Full Analysis of the Necessary Qualifications for Recruiting Foreign Employees: Dual Guarantee of Enterprise Compliance and Talent Introduction

Full analysis of the necessary qualifications for recruiting foreign employees: the dual guarantee of corporate compliance and talent introduction

Under the background of intensified competition for global talents, companies can quickly gain international perspective, language skills and cross-cultural management experience by recruiting foreign employees. However, the recruitment of foreign employees involves multiple areas such as visas, work permits, and labor regulations. If the company's qualifications or processes do not meet the requirements, it may face risks such as illegal employment penalties and project interruptions. This paper systematically combs the core qualification requirements for recruiting foreign employees from the four dimensions of enterprise qualification, job suitability, legal compliance and cultural integration.

1. enterprise subject qualification: legal operation and industry access threshold

1. Basic business qualification
The enterprise must have a legally registered business license, and the business scope matches the recruitment position. For example, educational institutions that recruit foreign teachers need to hold a "school license", and medical institutions that recruit foreign doctors need to have a "medical institution practice license". The recruitment of foreign teachers in an international school was deemed invalid because it did not obtain the qualifications for running a school, and the company was ordered to stop running the school and fined.
2. special industry license
some industries have additional restrictions on the admission of foreign employees:

• financial industry : the establishment approval of foreign banks or securities companies is required. for example, the recruitment of foreign executives by foreign banks is required to be approved by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission;
• cultural field : those involving overseas personnel participating in film and television shooting shall be filed with the radio and television department.
• high-tech industry : enterprises recruiting foreign research and development personnel shall be identified as "high-tech enterprises" or included in the "catalogue of foreign investment industries encouraged by the state".
  3. credit and compliance records
  enterprises shall have no records of major violations of laws and regulations, including but not limited to:
• arrears of employees' wages;
• failure to pay social security;
• there are labor disputes that have not been resolved.
  A technology company was once included in the "labor security dishonesty blacklist", and its foreign employee's work permit application was rejected.

2. post suitability qualification: prove the necessity of "he must"

1. post scarcity demonstration
enterprises need to prove that the recruitment position cannot be qualified by domestic personnel, and usually one of the following conditions must be met:

• technical particularity : such as chip design, artificial intelligence algorithm and other positions, industry reports or expert demonstrations are required, prove that there is a shortage of similar talents in China;
• language and cultural needs : for example, the regional headquarters of multinational enterprises need to recruit foreign managers familiar with the Southeast Asian market;
• International Project Cooperation : For example, enterprises participating in the "the belt and road initiative" construction need to recruit foreign legal consultants familiar with local laws.
  A manufacturing enterprise failed to provide proof of job scarcity, and its recruitment of foreign engineers was identified as "abuse of foreign employment indicators", and the enterprise was restricted from recruiting foreign personnel for one year.
  2. job matching with visa type
  different visa types correspond to different job requirements:
• z-word work visa : applicable to long-term full-time jobs, enterprises are required to provide "foreigner employment permit";
• B business visa : only short-term exchanges, such as technical training and market research, are prohibited from engaging in substantive work;
• r talent visa : for high-level talents (such as nobel prize winners and academicians), provincial government recommendation letters are required.
  a consulting company was found to be illegal for allowing foreign employees to participate in project development with B visa, and both the enterprise and employees were punished.
  3. The salary matches the market level
  The salary of foreign employees must meet the market value of the job and must not be lower than the local minimum wage standard. For example, Shanghai stipulates that the monthly salary of foreign employees shall not be less than 6520 yuan (2023 standard), and at the same time, it is necessary to refer to the salary level of the same industry. A foreign company was ordered by the labor department to reissue the difference and pay compensation because the monthly salary of foreign interns was lower than 60% of the market price.

3. legal compliance qualification: the whole process control from recruitment to resignation

1. Recruitment process compliance

• No discrimination : No qualified candidates can be rejected on the grounds of nationality, race, or gender. An enterprise was identified as employment discrimination and faced a high fine for stating "only European and American nationals" in its job advertisement.
• background check : the authenticity of documents such as the candidate's educational background, work experience and no criminal record shall be verified. A bank failed to verify the forged financial qualifications of foreign employees, resulting in huge losses caused by its illegal operations;
• contract signing : the Chinese contract should be used, accompanied by a foreign language translation, and the core terms such as position, salary and duration should be clearly defined. An enterprise was convicted of breaking the law when it dismissed foreign employees because the contract did not stipulate the conditions for dismissal during the probation period.
  2. work permit and visa management
• enterprises to assist in handling obligations : enterprises are required to apply for the "foreigner work permit notice" for foreign employees and assist in handling z visa and residence permit. An enterprise did not apply for a work permit within 30 days after the employee entered the country, resulting in the employee being restricted from leaving the country.
• permission change and extension : when the position, salary and workplace change, the work permit shall be updated in time. A foreign company was found to be illegally employed because it did not apply for the job change permit for foreign employees.
• cancellation obligation : after the employee leaves office, the enterprise must cancel his work permit within 10 days. An enterprise was punished for not canceling in time, resulting in employees holding expired permits to illegally work in other enterprises.
  3. social security and tax compliance
• social security payment : enterprises need to pay pension, medical, work injury, unemployment and maternity insurance for foreign employees. An enterprise was awarded compensation for failing to pay the work-related injury insurance for foreign employees, and the employees had to bear their own medical expenses after work-related injuries.
• personal income tax withholding : foreign employees are required to pay personal income tax according to "comprehensive income" or "business income", and the enterprise is required to fulfill the obligation of withholding and paying. A foreign company was subject to tax recovery and late fees for failing to declare a year-end bonus tax for foreign executives;
• bilateral tax treaty : tax treaties with some countries (e. g. Germany, Singapore) can avoid double taxation. A company's failure to take advantage of the Sino-German tax agreement caused foreign employees to pay taxes repeatedly, triggering complaints.

4. cultural integration qualifications: reducing cross-cultural management risks

1. cultural adaptability evaluation
enterprises need to evaluate the adaptability of foreign employees to local culture, including:

• communication style : for example, German employees tend to communicate directly, while Japanese employees pay attention to euphemism;
• work habits : for example, brazilian employees are used to flexible working system, while singapore employees strictly abide by attendance;
• value difference : such as the conflict between collectivism and individualism. A multinational team did not assess cultural differences, resulting in frequent conflicts between Chinese and foreign employees due to decision-making.
  2. language proficiency requirements
  set language standards according to job requirements:
• basic job : daily communication skills (e. g. English B1 level) are required;
• management position : need to have professional language skills (such as English C1 level, or master small languages);
• technical position : need to be able to read technical documents (such as German, Japanese). A manufacturing enterprise was unable to read the Chinese equipment manual because it did not specify the language requirements of foreign engineers, and the project was postponed for 3 months.
  3. cross-cultural training support
  enterprises need to provide cultural integration support:
• induction training : introduce enterprise system, local culture and cross-cultural communication skills;
• mentor system : provide local mentors for foreign employees, assist them to adapt to the working environment;
• regular feedback : learn about the adaptation of foreign employees through questionnaires or interviews. A technology company has reduced the turnover rate of foreign employees from 40% to 15% by implementing a "three-month cultural adaptation plan.

Conclusion: Qualification examination is the "safety valve" of talent introduction

The recruitment of foreign employees should be based on "compliance, adaptation and integration". Enterprises should establish a qualification review list, from the main qualification, job requirements, legal compliance, cultural integration four aspects of the system assessment, to avoid the lack of qualification caused by employment risks. Through refined qualification management, enterprises can maximize the value of foreign talents and provide continuous impetus for the globalization strategy.