Moly asked 5 years ago
Hello! Can you please help me out to clear up some information. I decided to change a company and resigned from my employer, and received 离职证明 and left China. My previous employer uploaded materials for cancelation of working permit eleven days later. Currently it’s still in process. My new employer asked me to come back to China so we can apply for a new working permit and transfer my residence permit. Am I able to get in China with my residence permit? Will it depend on other factors? In case a) the procedure of cancelation of working permit will be finished before I enter b) before the working permit is canceled.
smooth-administrator Staff answered 5 years ago
You don’t have to be physically in the city to apply for the new work permit. Your new employer HR should be able to handle everything (given you provide all documents) for the new work permit. When they go to the bureau to submit the application for your new residence permit, you are required to be there. (And don’t have to be there for pick-up).
So if the expiration date on your current residence permit has not passed then you are still able to return to China with that residence permit.
Residence permits are not automatically cancelled when work permits are cancelled. It’s a grey area.
You are expected to go to an exit-entry bureau to cancel your residence permit as well and get a “humanitarian visa” that gives you 30 days grace period to get your papers sorted for your new job and get your new work permit then apply for your residence permit.
But you could also just keep the residence permit card…. apply and get the NEW work permit FIRST, get all documents you need for the new residence permit and show up at the exit entry bureau and apply for a new residence permit.
So yes, you can return to China with your old residence permit (as long as you the expiration date has not passed). It seems the immigration officers at airports only care about valid residence permits and not work permits.
Good luck, Moly!