In addition to the new visa regulations that will take effect in July, foreigners who work in Beijing will also need to prepare criminal record clearances to receive work authorizations. Applicants will have to provide a “police clearance certificate” (non-criminal record) from their country to apply for work permits. The same applies to foreigners in China who transfer to work in Beijing. KTA elaborates on the details regarding this new regulation:

“The certificate must be issued by the relevant public security or judicial authority in the applicant’s country of nationality, and must show that the applicant has no criminal record from the age of 18 through the present. The certificate must be legalized by a Chinese diplomatic post in the country of issuance. The Beijing Labor Bureau has not provided guidance with respect to applicants who reside in a country other than their country of nationality, except to advise that the regulations are still in development. The certificate will be required during the first stage of the application process. For standard work permit applications, it will be required when the employment license application is filed. For applications sponsored by a representative office of a foreign company, the certificate will be required when the work permit application is filed, as employment licenses are not required in these cases. “

KTA goes on to say that Beijing is the first city in China to require this certificate, but it is unclear whether other cities will follow. If you are working or planning to work in Beijing, perhaps you should start looking up ways to obtain a (non)criminal record from your country, and figure out how to get it notarized by your embassy after you receive it.

Image courtesy of Flickr, by Bev Sykes.