- Legally employed foreigners get the substantive protection of Chinese labour law — written contracts, severance, overtime rules, non-compete limits. 合法就业的外国人受中国劳动法律实体保护。
- Your work permit defines who you may work for and as what — side gigs outside it are illegal employment. 工作许可限定雇主与岗位，许可外兼职属非法就业。
- Social insurance participation is mandatory for employed foreigners, unless a bilateral totalization agreement exempts specific items. 外国雇员应参加社保，双边社保协定可豁免部分险种。
- Under the Foreign Investment Law (in force 1 January 2020), a foreign individual can wholly own a Chinese company, with national treatment outside the negative list. 外商投资法下外国自然人可独资设立公司，负面清单外享国民待遇。
- Owning a company does not by itself give you the right to work in it — status and shareholding are separate tracks. 持股不等于可在该公司任职工作，身份与股权是两条线。
Your rights as a foreign employee
A foreigner lawfully employed in China — work permit plus work-type residence permit — stands under the Labor Contract Law like any local employee for the core protections: a written contract, statutory limits on probation, overtime compensation, severance on qualifying termination (the N / N+1 / 2N framework), and the rules limiting non-compete covenants. Where the employment is not lawful — no permit, wrong employer on the permit — courts have generally declined to recognise a labour relationship at all, which strips away those protections. Compliance is not just the employer’s problem; it is the foundation of your own remedies.
依法就业的外国人在书面合同、试用期、加班费、经济补偿（N/N+1/2N）与竞业限制等核心问题上适用《劳动合同法》；未依法取得工作许可的，劳动关系一般不获认定，保护随之落空。
Severance mathematics, wrongful-termination claims and non-compete disputes — including for foreign executives with equity packages — are the home ground of Delta Law’s employment department (Chinese-language column); this desk runs the matter with you in English.
解除赔偿、竞业争议（含外籍高管）由劳动人事部承办，本部提供英文对接。
Social insurance & totalization treaties
Since the 2011 Interim Measures for Participation in Social Insurance by Foreigners Employed in China, employed foreigners are required to participate in the Chinese social insurance system, with contributions withheld like local staff. China has signed bilateral social security (totalization) agreements with a number of countries — including Germany, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, the Netherlands, France, Canada and others — exempting posted or covered employees from specified insurance items when home-country coverage is certified. If your employer is simply not enrolling you at all without a treaty certificate, that is a compliance gap that will surface at severance or claim time. When you leave China permanently, the individual account balance of your pension insurance can be refunded on written application — see the Depart guide.
2011 年《暂行办法》起外国雇员应参加社保；中德、中日、中韩等双边社保协定可凭参保证明豁免部分险种。永久离境时养老保险个人账户余额可申请一次性退还。
Starting a business as a foreign individual
The Foreign Investment Law (in force 1 January 2020) replaced the old three FIE statutes with a national-treatment-plus-negative-list regime: outside the negative list, a foreign-invested company is established through the same registration process as a domestic one, under the Company Law. A foreign individual can be the 100% shareholder of a Chinese limited company (the classic WFOE), its legal representative, and its executive director. The realistic setup sequence:
- Scope and list check — confirm the intended business is not on the negative list (restricted sectors need a joint venture or are closed);
- Identity documents — the foreign shareholder’s passport, notarised and apostilled where required for registration;
- Registration — name, registered address (a real, leasable address — Shanghai enforces this), registered capital under the subscription system (no minimum for most sectors, but subscribe realistically: it defines your liability commitment), then licence, seals, bank account, tax and foreign-exchange registration;
- Information reporting — foreign-invested enterprises file initial and annual reports through the enterprise reporting system.
《外商投资法》2020 年 1 月 1 日施行，负面清单外准入前国民待遇。外国自然人可 100% 持股设立有限公司并担任法定代表人；设立流程为清单核验→身份公证认证→登记注册（认缴制）→银行、税务、外汇登记→外商投资信息报告。
Frequently asked
- Labor Contract Law of the PRC《中华人民共和国劳动合同法》 —— supporting "Your rights as a foreign employee".
- Foreign Investment Law of the PRC and its Implementing Regulations《中华人民共和国外商投资法》及实施条例 —— supporting "Starting a business as a foreign individual".
- Company Law of the PRC《公司法》 —— the corporate forms and formation requirements, supporting "Starting a business as a foreign individual".
- 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 "Social insurance & totalization treaties".
- Exit and Entry Administration Law《出境入境管理法》 —— the work permit and residence permit prerequisites for lawful employment, supporting "Your rights as a foreign employee".
- Bilateral social security agreements in force for China —— supporting the exemption discussion in "Social insurance & totalization treaties".
This page is general legal information, not legal advice on any specific case. 本页为一般性法律信息，不构成个案法律意见。
