Work & residence status in Shanghai
Shanghai work permit, residence permit and visa support
Starting a job, renewing your status, changing employer, or bringing your family? We identify the right route, coordinate you and the Shanghai employer, prepare the case, and stay with the process through the relevant government steps.
Start with your situation
What are you trying to do?
- 01
Start a job
First-time Work Permit preparation, pre-entry document path and post-arrival residence coordination.
- 02
Renew work status
Coordinate the Work Permit and work-type Residence Permit as linked applications with different clocks.
- 03
Change employer
Map cancellation, new-employer readiness and residence status before the transition begins.
- 04
Arrange family status
Residence-permit support for a spouse or child joining or remaining in Shanghai.
Do not treat “the work visa” as one document
Four hand-offs from employer file to legal residence.
Each document does a different job. The case moves forward only when the right owner completes the current hand-off.
- 01
Before entry
Notification Letter
- Owner
- Shanghai employer
- Does
- Supports the applicant’s Z-visa application.
Employer evidence and the proposed job are prepared first.
- 02
Entry document
Z visa
- Owner
- Applicant
- Does
- Allows entry for the approved work-status process.
Issued by the Chinese mission or visa centre handling the case.
- 03
After arrival
Work Permit
- Owner
- Employer + applicant
- Does
- Authorizes the approved employment in Shanghai.
Employer filing, applicant originals and post-arrival evidence come together.
- 04
Residence status
Work-type Residence Permit
- Owner
- Applicant
- Does
- Authorizes residence for the approved work status.
The applicant completes the immigration step and records the new expiry date.
The Z visa is an entry document. The Work Permit and work-type Residence Permit are separate post-arrival authorizations with separate records and expiry dates.
Route check
Find the service that fits
Choose your situation and one case detail. This identifies the service and scope to verify first; it does not predict an approval decision.
Core services
Choose by situation, then check the scope.
The service, hand-offs and price now sit in one horizontal record. Scan down the left for your situation, then across for what is included and where the boundary sits.
01
First-time setup
For a foreign professional with a Shanghai employer preparing to sponsor a standard case.
- Includes
- Route screen, employer readiness, Notification Letter pack, Z-visa checklist, post-arrival coordination and one residence-permit accompaniment.
- Client owns
- Accurate originals, signatures, consular filing and personal appearance.
- Separate
- Government, health, translation, authentication, consular and courier costs.
CNY · standard case
02
Most chosen
Combined renewal
For the same employer and substantially the same approved occupation, before either document expires.
- Includes
- Both expiry dates, contract and route check, employer filing coordination, residence pack, appointment and accompaniment.
- Timing
- Contact us 60–90 days before the earlier expiry date.
- New quote
- Employer, occupation or status changes; late or expired documents; record mismatch.
CNY · standard renewal
03
Employer change
For a move to a new Shanghai employer when the old employer can complete a normal cancellation.
- Includes
- Cancellation map, separation-document check, new-employer readiness, Work Permit coordination and residence-status sequence.
- Before filing
- We map lawful status and travel constraints before the first cancellation is submitted.
- Excluded
- Labor disputes, refusal to cancel, administrative review or litigation.
CNY · standard transition
04
Spouse or child
For family joining or remaining with a foreign worker, student, Chinese citizen or permanent resident.
- Includes
- Purpose screen, relationship-document checklist, principal-resident evidence, appointment and accompaniment.
- Separate
- Translation and authentication costs, health checks and government charges.
- Work
- Family residence status does not itself authorize employment.
CNY · first family member
Each additional applicant
CNY · same batch
Prices in CNY; USD or EUR accepted at the current exchange rate. The fee follows workload, not salary level or Category A/B label.
One case · four owners · four stages
See every hand-off before the case starts.
The applicant, employer, helloChina and authority do not own the same work. This map shows who controls each part of the process.
Applicant
Personal evidence
- 01 · Route
- Current status, history, deadlines and travel constraints.
- 02 · Evidence
- Accurate originals, translations and signatures.
- 03 · Filing
- Consular filing and personal appearance where required.
- 04 · Outcome
- Keep issued documents and track both expiry dates.
Employer
Legal sponsorship
- 01 · Route
- Confirm the sponsoring entity, job and authorized filer.
- 02 · Evidence
- Provide company, contract and position evidence.
- 03 · Filing
- Own or authorize the Work Permit filing.
- 04 · Outcome
- Maintain the employment and permit records.
helloChina
Case coordination
- 01 · Route
- Screen the route, gaps, owners and sequence.
