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China Work Permit Points: Class A, B or C

Jobs
Jul 5, 2026
Beijing central business district skyline where foreign professionals earn their China work permit points

Your future employer just asked whether your China work permit points land you in Class A, B or C — and you have no idea what that means. Do not worry. Every foreigner hired to work legally in China gets sorted into one of three tiers by a single scoring system, and that tier quietly shapes your age limits, your degree requirement, and how easily you renew. This guide decodes the whole thing. First we explain the three classes. Then we walk through how the points add up, roughly how a normal professional scores, and what each result actually means for your daily life. No jargon, no guesswork.

What the Three Classes Actually Mean

China sorts foreign hires under one policy: the Foreigner’s Work Permit (外国人来华工作许可). The guiding principle is blunt — encourage top talent, control ordinary talent, restrict low-end labour (Ministry of Science and Technology, 2017). So the system splits everyone into three tiers.

  • Class A — high-end talent. Scientists, senior executives, star founders, and anyone the country is short of. Fast-tracked, few limits.
  • Class B — professional talent. Skilled foreign hires with a degree and experience. This is where most foreigners land.
  • Class C — quota-controlled labour. Short-term, seasonal, intern, or unskilled roles, subject to numerical caps.

The tiers are not something you choose. They are calculated. That calculation runs on China work permit points, and your score decides the door you walk through.

How China Work Permit Points Are Scored

The system is basically a talent scorecard. It rewards what China wants more of — high pay, strong credentials, youth, and useful skills. The main factors carry roughly this weight (Beijing Municipal Government, 2020):

  • Salary vs the local average: the single heaviest factor, worth up to about 20 points. The higher your pay relative to the city’s average wage, the more you score.
  • Education level: a doctorate scores highest, then a master’s, then a bachelor’s — again a large slice of the total.
  • Age: applicants in their prime working years (roughly 26 to 45) score best; points fall off past the mid-fifties.
  • Years of work experience: generally one point per year, up to a cap.
  • Chinese-language ability: your HSK level adds points — proof you can function here.
  • Where you will work: jobs in central, western, or north-eastern China earn bonus points, because those regions want talent.
  • Time already spent working in China: a track record here counts in your favour.
  • Top-university graduate: a degree from a world-ranked university adds a few bonus points.

Add it all up. Score 85 or more and you are Class A. Score 60 to 84 and you are Class B. Fall below 60 and you drop to Class C (China Briefing, 2024). Simple in theory. The interesting part is where real people land.

How a Typical Class B Professional Scores

Picture a fairly ordinary case. A 30-year-old with a bachelor’s degree, four years of experience, a market-rate salary, and basic Chinese. That profile tends to clear 60 without drama — comfortable Class B, not Class A. And that is normal. Estimates suggest roughly six in ten foreign workers fall into Class B, with about one in six reaching Class A (China Briefing, 2024).

So what pushes someone from B up to A? Money and credentials, mostly. A salary of six times the local average can qualify you for Class A almost on its own. A doctorate, a senior title at a well-known firm, a patent portfolio, or an international award all help too. In short, Class A rewards people who are visibly scarce. If you are wondering what those local-average salaries even are, our breakdown of what foreigners actually earn in China puts real numbers on the multiples.

There Are Also Automatic Routes

Here is a detail many people miss. You do not always have to score at all. Both Class A and Class B have qualifying shortcuts that skip the points table entirely (Pingshan District People’s Government, 2020).

  • Class A auto-qualifiers: selection into a national talent programme, a very high salary, or recognised international standing.
  • Class B auto-qualifiers: a bachelor’s degree plus two years of relevant experience; an internationally recognised professional qualification; a foreign-language teacher meeting the rules; or a salary of at least four times the local average.

If you hit one of those, the scorecard becomes a formality. Most standard professional hires qualify for Class B through the degree-plus-experience route rather than by counting points.

What Each Class Means in Real Life

The class is not just a label. It changes the terms of your stay. Broadly:

  • Class A: a “green channel” with faster processing, longer permits, no strict age cap, and easy family visas. The smoothest experience by far.
  • Class B: standard processing, permits usually tied to your contract length, and a normal renewal cycle. Family members can generally join you on dependant visas.
  • Class C: tighter limits — subject to quotas, often short-term, with the least flexibility and the hardest path to bring family.

Age caps mostly bite in Class B and C. As a rule, employers expect applicants to be under 60 for men and under 55 for women, though Class A talent is often exempt (China Briefing, 2024). Renewal is easier the higher your class, because the authorities want to keep the talent they encouraged.

The Baseline Rules and Honest Caveats

Now the fine print, because it trips people up. For most professional roles, the real floor is a bachelor’s degree plus two years of relevant work experience. Miss either, and a straightforward Class B application gets hard. Fresh graduates sometimes have narrow exceptions, but do not count on them.

Teachers face their own bar. A foreign-language teacher normally needs a degree, a recognised teaching certificate such as a TEFL, two years of experience (sometimes waived for relevant majors), and a clean criminal record (China Briefing, 2024). If teaching is your route in, our guide to teaching jobs in China covers the credential path in detail.

Two more honest points. First, the standards are described as “trial” and they do tighten over time — what qualified a friend three years ago may not qualify you now, so always check the current official rule. Second, your documents must be genuine and properly authenticated; a degree or police check often needs an apostille before it counts. Our walkthrough of document authentication for China shows how. And to be clear on the law: legal work in China means a Z (or R/K) visa plus this Work Permit plus a Residence Permit. Working on a tourist (L) or business (M) visa is illegal and enforced. There is no informal version of this — the class system exists precisely because the process is formal.

Why Your Class Matters Before You Sign

Check your likely class before you accept an offer, not after. Why? Because it tells you whether the salary is high enough, whether your age is a problem, and whether your family can come. It also tells you if the employer is being realistic. A serious company knows exactly which class it is sponsoring you for. If a recruiter is vague about your China work permit points or the class they will apply for, treat that as a warning sign and slow down.

Where This Fits in Your Work Journey

Knowing your class is one step in a longer route. Here is the order it usually follows:

Frequently Asked Questions

How many China work permit points do I need?

Score 85 or more for Class A, 60 to 84 for Class B, and below 60 for Class C. Many professionals skip the count entirely by qualifying through the degree-plus-two-years route instead.

Which class do most foreigners get?

Class B. It covers most skilled professional hires — roughly six in ten foreign workers. Class A is for high-end talent, and Class C is for short-term or quota-controlled roles.

Do I need a degree to qualify?

For most Class B jobs, yes — a bachelor’s degree plus two years of relevant experience is the usual baseline. A very high salary or recognised professional qualification can offer an alternative route in some cases.

Is there an age limit?

Generally applicants should be under 60 (men) or 55 (women) for Class B and C roles. Class A high-end talent is often exempt from the age cap.

Can I move up from Class B to Class A?

Yes. A higher salary, a doctorate, a senior title, or selection into a national talent programme can lift you into Class A, usually at your next application or renewal.

References