Analysis of the whole process of work permit for foreign employees: the core points from qualification examination to compliance management

Analysis of the whole process of work permit for foreign employees: core points from qualification examination to compliance management

Under the background of accelerating global talent flow, the introduction of foreign professionals has become a key measure to enhance the competitiveness of enterprises. However, the handling and management of work permits for foreign employees involves multi-dimensional and complex links such as law, administration, and human resources. A little carelessness may cause compliance risks. This paper systematically combs the core process, key materials and follow-up management points of the work permit processing, and provides a landing guide for enterprises.

1. prequalification: the double threshold of enterprise and position

Enterprises must meet the basic qualification requirements: established in accordance with the law and no major illegal records, the registered capital needs to reach the industry average. For example, when a technology company applied for a foreign algorithm engineer's work permit, it was required to supplement materials and delay approval because it had been established for less than one year and its registered capital was less than 5 million yuan. Job suitability is the core audit point, the enterprise needs to prove that the domestic talent supply of the post is insufficient, a manufacturing enterprise by submitting the industry talent gap report and job skills requirements list, successfully approved the foreign welding expert work permit.

The personal qualifications of foreign employees must meet the "three specialties" criteria: professional qualifications, work experience, and language skills. Taking the medical industry as an example, foreign doctors need to hold the qualification of practicing doctors in their home country and have more than 5 years of clinical experience. An international hospital once failed to check the overseas practice records of foreign experts, resulting in the subsequent annual examination being blocked. Language ability needs to match the position. A foreign bank requires foreign account managers to pass the Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK) level 5 to ensure barrier-free daily communication.

Preparation of 2. materials: double test of accuracy and integrity

Basic materials should include business license, organization code certificate, foreign passport employee and visa page. A trading company was required to make a new correction because the copy of the business license submitted was not stamped with the official seal, delaying the approval cycle by nearly one month. Job certification materials need to highlight the "urgent shortage" attribute, a new energy enterprise by submitting the government talent introduction catalog and job description, to prove the irreplaceability of foreign battery research and development engineers.

Proof of professional qualification must be notarized. The academic certificate of foreign engineers must be certified by the overseas study service center of the Ministry of education. a construction company failed to go through the certification procedures, resulting in the return of the application for the work permit of foreign structural engineers. The work experience certificate should include the recommendation letter of the former employer and the list of project achievements. An IT enterprise has successfully proved its technical leadership by submitting the project code and patent certificate of the foreign technical director in the Silicon Valley company.

3. approval process: multi-department collaborative compliance closed loop

The approval of work permit involves the linkage of the three departments of human resources, social security, foreign professional and public security. Enterprises must first submit the "Application Form for Employment Requirements for Overseas Personnel" to the Human Resources and Social Security Department, and obtain the "Foreigner Work Permit Notice" after review and approval. An educational institution was asked to supplement materials and re-evaluate because it did not specify the teaching contents and class hours of foreign teachers in the declaration form.

The residence permit of the public security department should be processed simultaneously with the work permit. Foreign employees are required to apply for Z visa with the notice of work permit, complete the application for work permit within 15 days after entering the country, and apply for work residence permit within 30 days. A manufacturing enterprise was punished for failing to complete the certificate processing within the prescribed time limit, resulting in the illegal residence of foreign equipment debugging experts.

4. follow-up management: dynamic monitoring and compliance update

Enterprises need to establish an early warning mechanism for the validity period of the work permit and set a reminder 90 days before the expiration of the certificate through the digital system. A financial enterprise faces the risk of labor disputes because it fails to renew the work permit for foreign analysts in time, resulting in the interruption of its legal employment status. Job changes need to be re-declared. An Internet company was found to be illegal employment because it did not report the transfer of foreign product manager to marketing director.

The annual work report and performance evaluation form of foreign employees shall be submitted during the annual review. A foreign company demonstrated the technical contribution of foreign engineers through quantitative indicators, such as the number of patent applications, project savings, etc., successfully passed the annual examination and obtained an extension of the work permit. Resignation management needs to cancel the work permit simultaneously. An energy enterprise failed to cancel the certificate of foreign engineers in time, resulting in its resignation being still included in the enterprise's employment index, affecting the subsequent introduction of talents.

5. risk prevention and control: typical cases and countermeasures

Material fraud is the highest risk. A trading company forged overseas work experience certificates for foreign employees and was included in the "blacklist" and canceled the qualification for applying for a 3-year work permit. Enterprises should establish an internal audit mechanism to ensure the authenticity of materials through background checks and third-party certification.

Over-range employment is a common violation. A foreign designer was engaged in management work with a work permit and was identified as "not qualifying for employment in accordance with the work permit", and the company and individual were punished. Enterprises need to clarify job responsibilities in the labor contract and strengthen compliance awareness through regular training.

Cross-region flow requires re-approval. A foreign company transferred a foreign employee from its Beijing branch to work in Shanghai and did not re-apply for the change of work permit, resulting in the employee's illegal employment in Shanghai. Enterprises should establish a personnel flow reporting system to ensure that the work permit is consistent with the actual workplace.

The management of work permit for foreign employees is a systematic project. Enterprises need to build a full-chain compliance system from prequalification, material preparation, approval process to subsequent management. Through standardized process design and dynamic risk prevention and control, it can not only give full play to the professional value of foreign talents, but also avoid legal risks caused by improper operation, and provide a solid guarantee for the internationalization strategy of enterprises.