- Leaving mid-year triggers a final tax reconciliation before departure — not at the usual annual deadline. 年度中间离境的，应在离境前办理个税汇算清缴。
- Your pension individual account balance is refundable on written application when you leave China for good — or the account can be preserved for a possible return. 永久离境可书面申请退还养老保险个人账户余额，亦可保留。
- Housing fund balances are withdrawable on departure deregistration. 公积金可于离境销户时提取。
- Unpaid tax can legally block your exit — clearance is not a formality. 欠缴税款可被依法阻止出境。
- You can keep property and companies after leaving — but each needs a management plan, and an abandoned company becomes a liability, not a memory. 房产公司可保留，但弃管公司会变成负债。
The departure sequence
An orderly departure runs employment, tax, social insurance, immigration and assets in the right order — several steps have dependencies, and a few have deadlines that bite after you have already flown out.
| Workstream 事项 | What the rules require 制度要求 |
|---|---|
| 1 · Employment wrap-up 劳动关系了结 | Termination or expiry documented, final salary and any severance settled (the N / N+1 / 2N rules apply to foreign employees too — do not waive them casually), employer cancels the work permit and deregisters the residence permit basis within the prescribed window. |
| 2 · Tax reconciliation 个税汇算 | Under the Individual Income Tax Law, a taxpayer deregistering Chinese residence due to emigration or departing mid-year settles the annual reconciliation before leaving. Under Article 44 of the Tax Collection Administration Law, exit can be barred until unpaid tax is settled or secured. Equity income, bonuses and trailing payments deserve specific attention. |
| 3 · Social insurance 社保清算 | On leaving China before pension eligibility, you may keep the account (contribution years aggregate if you return) or apply in writing to close it and receive the individual account balance as a lump sum. Medical account balances follow local settlement rules. |
| 4 · Housing fund 公积金 | Foreign employees enrolled in the housing provident fund may withdraw the balance upon deregistration when leaving China — Shanghai processes this against the departure documentation. |
| 5 · Banking & funds 账户与资金 | Keep at least one Chinese account alive while trailing payments (deposit refunds, tax rebates, dividends, later property sale proceeds) remain — closing everything on exit day is a classic self-inflicted wound. Outbound remittance of accumulated lawful funds runs on the documentation described in the Money guide. |
What you leave behind: property and companies
Property can simply be kept: ownership does not depend on residence. Decide who manages it — a registered lease with declared rental tax if let out, a notarised power of attorney naming someone who can sign for repairs, renewals or an eventual sale. A sale after departure is routinely handled by POA, with proceeds remitted through the bank’s review channel after taxes — see the Own guide.
Companies are the opposite: a WFOE cannot be safely abandoned. An unattended company accumulates annual report defaults, tax non-filing penalties and blacklisting that attaches to its legal representative and shareholder — following you into future visa and business dealings with China. The clean options are a proper transfer of the equity, or formal liquidation and deregistration (simplified deregistration where the company qualifies). Both take months; start before you leave, not after the penalties arrive.
房产可保留，出租应登记备案并申报租金税，日后可凭公证授权委托出售。公司不可弃管：未年报、未申报会产生罚款并将法定代表人与股东列入信用惩戒，正确做法是股权转让或依法清算注销，且应在离境前启动。
Frequently asked
- Individual Income Tax Law of the PRC and Implementing Regulations《中华人民共和国个人所得税法》及实施条例 —— residence rules and the annual settlement obligations that survive departure, supporting the tax steps in "The departure sequence".
- Law on the Administration of Tax Collection, Art. 44《税收征收管理法》 —— exit restrictions where tax liabilities remain unsettled, supporting "The departure sequence".
- Interim Measures for Participation in Social Insurance by Foreigners Employed in China《在中国境内就业的外国人参加社会保险暂行办法》 —— supporting the social insurance step in "The departure sequence".
- Shanghai housing provident fund withdrawal rules —— supporting the provident fund step in "The departure sequence".
- Company Law of the PRC (liquidation and deregistration provisions) —— supporting "What you leave behind: property and companies".
This page is general legal information, not legal advice on any specific case. Procedures are subject to current regulations. 本页为一般性法律信息，不构成个案法律意见；具体程序以现行规定为准。
