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Work-study endorsement: the residence permit note for off-campus work-study and internships

Unofficial entry · Sources checked

A work-study endorsement is the annotation on a study-type residence permit that states the location and duration of an off-campus work-study program or internship. Article 22 of the Regulations on Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners (State Council Decree No. 637) sets out this requirement. For the residence permit itself, see Visas and residence.

The Ministry of Education's measures and Order No. 42 govern the same activity from the education side. Their rules are set out below, document by document.

Definition

Article 22 of the Regulations has two paragraphs. The English text published by the National Immigration Administration reads, in this entry's rendering:

The first paragraph: a foreigner holding a residence permit for study who intends to engage in off-campus work-study or an internship shall, upon the approval of the school, apply to the exit and entry administration authority of the public security organ to have the location and duration of the work-study program or internship placement specified in the residence permit.

The second paragraph: a foreigner holding a residence permit for study shall not engage in any off-campus work-study or internship unless that information is specified in the residence permit.

Article 22 gives no processing time for the authority's decision.

What the official text says

Order No. 42. Article 30, first paragraph, states that international students may take part in work-study during their studies at higher education institutions, but may not take up employment, engage in business, or carry on other business activities. The second paragraph states that the specific rules on work-study for international students shall be formulated separately by the education administration department of the State Council together with relevant departments.

Measures for the Administration of Work-Study by International Students at Higher Education Institutions (notice Jiao Wai Ting [2021] No. 2). The Measures are published in Chinese, as is Order No. 42. The English wording of both texts in this entry is this site's translation of the Chinese text. The Measures provide as follows, article by article:

  • Article 2: applies to schools that implement academic higher education.
  • Article 3: defines work-study as activity organised under the school's management, using spare time, for lawful pay. It excludes teaching internships and social practice that the school organises under the teaching plan.
  • Article 4: work-study follows the principles of capability and spare energy, voluntary application, priority for those in need, and compliance with law and school rules. Each school shall formulate implementing rules.
  • Article 5: applies to on-campus and off-campus work-study. The hours are set out in the table below.
  • Article 6: a school may not arrange or authorise students to take part in toxic, harmful or dangerous production work. The school shall ensure that international students doing work-study hold insurance covering the activity.
  • Article 7: on-campus posts shall be mainly teaching assistants, research assistants, administrative assistants and school public services. Posts shall meet student needs and avoid occupying normal study time.
  • Article 8: off-campus pay shall not be lower than the minimum wage standard set by the local people's government or the relevant department. The employer and the student agree the pay, and the employment agreement shall state the amount.
  • Article 9: a student doing off-campus work-study shall meet these basic conditions: 1. be aged 18 or over and meet the physical requirements of the post; 2. hold a valid study-type residence document in China with more than six months of remaining validity; 3. comply with Chinese law, regulations and school rules, with good conduct and no record of violations of law or discipline; 4. have studied continuously at the current school for more than one year, if an undergraduate or diploma student, postgraduate, advanced study student or research scholar; 5. meet the school's requirements on academic progress and attendance; 6. meet any other conditions the school sets.
  • Article 10: the student shall submit a copy of the agreement with the employer to the school for filing, together with a unilateral letter of commitment covering matters including risk.
  • Article 11: the student shall apply within ten days, in accordance with the relevant provisions, to the exit and entry administration department of the public security organ where the school is located. The application is made with the agreement, the school's certificate letter and other materials, for the residence permit to be annotated with the employer, the duration and other work-study information. A student holding a residence permit without this annotation may not carry out off-campus work-study. If the employer or the period changes, the student shall apply for a change of annotation within ten days with a new agreement and school letter. If the agreement is terminated, the student shall submit a written report to the school within ten days and handle the change of annotation with the public security organ.
  • Article 12: off-campus work-study is limited to the area of the prefecture-level city where the school is located. Each application period shall not exceed the validity of the study-type residence permit, and shall not exceed one year.
  • Article 13: the school shall cancel the work-study eligibility of a student and report to the public security exit and entry administration authority in these cases: completion of studies, leaving before completion, suspension or withdrawal; violation of national law or school rules; conduct that is morally poor and harms public order; and other situations the school finds make continued work-study inappropriate, including where it affects the student's studies.
  • Article 14: where a student's work-study goes beyond the scope of the post or the time limit, the public security exit and entry administration authority investigates and handles the matter according to law.
  • Article 15: provincial education departments, with the local public security, immigration, and human resources and social security departments, coordinate and supervise work-study in their areas. They guide schools in formulating implementing rules and manage the scope of posts dynamically under local regulations.
  • Article 16: schools bear the main responsibility for work-study management, including daily education, inspection and follow-up.
  • Article 17: the Measures take effect from the date of issue.

The hours in Article 5 are summarised below.

Period Weekly limit (in principle) Monthly limit (in principle)
General no more than 8 hours no more than 40 hours
Winter and summer holidays no more than 16 hours no more than 80 hours

Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China. Article 42, second paragraph, states that the education department under the State Council, with relevant departments under the State Council, shall establish an administrative system for foreign students working to support their study in China and set out regulations on the scope of jobs and the limit of work time for such students. Article 43 provides that the following acts of foreigners are deemed unlawful employment: item (1), working in China without work permits or work-type residence permits as required by the relevant regulations; item (2), working in China beyond the scope prescribed in the work permit; and item (3), foreign students working in violation of the regulations on the administration of foreign students working to support their study in China, and working beyond the prescribed scope of jobs or time limit.

These Law provisions are separate from Article 22 of the Regulations, which is a different instrument.

Related terms

Sources

Checked 11 October 2026.

This entry is an unofficial summary of the texts listed above. It is not legal or immigration advice, and it is not published by the bodies named. If it differs from the official text, or from the instructions of the body handling your case, the official text and those instructions prevail.

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