What is China’s Entrepreneur Visa?
What type of Visa do I need to setup my business in China?
What type of visa does someone need if they had just set up their company, and planning to stay in China for a long time to complete all the follow-up tasks, but cannot yet be employed by their own business so they can't get a working permit? How could this person legally stay in China during this period?
They could apply for something called China Entrepreneur Visa. This visa is designated as a more flexible way to legally stay in China to make sure things are going in the right direction.
What is an Entrepreneur Visa?
The entrepreneur visa, also known as the Private Residence Permit entrepreneurship visa, was piloted by the Chinese government in 2018. The visa is aiming to attract expert and talented entrepreneurs to start their businesses in China. Foreigners are granted the access to legally stay in China to conduct business activities, e.g., setting up the office, conducting industry research, and other required jobs to set up a WFOE.
Compared to the working permit, which could only be applied with sponsorship from an existing company, an entrepreneur visa allows foreigners to enter and stay in China before their company being set up. Once the company is being established, it could be used as a visa sponsor to apply for a working permit.
Who could apply for the visa?
A Chinese university graduate who is currently enrolled in one of Shanghai’s institutes of higher education and who has the stated intention to engage in part-time entrepreneurship applies with a business or innovation plan. This would usually require the student to have certain skills and have a plan related to government-designated science and technology parks.
A recent graduate (within 2 years) from top universities in the world who have made outstanding achievements in innovation and entrepreneurship.
An investor applies with an innovation plan or a business plan and shows their intent to invest in the plan.
How to apply for an entrepreneur visa?
The process of applying for an entrepreneur visa is similar to one of applying for other visas. Such as providing university diploma and passport information, undergoing a health check…
Besides the essential documents, the applicant must also submit:
- An investment certification form: This will often include documents to show the proof of funds if the applicant applies as a potential investor.
- An application letter: This would be the business plan and the explanation of the reason for wanting to start a business in China.
The entrepreneur visa would definitely be a great fit for people who wished to start a company in China. Compared to the other types of working visas, an entrepreneur visa would be less costly and more viable.
If you need more information about the visa or any related to registering a business in China, call 561-729-6508 or email robert@incorpchina.com for a free consultation.
Everything You Need to Know About Chinese Accounting Standards
Although the accounting regulation in China is based on the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), which is a system that shares 90% similarities to the IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standard), there could still be lots of differences and hard to handle. One of them would be the “Fapiao” system in China. Fapiao is basically the receipt that is handed to customers upon purchasing a product or service and is created by the government to show proof of tax payment. Companies are required to purchase the software and devices that are authorized to print fapiao to operate businesses.
Update on the COVID-19 Situation in China
How has the pandemic impacted the Chinese economy?
The pandemic brought a negative impact to the Chinese economy, especially on the traditional service industry and some labor-intensive manufacturing industries. However, China’s outstanding disease prevention measures exceeded the international community’s expectations and China has recovered continuously since March 2020. The economic impact on the Chinese market is short-term and temporary. Nowadays, China’s economy is pushing the world economy.
Figures from the General Administration of Customs show that China’s exports and imports both grew by more than 25% from January to May 2021, compared with the same period last year. Even as much of the rest of the world continues to suffer from the epidemic, China’s orders for foreign trade products continue to grow. China continues to export goods abroad, and also introduces a large number of raw materials and products that meet the needs of the Chinese market. Imports of iron ore, oil, and soybeans were no less than in previous years, while imports of mechanical and electrical goods increased 21.8 percent. The demand power of the Chinese market is growing, which will help other economies recover and give a strong boost to the global economy.
Everything You Need to Know About Tax Rebates in China
The Chinese government had many policies on tax rebates to encourage foreign companies to enter China as well as foreign professionals to work in China. These rebates are usually on taxes that have been paid, including income tax, import tax, VAT (value-added tax), and many others. However, in order to know the qualification of a tax rebate/tax treaty benefits and to claim such privileges, companies or individuals must complete certain forms and submit them to local authorities.
For business, you will need to first submit all the required documents including the business license and any other applicable operating license to the local tax authorities. And then you will need to complete several forms (all of the forms are in Mandarin Chinese). To key here is to prove that you have paid tax on an item that could have returned them as a rebate, under the VAT exempt, or having a preferential common tax refund rate.
Tax Bureau
One consistent feature of our business style at Incorp China is the emphasis we put on going the extra mile for our clients. As a boutique, white-glove China consulting firm, Incorp China prioritizes resourcefulness, close communication, and building personal relationships.
This was recently demonstrated when one client who wanted a Consulting WFOE was not able to travel to Shenzhen to meet local government officials in person, as is required during normal times. Even with vaccines being distributed worldwide, the coronavirus pandemic is not yet over, and traveling to China is explicably difficult as a result.
How to Set Up a WFOE in China
Wholly-foreign owned enterprises, or WFOEs (sometimes abbreviated WOFE) is a topic we have written about extensively in this blog series. Unlike most other investment vehicles , a WFOE does not require a foreign company operating in China to have Chinese investors, giving the foreign company the most autonomy over its own affairs.
WFOEs come in three basic forms:
- Consulting WFOE, which is the easiest to acquire;
- Manufacturing WFOE, which allows companies to manufacture in China. Because Incorp China is located in Shenzhen, the famed factory city of the world, we are quite familiar with these;
Post-Covid Tax Cuts in China—Do you Qualify?
As the economic aftershocks of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic are still prevalent, the Chinese government has cut an array of taxes and fees for both large and small businesses. The stimulus has focus on industries particularly hurt, such as high-tech manufacturing, foreign trade, and medical equipment.
These tax cuts amount to RMB 550 billion (about $85 billion) and are not schedule to be fully phased out until 2025. As we have written before in this blog series, some of the stimulus measures end in 2023, the other in 2025.
They were announced by Vice-Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing’s 2021 two sessions (NPC & CPPCC National Committee annual sessions) that concluded on March 11th 2021.
What is an Internet Content Provider License?
First, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of Internet Content Provider (ICP) licensing. What is it?
An ICP license is an essential prerequisite for attracting customers in the Chinese mainland. As we have written before, it is a registration issued by the state that allows legal operation of China-based websites to legally operate in the country.
In order to establish and expand your business globally, especially to China, one must consider the necessary steps to file for a separate legal entities, as well as consolidating electronic commerce, so that your business will thrive- not only are these steps to getting an ICP License encouraged, but it is also requirement in order to officially set up your site in China. The only possible exception to this is if your site is not accommodated in mainland China.
What You Need to Know: China Visa Requirements
Chinese has become home for many Western expatriates who desire work outside their home countries. The Chinese government’s visa application process has been greatly simplified in recent years, but is still rather complicated. Anyone looking to acquire a Chinese work visa should keep in mind some crucial tidbits of information that will be crucial in deciding the status of your work permit.
There are three different kinds of work visas one can apply for:
Profit Repatriation: How to Get Your Money Out of China
As China’s economy continues to grow, it appears to foreign companies as an increasingly attractive place to do business. China is the only major economy to have grown during 2020, a year remembered by many for the coronavirus pandemic and concomitant economic recession. But as foreign businesses invest in the China, a growing number of them are also looking for the most efficient way to bring their profits back home. r repatriating funds are different for individuals and companies, regarding both the preconditions one must meet and limits on the amount transferred. Here, we will can compare the regulations for companies and people: