Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card (外国人永久居留身份证)
The ten-year card giving a foreign national unrestricted residence, unrestricted work and visa-free re-entry. It is the only permanent status China offers, and it does not lead to citizenship.
It is sold as the reward for long service. It is not. Every route is a threshold with a discretionary decision on top, taken by a city exit-entry office, with no published quota, no approval statistics, no reasons for refusal and no appeal. Meeting the criteria only makes you eligible to be considered.
Programme snapshot
| Item | Current rule |
|---|---|
| Main audience | Investors, senior employees, spouses of Chinese citizens, and over-60s reuniting with family |
| Route family | Investment, skilled work or family, depending on the route |
| Validity | 10 years for adults, 5 years for under-18s |
| Stay per entry | Unlimited. Residence, not a visa |
| Threshold | Route-specific. See below |
| Renewal | At expiry, CNY 300. Replacement after loss or damage CNY 600 |
| Settlement | Direct. The only status that is itself permanent |
| PR clock | None, 4 years or 5 years depending on the route |
| Citizenship clock | None. PR does not start a naturalisation clock |
| Family | Spouse and unmarried children under 18 |
| Local employment | Yes, without a work permit |
| Tax headline | A holder resident 183 days or more is a full tax resident; the six-year concession still applies to foreign-source income early on |
| Processing | 6 months statutory from acceptance, 12 to 24 months in practice |
The four routes
| Route | Threshold | Clock |
|---|---|---|
| Senior employee | Deputy general manager, deputy factory director, associate professor or researcher and above, or the salary equivalent. Shanghai adds 6x the city average wage for four years, with income tax of at least 20 percent of salary each year | 4 years, 3 in China |
| Investment | Direct stable investment for three consecutive years with good tax records. The 2004 Measures set amounts by region and sector, commonly cited as USD 500,000 to USD 2,000,000, unconfirmed against the current text | None. The investment is the qualification |
| Spouse of a Chinese citizen | Marriage of at least 5 years, 5 consecutive years of residence with at least 9 months each year, stable income and a domicile | 5 years |
| Age 60, family reunion | Age 60, no direct relatives abroad, and the same 5 year residence, income and housing test | 5 years |
Application flow
- Fix the route and the city, because investment amounts and income tests are set locally.
- Assemble the criminal record check, health certificate, tax certificates and proof of income and housing, all authenticated and translated.
- File at the local exit-entry administration and pay CNY 1,500 plus CNY 300 for card production in 2026. Six months is the statutory decision period; 12 to 24 is the real one.
Good fit
A country manager or senior engineer who has held a Category A permit for four straight years at a high declared salary, with the tax records to prove it.
Poor fit
Category B staff, teachers, and anyone paid partly offshore, because the senior employee route is assessed on declared tax records.
Watchpoints
- The card is cancelled for absence. Less than three months a year in China, or less than one year in any five-year period, and it lapses. This is enforced.
- The four years must be consecutive and on a work permit. A gap, a switch to a spouse visa, or a year with under six months in China resets the clock.
- The 20 percent tax ratio is the commonest failure. Shanghai wants income tax of at least 20 percent of salary in each of the four years, which depends on correct withholding throughout.
- Investment amounts are regional and unverified. Filing in the wrong province can mean refusal on the amount alone.
- Nine months a year is measured on entry and exit records. Business travel can break the spouse and elderly routes. There is no appeal against a refusal.
Sources
- National Immigration Administration, permanent residence guidance, opened 2026-10-22
- Forvis Mazars, quick guide to the China permanent residence ID, secondary, opened 2026-10-22
- Measures for the Administration of Examination and Approval of Foreigners’ Permanent Residence, 2004
Last updated 2026-10-22.