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Visa & Immigration Update: New Service System for Foreigners Working in Shanghai, China

Published: Thursday, July 6, 2017

Sophia Hu

China Immigration Service Manager

Effective Date: 3 July, 2017
Impacted Area: Shanghai, China

All foreign employment permit applications will be handled and processed by the Shanghai Expert Bureau on the new 2.0 system with effect on 3 July 2017.

System Upgrade and Data Transfer

The Shanghai Expert Bureau will transfer the permit renewal application (Work Permit and Expert Permit) from the old 1.0 system to the new 2.0 system (http://fwp.safea.gov.cn) from 3 July 2017.
Work permit amendments (e.g. address, passport number, job title), cancellations, annual inspection applications that are being processed under the 1.0 version system will be handled by the Shanghai Expert Bureau. However, any applications that are processed before 1 July 2017 by the Shanghai Labour Bureau will continue to be handled by the latter.
The Shanghai Expert Bureau will also transfer all the short-term (less than 90 days) work permit and Experts short-term invitation letter application to the 2.0 system from 3rd July, 2017.

Impact to Employers and Employees

Employers may be required to update the company registration information on the 2.0 system by the Shanghai Expert Bureau during the data transferring period.
Renewal of work permit must be submitted into the Shanghai Expert Bureau on the 2.0 system from 3 July 2017. The Shanghai Labour Bureau will stop accepting any submissions.
The processing time for the work permit renewal will take longer than before, from 5 working days in the past to 15 working days now (excluding the day of submission).
The work permit extension application must be submitted to the Shanghai Expert Bureau in 1-3 months prior to the permit expiry.