- 02 · Evidence
- Build one bilingual checklist with dependencies.
- 03 · Filing
- Coordinate preparation, appointments and supplements.
- 04 · Outcome
- Record the result and set 90/60/30-day reminders.
Authority
Decision
- 01 · Route
- Set the published channel and application criteria.
- 02 · Evidence
- Accept the pack or request more evidence.
- 03 · Filing
- Review the application and make the decision.
- 04 · Outcome
- Issue the approved document or refuse the case.
helloChina coordinates the case; the authority keeps sole control of acceptance, supplementary requests and the final decision.
Secondary services
Small tasks stay small
| Service | Price | Scope | Boundary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Route Review | ¥980 | Short route memo and evidence-gap list. | Credited in full if a complete package is booked. |
| Employer system onboarding | ¥2,500 / company | First foreign-hire account and employer-readiness setup. | Company-level add-on, not charged per employee. |
| Residence Permit only | ¥2,800 / person | Document check, appointment and one accompaniment. | Does not include a Work Permit application. |
| Ordinary visa or stay support | from ¥1,800 | Current document check, appointment and in-person support. | No promise of a particular duration or number of entries. |
| Cancellation or passport update | from ¥1,500 | Standard standalone cancellation or document transfer. | Disputed or late cases are separately assessed. |
- Service
- Route Review
- Price
- ¥980
- Scope
- Short route memo and evidence-gap list.
- Boundary
- Credited in full if a complete package is booked.
- Service
- Employer system onboarding
- Price
- ¥2,500 / company
- Scope
- First foreign-hire account and employer-readiness setup.
- Boundary
- Company-level add-on, not charged per employee.
- Service
- Residence Permit only
- Price
- ¥2,800 / person
- Scope
- Document check, appointment and one accompaniment.
- Boundary
- Does not include a Work Permit application.
- Service
- Ordinary visa or stay support
- Price
- from ¥1,800
- Scope
- Current document check, appointment and in-person support.
- Boundary
- No promise of a particular duration or number of entries.
- Service
- Cancellation or passport update
- Price
- from ¥1,500
- Scope
- Standard standalone cancellation or document transfer.
- Boundary
- Disputed or late cases are separately assessed.
Costs outside the service fee
Paid at cost, never hidden
The quote separates helloChina’s professional fee from government and third-party charges.
| Government item | Published charge |
|---|---|
| Residence Permit · up to 1 year | ¥400 |
| Residence Permit · 1–3 years | ¥800 |
| Residence Permit · 3–5 years | ¥1,000 |
| Residence information change | ¥200 |
- Government item
- Residence Permit · up to 1 year
- Published charge
- ¥400
- Government item
- Residence Permit · 1–3 years
- Published charge
- ¥800
- Government item
- Residence Permit · 3–5 years
- Published charge
- ¥1,000
- Government item
- Residence information change
- Published charge
- ¥200
Also separate: health checks, translation, Apostille or authentication, consular and visa-centre charges, courier and non-Shanghai travel. Translation coordination is included; vendor work is not.
Verify in Shanghai
Official channels remain visible
- 01Shanghai official
Work Permit service guide
Employer-side application, extension, change and cancellation information. - 02Shanghai official
Residence Permit service guide
Application, personal appearance, fees and Shanghai service locations. - 03National immigration service
12367 immigration hotline
Use the hotline for case-channel and immigration-service questions.
Before you book
Questions the price should answer
Is ¥6,800 an all-inclusive government fee?
No. It is helloChina’s professional fee for a standard first-time scope. Government, health, translation, authentication, consular and courier costs are shown separately.
Does the renewal price include both permits?
Yes. The ¥4,800 standard renewal coordinates both the Work Permit and work-type Residence Permit. A Residence-Permit-only case is priced separately at ¥2,800.
Why is changing employer a separate service?
It adds old-employer cancellation, separation evidence, new-employer readiness and a lawful-status transition. It is not the same workflow as a routine renewal.
Do Category A or salary-route applicants automatically pay more?
No. The fee follows workload and evidence complexity, not salary level or talent label. If the standard evidence chain does not fit, start with the ¥980 Route Review.
Who actually files the applications?
The employer owns the Work Permit filing or authorizes a registered provider. The applicant attends consular and residence steps where required. helloChina prepares, coordinates and accompanies within the agreed scope.
One route. One owner map. One fixed scope.
Tell us your current document, employer situation, deadline and family members. We will identify the first service to verify.