Renewing a work permit and residence permit has never been a short process: in the past, it required to first apply to for the issuance of a work permit (in principle, 5 working days) and afterwards apply for the renewal of the corresponding residence permit (another two week of waiting time, which the applicant will remain without his/her passport).
Since 2024, in 15 places in Beijing, and in several other major cities, a new policy, called “One-stop acceptance, parallel approval”, is being implemented: under this policy, an applicant shall (as before) apply first to the labor bureau for the work permit renewal but, contrary than prior procedure, at the time of application the labor bureau will issue a notice that can be used (together with all other necessary documentation ) to immediately apply to the Entry – Exit Bureau for the issuance of the residence permit. At the end of the process, the applicant can obtain the newly issued work permit and residence permit directly at the Entry – Exit Administration office.
We have contacted both Labor Bureau and Entry – Exit Bureau in Beijing and we received informal confirmation that this policy is in effect and that issuance of residence permit should take no more than five to seven working days in total.
Furthermore, both labor bureau and Entry – Exit Administration informed us that after the second consecutive renewal of the work permit, an applicant with long term employment contract may apply and obtain up to a 5-years’ work permit and residence permit.
Please feel free to contact us to know more!
