Before you start

A Hangzhou 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 sufficient validity and blank pages
A Hangzhou address with a landlord willing to attend the police station

Step-by-step

1
Employer files the Notification Letter
Filed online through the national work permit system, which classifies you Category A, B or C on the points table. A is high-end talent, outside quota and age limits, with permits of up to five years; B is the ordinary professional tier; C is quota-controlled. Ask which tier is being filed for before it goes in.
Via employerWho: Your employer2–5 weeks
2
Apply for the Z visa at a Chinese mission abroad
Not possible from inside China, and a tourist L visa cannot be converted here. Fees are set by nationality reciprocity and vary widely.
In personWho: You1–3 weeks
3
Register at the neighbourhood police station within 24 hours of moving in
Take passport, visa, lease and normally the landlord with their property ownership certificate. You leave with the temporary residence registration slip that every later step asks for.
In personWho: YouWithin 24 hours of moving in
4
Collect the physical work permit card
The employer completes the application after entry, 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 Hangzhou Exit–Entry Administration, with passport, work permit, registration slip, medical certificate, photographs and employer documents. Fees roughly RMB 400 under a year, RMB 800 for one to three years, RMB 1,000 for three to five. About fifteen working days.
In personWho: YouWithin 30 days of entry
6
Ask whether a Zhejiang or Hangzhou talent classification applies to you
Provinces and municipalities maintain their own catalogues of urgently needed and high-level foreign talent, with associated service concessions. These are set locally, revised, and rarely volunteered — ask your employer's government affairs or HR team to check the current Hangzhou catalogue against your role.
Via employerWho: 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

The points table scores where in China you work, and Hangzhou is a middling result.

The national A/B/C table awards extra points for employment in western and north-eastern China and calibrates salary points against the local average wage. Hangzhou's average wage is high enough that salary points are harder to earn than in a second-tier inland city, but it does not attract the western bonus. If you are marginal between B and A, this is worth knowing before the file is submitted — and it is not something a recruiter will raise.

Source: Service System for Foreigners Working in China

Local talent catalogues are provincial and municipal, and they are the cheapest route to Category A.

Beyond the national criteria, Zhejiang and Hangzhou maintain their own lists of urgently needed foreign talent, and inclusion can be what tips a file from Category B to Category A. These catalogues are revised, are published in Chinese, and are known to government affairs teams rather than to HR generalists. Asking explicitly whether your role maps onto the current Hangzhou catalogue is a five-minute question with a multi-year payoff.

Source: Service System for Foreigners Working in China

Shanghai is 45 minutes away by high-speed rail, and that does not make it one city administratively.

The Hangzhou–Shanghai high-speed link is fast enough that people commute weekly, and it creates a persistent misconception that the two are administratively interchangeable. They are not. Your work permit is tied to the city that issued it, your social insurance is administered by Hangzhou, your residence registration is with a Hangzhou police station, and moving your job to Shanghai means a new work permit rather than a transfer. Only the Greater Bay Area cities have mutual recognition.

Source: National Immigration Administration

The K visa changes who may apply, not what you owe once you land.

The K visa for young science and technology talent took effect on 1 October 2025 under State Council Order No. 814 and is the first Chinese category requiring no domestic sponsor — genuinely relevant to Hangzhou's AI and robotics scene. Several implementing details were still unpublished well into 2026. Whatever category admits you, staying means a residence permit within 30 days and a police registration within 24 hours.

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

Common mistakes to avoid

Moving into a private flat and never registering with the neighbourhood police station.
Treating the Z visa as permission to reside and missing the 30-day deadline.
Letting the employer file Category B without checking the local talent catalogue.
Assuming a Hangzhou permit lets you take a job in Shanghai without redoing it.
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.