First documents: residence permit
30 days after entry — and your passport spends a week at the bureau
The residence permit (居留许可) is the Chinese equivalent of a for residence. It must be filed within 30 days of entry on a Z, X1, Q1 or S1 visa. While it is being processed, your passport stays at the bureau and leaving the country is not permitted — this must be known in advance, not discovered the day before the purchased flight.
Who it suits. For everyone who entered on a long-term visa. For families — separately for each member. And for those who missed the thirty-day window: it’s still fixable, but more expensive.
What is included
- Application to the exit-entry bureau within the thirty-day window after entry
- We register you with the police within the first 24 hours of arrival — a hotel handles this this yourself, a rented flat cannot, and without registration the documents for a residence permit will not be accepted
- Medical certificate, standard-format photos, registration certificate from the local station, form completion
- Accompaniment and interpreter at submission and collection
- Residence permits for children under family reunification
- ⚠️ A heads-up: your passport stays at the bureau for 7–15 working days, and you cannot leave the country during that time
- Government fees: residence permit 400 ¥ for up to one year and 800 ¥ for one to three years; the medical exam costs ¥480–500 and is paid directly to the authority and are not included in the fee
What the package does not include
Paid separately and directly, with no markup from us.
- Application to the exit-entry bureau and to the work permit authority: from 15 September 2026, this is handled by an intermediary from the state registry; a foreign company is not permitted to handle such matters in China — we prepare the case and find such a contractor, and he is the one who signs the application
- Work permit: this is a separate procedure with a separate package
- Fees: 400 ¥ for up to one year, 800 ¥ for one to three years, medical exam 480–500 ¥
- Legalization and translation of Russian documents
Russian nationals enter China visa-free for 30 days — from 15 September 2025, and the scheme has been extended through December 31, 2027. Entry is free, and that is precisely why people lose money here. The residence permit is a Chinese-style visa for residence — issued only to those who entered on a Z, X1, Q1, or S1 visa, and such a visa is obtained at a consulate abroad. Flying in ’scout things out and sort the paperwork on arrival’ won’t work: you’ll need to leave, to reapply and return. As for timelines, even Chinese agents themselves obtaining work status from abroad takes over three months procedures plus two months for documents and legalisation. We consider this calendar before you buy the first ticket, and we plan the route so that so that the trip is one, not three.
State Council of the PRC Regulation No. 841 comes into force on September 15, 2026. It introduces the first nationwide registry of immigration advisers, requires compliance and qualified staff from them, and directly prohibits foreign companies from providing such services on the territory China. For false information on an application — a fine of 5,000–10,000 ¥ per person, 10,000–50,000 ¥ for the organisation and a one-to-five-year entry ban; previously this was simply a refusal. The inviting party is now liable for the authenticity of the invitation. That’s why we divide the work honestly: analysis, documents, translations, the folder and support are all ours; the application is filed by executor from the register, and you know their name from day one. Provincial regulations have not yet been issued — we are clarifying the procedure o the moment of your application, not promised in advance.
We compile the set, submit within the thirty-day window at the entry-exit bureau, accompany you with an interpreter, and collect the completed permit.
Prices are in Chinese yuan and are all-inclusive — nothing is added on top. The dollar figure in brackets is for reference, based on a rate of $1 = ¥6.72. Chinese government fees are paid separately and directly: residence permit 400 ¥ for up to one year and 800 ¥ for one to three years, medical examination 480–500 ¥, permanent residence application 1,500 ¥. Russian consular legalisation costs approximately 8,540 ₽ per document. SVOY initial consultation — 600 ¥ ($89), credited in the cost of support. It is charged from the first minute: Chinese agencies offer a free call, but a free call is simply tory about services — and for that fee we analyse your situation and provide an itinerary with a calendar and budget.
Other points
Housing rental and purchase, documents, bank accounts and taxes, schooling, driving licence — 33 services in China, each has its own price.
Package «First documents» · China
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The same package in another country
There is only one moment in life, but the documents, deadlines and costs are unique to each case: the rules are set by the country.