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Mia Nurmamat

Even as an undergraduate in his native Barcelona, Aitor knew he wanted to work in China.
The young finance major reckoned an economy of such scale and speed had more to offer someone with his skill set than the market waiting for him closer to home.
After moving to Shanghai to complete a master’s degree, he had what he came for: a supply-chain job in the bustling financial centre. What Aitor – a nickname, requested to protect the identity of his employer – did not expect was that getting a job would be the easy part.
Being hired at firms in China is already difficult for foreign graduates: employers barely give applications a look, given the number of qualified local candidates.
But Aitor’s Chinese language proficiency provided a way around this hurdle. He could search on Boss Zhipin, one of the country’s largest recruitment apps, which Aitor said was “not very friendly for foreigners” and not known to most expats.
Then came the real challenge: the visa. A points-based system for qualification, the overlapping categories and the volume of documentation involved have made obtaining a work permit a longer-running problem than the job search ever was.
“Visa applications are complicated, especially working visas, and I’m still in the process six months after my application,” Aitor said. “The amount of papers needed makes it very complicated.”
Yet as a degree holder from a Chinese university, he said he considered himself lucky, noting that others had it worse.
“I know many valuable and well-educated individuals are struggling to find ways to formalise their work in China, since family reunion visas are not flexible at all and working visas are very hard to get and [it is] hard to be sponsored by local companies; they are caught in between,” he said.
As China’s economy has grown in scale and its influence across global supply chains has expanded, more international graduates and professionals are eyeing opportunities in the world’s second-largest economy.
However, unlike traditional immigration destinations such as the United States and Canada, China has historically relied less on foreign workers to fill labour shortages, leaving the country to build a foreign talent system relatively slowly.
Many foreign workers in China are transferred there by multinational companies, with visa processing, housing and relocation costs typically covered by their employers. This provides a markedly different experience from younger candidates attempting to enter China’s job market independently.


At the same time, the country has been facing rising employment pressure, particularly among young workers, adding another layer of complexity to efforts to attract overseas talent. Its youth unemployment reached 21.3 per cent in June 2023, before the National Bureau of Statistics revised its calculation method. The rate stood at 14.9 per cent in June.
Last year, China introduced the “K visa”, targeting young science and technology professionals as it competes globally for engineers, researchers and innovators.
For most foreign workers, however, the standard “Z visa” remains the main route, requiring employer sponsorship, qualifications, work experience and extensive administrative procedures.
“In reality, we have not yet handled any K visa applications. The visa is still very new and at least from my experience, I have not heard of any successful cases so far,” said Anna Chen, a visa consultant based in Shenzhen.
Chen said the K visa, which attracted significant attention overseas when it was introduced, mainly targets young foreign scientists, engineers and other highly skilled technology professionals.
“The target group is quite narrow. Most foreigners coming to China for work do not meet that threshold,” she said. “And those who do often choose the United States instead, since salaries there are generally more attractive, based on my conversations with clients.”
Meanwhile, the Z visa is divided into three categories: A, which targets high-level talent such as leading researchers, executives and recognised experts; B, which covers most skilled professionals who must meet requirements related to education, work experience and salary; and C, a less common category reserved for seasonal or temporary employees.
“Most of the foreign workers I deal with are still applying for Category B work permits,” Chen said.
The visa agent said that compared with the US, China’s work visa system was generally less competitive for high-skilled applicants, as it did not have a lottery system like the H-1B programme in the US.
“But the process can still be complicated, since China requires employers to sponsor visas and most Chinese companies do not lack workforce domestically anyway, making them less likely to look overseas for talent,” she added.




Unlike China, countries such as the United Kingdom and US offer post-study work routes for international graduates.
In the UK, new degree holders can apply for a graduate visa, allowing them to work without employer sponsorship, usually for two years before switching to a skilled worker visa with an approved employer.
In the US, graduates can seek Optional Practical Training – temporary employment related to their field of study – before seeking employer-sponsored visas such as the H-1B.
China, by contrast, generally does not offer a similar transition route. Foreign graduates typically need to secure a job offer and employer sponsorship before applying for a work visa, even after studying at a Chinese university.
China has not released updated nationwide figures on foreign employment, but data showed that authorities issued 711,000 residence permits to foreign nationals in 2023, about 15 per cent below pre-pandemic levels.
Around 237,000 of these were work-related residence permits, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development data.
Chen said China had tightened scrutiny of work visa applications in recent years, following cases in some cities where foreigners obtained permits through fake employment arrangements or shell companies.
“The process now takes longer, employers also face stricter documentation requirements and applicants are asked to provide more financial records. Overall, work visa approvals have slowed,” she added.
Marshall Ma, a former recruiter based in Shanghai, said demand for foreign professionals in the city – widely regarded as China’s largest market for overseas talent – has declined sharply in recent years.


