination to legal employment
The whole process guide for enterprises to employ foreign workers: the necessary steps from qualification examination to legal employment
Under the background of accelerating global talent flow, it has become an important way for enterprises to enhance their competitiveness by employing foreign personnel to introduce international vision and professional skills. However, the work of foreign workers involves multiple links such as legal compliance, document processing, and cultural integration. Enterprises need to build a systematic management system to ensure the legality and efficiency of employment. This paper analyzes the core process and practical points of employing foreign personnel in depth from three stages: pre-employment qualification preparation, employment process management and post-employment service support.
Before 1. employment: Double verification of enterprise qualification and job requirements
Self-examination of enterprise qualification is the basic prerequisite for hiring foreign personnel. Enterprises need to be established in accordance with the law and have no record of major violations, and specific industries need to pass pre-approval. For example, educational institutions need to obtain a school license, and medical institutions need to be qualified to practice. An international school once failed to provide the filing documents of the education department, which led to the rejection of the application for a work permit for foreign teachers, affecting the school opening plan. Enterprises should prepare basic materials such as business licenses and industry qualification certificates in advance and ensure their validity.
job suitability argument needs to prove the attribute of "domestic shortage of suitable candidates" for the job of foreign personnel. Enterprises need to prove the irreplaceability of positions through supply and demand reports issued by third-party organizations, local recruitment records and other materials. For example, a new energy automobile enterprise successfully proved the necessity of the post of foreign chief engineer by submitting the data of battery technology talent gap, and was approved as a class a high-end talent. Enterprises should avoid the tendency of "hiring instead of training". A manufacturing enterprise was asked to reassess the authenticity of demand because of the overlap between foreign engineer positions and domestic talent training plans.
Expatriate conditional screening takes into account both professional competence and background compliance. Enterprises need to verify the candidate's no criminal record certificate, health examination report and academic certification documents. A multinational company was once exposed for failing to verify the overseas criminal records of foreign engineers, which led to its illegal employment behavior, and the company was punished with administrative penalties. In terms of professional qualifications, foreign professionals need to have a bachelor's degree or above and more than 2 years of relevant work experience, and foreign high-end talents can enjoy priority approval channels.
Fine operation of certificate handling and process management in 2. employment
Work permit and visa application is the core part of the legal work of foreign personnel. Enterprises need to complete it in two steps:
- before entering the country : submit the "declaration form for employment needs of overseas personnel" to the local human resources and social security department and apply for the "notice of work permit for foreigners". 8 items of materials such as employment contract, no criminal record certificate, academic certificate and work qualification certificate shall be provided.
- after entry : foreigners apply for Z visa (work visa) or R visa (talent visa) at Chinese embassies and consulates abroad on the basis of the Notice of Work Permit for Foreigners. Within 15 days after entering the country, enterprises need to apply for a work permit for foreigners online; within 30 days, they will assist in handling work residence permits. A technology company did not apply for the extension of residence permit in time, resulting in the illegal detention of foreign technical experts, and the enterprise was fined and affected the introduction of subsequent talents.
Labor contract design takes into account international practices and local laws. The contract shall clearly stipulate the terms of work content, place of work, salary structure and liability for breach of contract, and shall be bilingual in Chinese and English. A foreign company was identified as illegal employment when it moved across provinces because it did not limit the working area of foreign employees. In terms of salary payment, enterprises need to pay wages and retain vouchers through banks, and a trading company is punished by the tax department for using cash payment. In addition, enterprises are required to pay social insurance for foreign employees, and some regions allow them to participate in supplementary commercial insurance.
Cross-cultural team management requires innovative system design. An Internet enterprise has implemented the "cultural integration points system", requiring foreign employees to participate in local cultural activities and learn basic Chinese. Points can be exchanged for training resources or vacation quota, and employee participation will be increased by 60%. At the same time, enterprises need to establish a two-way communication mechanism. A manufacturing enterprise allows foreign employees to share international experience through monthly cross-cultural round tables, and local employees to impart insight into the local market to form a knowledge-sharing ecology.
After 3. employment: service support and deep mining of long-term value
Administrative service optimization is the basic guarantee for the stability of foreign personnel. Enterprises can set up a "service area for foreign employees" to integrate resources such as work permit renewal, children's schooling and spouse employment. A pharmaceutical company has established strategic cooperation with local international schools and human resources institutions to provide priority admission qualifications and spouse professional recommend services for the children of foreign employees, and the employee retention rate has increased by 30%. In addition, enterprises need to provide multilingual support. A multinational consulting company integrates AI translation tools in its internal system to solve cross-language communication problems in real time and improve collaboration efficiency by 45%.
Career support is a key strategy for retaining core talent. Enterprises should develop personalized training plans for foreign employees. A new energy enterprise designs a dual-track system of "technical leadership + Chinese management practice" for foreign R & D directors, and successfully trains them to transform from technical experts to regional managers within three years. At the same time, enterprises can set up foreign talent innovation funds to support their participation in international cooperation projects and patent applications. In the past three years, a technology company's R & D projects led by foreign employees accounted for 35%.
family care system is an important starting point to solve the worries of talents. Enterprises need to pay attention to the employment needs of the spouses of foreign employees. An automobile enterprise is the spouse of a foreign scientist (formerly a German designer) who connects with the job opportunities in the local creative park to realize the overall migration of the family. In terms of children's education, companies can provide customized services such as international curriculum guidance and Chinese summer camps to help them quickly adapt to the local education environment. A financial institution enhances the sense of belonging of the families of foreign employees by establishing mechanisms such as family open days and local family pairing.
4. risk prevention and control and compliance management: building a long-term guarantee mechanism
triple verification of qualification examination :
- the academic certificate must be certified by the embassy and consulate and confirmed by the overseas study service center of the Ministry of education of China;
- the work experience certificate must include the contact information of the former employer for verification;
- check the validity period of passport and residence certificate regularly (it is recommended to set an early warning 60 days before expiration).
new social security payment regulations :
- Shanghai, Shenzhen and other places are piloting compulsory insurance for foreign employees. enterprises need to distinguish the social security exemption of citizens of the agreement countries.
Special Procedures for Resignation Management :
- Report resignation information to the public security immigration department 10 days in advance;
- Supervise the cancellation of work-type residence documents;
- Keep the handover documents for at least 2 years.
5. typical case: the transformation from "single employment" to "ecological co-construction"
The practice of a new energy automobile enterprise is of benchmarking significance: through the establishment of "foreign talent ecosystem", it integrates administrative, human, legal and other departmental resources to provide full life cycle services. Specific measures include:
- pre-service : assess the family needs of candidates at the recruitment stage, and coordinate resources such as children's enrollment and spouse employment in advance;
- dynamic tracking : continuously optimize the service plan through quarterly satisfaction survey and exit interview;
- Cultural Co-creation : Encourage foreign employees to participate in corporate social responsibility projects, such as organizing foreign volunteer teams to participate in community English corners to enhance their social identity.
the retention rate of foreign employees in the enterprise increased from 55% to 80%, of which 75% of foreign managers said that "the enterprise support system is the key factor for its long-term development".
It is a systematic project for enterprises to employ foreign workers. It needs to build a whole chain ecology from qualification examination, process management to service support. By accurately grasping policy requirements, innovating service models, and strengthening resource integration, companies can not only improve the job satisfaction and sense of belonging of foreign talents, but also transform cross-cultural differences into innovative advantages, and inject lasting impetus into globalization strategies.