“The last time I heard a company specifically asking to hire foreigners was in 2021,” Ma said. “After the pandemic, competition in Shanghai’s job market intensified.
“Foreign candidates [are] often seen as having higher expectations, not only in terms of salaries but also benefits such as annual leave.”
Ma said demand for foreign workers remained relatively strong mainly in English teaching roles, while many other white-collar positions could now be filled by younger Chinese jobseekers at lower cost and with native language proficiency.
Another factor discouraging companies from hiring foreigners, he said, was the additional administrative burden, including visa applications and social insurance requirements.
“Many that traditionally hired large numbers of foreigners were Asia-Pacific regional headquartered firms, but lots of them began scaling back their China operations since 2023. Naturally, demand for foreign workers declined as well,” Ma added.
China has taken steps to make everyday digital services more accessible for foreigners, initially targeting overseas visitors but also benefiting foreign residents living and working in the country.
Since 2023, authorities have expanded mobile payment options by allowing more international bank cards to link with platforms such as Alipay and WeChat Pay, while simplifying registration and identity verification procedures.
However, challenges remain for some foreigners navigating China’s digital ecosystem.
“Digital and internet services work very well for the most part, but as foreigners, we often encounter small issues with many apps because we need to use our passports or provide other information that can sometimes cause problems,” Aitor said.
“Since I came to China three years ago, I think things have been moving in a positive direction, but there is still work to be done in some internet services so that foreigners can have a smoother experience.”
The reason why I decided to stay in China is because I knew my skill set would be more valuable here
Marcos Sabio, British-Spanish dual citizen
Yet not all foreigners encounter the same visa hurdles. For British-Spanish dual citizen Marcos Sabio, the transition into China’s workforce was relatively smooth. He found his software industry role in Beijing through the career-oriented social media platform LinkedIn, where his employer handled the work permit application.
“Luckily, for the visa applications and all the administration and bureaucracy, everything was handled by the HR team in the company,” he said.
“The reason why I decided to stay in China is because I knew my skill set would be more valuable here. Being able to speak Chinese, English, Spanish and some Russian is a real asset,” said Sabio, who has lived in China for 12 years.
Despite the hurdles, China’s appeal among foreign professionals appears to be recovering. According to a 2025 survey from InterNations – an online platform for people living and working abroad – China ranked sixth out of 46 destinations, with respondents expressing relatively high satisfaction with career opportunities, personal finances and daily convenience.
However, the survey also highlighted persistent challenges, including language barriers, administrative procedures and adaptation to the domestic digital ecosystem.
For Malaysian citizen Jens Lee, his China career journey involved less adaptation than others. His ethnic background and previous study experience in the country meant that adjusting to daily life and workplace culture came relatively naturally. After completing his master’s degree, he moved smoothly into a full-time role at a European-backed consultancy.
But familiarity with China did not necessarily make the bureaucracy easier.
Lee turned to a visa agency to handle the process, but found the experience less than smooth. The agency was relatively inexperienced, partly because he chose a cheaper provider that charged 6,000 yuan (US$886).
He said the intermediary handled most of the application, leaving him with limited understanding of the points-based system and other requirements.
Despite the administrative obstacles, Lee said, “China’s scale, economic dynamism and fast-paced working environment offer significant opportunities for professional learning and personal growth, which is something I value tremendously at the current stage of my career.”


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Beijing’s rigid visa points system and strict sponsorship rules frustrate young expats, but most are still undeterred in their job search


Beijing’s rigid visa points system and strict sponsorship rules frustrate young expats, but most are still undeterred in their job search.


.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Beijing’s rigid visa points system and strict sponsorship rules frustrate young expats, but most are still undeterred in their job search

Beijing’s rigid visa points system and strict sponsorship rules frustrate young expats, but most are still undeterred in their job search