MeridianChina inbound Start a case
China inbound · three tracks

Entry,
employment,
enterprise.

Visas into China — work, study, business and family — plus the work permits and company registrations that keep you there legally. Three separate tracks, one team, one fee agreed before anything is filed.

Find your route Ask a question
·Based in Kunming — cases across China ·Mon–Fri 09:00–19:00 CST ·English & 中文
MERIDIAN CHINA INBOUND 入境 ENTRY UTC +8
In this briefIndicative
ZWork visa4–8 weeks XStudy visa2–6 weeks MBusiness visa1–3 weeks Q1Family reunion4–8 weeks Q2Family visit1–3 weeks WFOECompany formation4–6 weeks PRMWork permit3–6 weeks LICHiring licence3–5 weeks
Fixed fee, in writingQuoted before we open a single file.
One case managerThe same named person, start to finish.
Documents checked firstWe read the file before you book flights.
Two tracks, kept apartA visa is not a permit, and a permit is not a company.
01 / Visas

Five ways
into China.

Every route below is a route into China. Choose by why you are coming, not by what the visa is called — each is a complete service: eligibility, documents, filing, and the residence permit you need after you land.

ZWork

Work visa

You hold a job offer from a Chinese employer, or you are the employer bringing someone in.

Stay
Entry visa, then a residence permit of up to 5 years
Indicative
4–8 weeks
  • Category check — A, B or C — before you sign anything
  • Work permit notification and licence, filed for the employer
  • Z-visa application, appointment and interview preparation
  • Residence permit, police registration and dependants after arrival

Typical document set

  • Passport valid 6+ months, with blank pages
  • Degree certificate, or proof of 2+ years relevant experience
  • Police clearance, notarised and authenticated
  • Medical examination from a designated clinic
  • Employment contract and the employer’s hiring licence
X1·X2Study

Study visa

You have been admitted to a Chinese university, or to a language programme longer than a term.

Stay
X1 for over 180 days, X2 for shorter courses
Indicative
2–6 weeks
  • Admission pack and JW202 reviewed before you apply
  • X1 or X2 decided on your actual course length, not the brochure
  • Filing, appointment and interview coaching
  • Residence permit, bank account and registration on arrival

Typical document set

  • Admission letter and JW202 form from the institution
  • Highest diploma, notarised where required
  • Medical examination (X1 applicants)
  • Proof of funds or scholarship award
  • Passport, photographs, completed application form
MBusiness

Business visa

Meetings, trade fairs, supplier audits, due diligence — commercial visits that do not become employment.

Stay
30–90 days per entry; single or multiple entry
Indicative
1–3 weeks
  • Invitation letter coordinated with your Chinese host
  • Purpose statement and itinerary that survive scrutiny
  • Multi-entry planning for repeat visitors
  • Conversion plan if the visit turns into a job offer

Typical document set

  • Invitation from a Chinese company, on letterhead with seal
  • Your employer’s letter confirming the purpose and dates
  • Passport, photographs, prior China visas if any
  • Trade-fair registration or meeting confirmations
Q1·S1Family · Reunion

Family reunion visa

Spouse, parent or child of a Chinese citizen — or of a foreigner already resident in China — staying longer than 180 days.

Stay
Residence permit, usually 1–5 years
Indicative
4–8 weeks
  • Relationship evidence mapped before anything is notarised
  • Notarisation, authentication or apostille, end to end
  • Q1 or S1 filed as one family file, not four separate ones
  • Residence permits and household registration after arrival

Typical document set

  • Marriage or birth certificate, notarised and authenticated
  • Sponsor’s Chinese ID, or residence permit if the sponsor is foreign
  • Invitation letter and proof of the sponsor’s address in China
  • Passport, photographs, and the sponsor’s statement of support
Q2·S2Family · Visit

Family visit visa

Shorter visits to family in China — under 180 days, often repeated year after year.

Stay
Up to 180 days per stay; multiple entry up to 5 years
Indicative
1–3 weeks
  • Invitation and relationship proof prepared to the consulate’s taste
  • Multi-entry strategy so you are not re-applying annually
  • Entry timing and re-entry guidance for long stays

Typical document set

  • Invitation letter from the relative in China
  • Copy of the relative’s ID or residence permit
  • Evidence of relationship — marriage, birth or household record
  • Passport, photographs, travel bookings where required
?Guidance

You don’t have to pick correctly.

Describe the situation — a job offer, a spouse in China, a company you want to register — and we name the route for you in one reply.

Ask about my case

Our job is to make your file unremarkable.

Every application we send should read as ordinary, complete and predictable to the officer holding it. Anything that needs explaining is a problem we should have found in week one.

The standard each Meridian file is measured against

02 / Company

The part that
isn’t a visa.

A visa gets you through the border. What keeps you working, banking and hiring is a different set of filings, with different authorities and different clocks. We keep them in a separate track so nothing is conflated.

01外商投资企业

Company formation

A foreign-owned entity you control — not a nominee arrangement, not someone else’s name on the licence.

WFOE4–6 weeks after name approval
  • Name pre-approval
  • Capital & scope
  • Registered address
  • Business licence & seals
  • Bank & tax account
  • Invoicing setup
02外国人工作许可证

Work permit

The permit itself, separate from the Z visa: the licence that must exist before a work visa can be issued — and again after you arrive.

Category A / B3–6 weeks
  • Category assessment
  • Degree authentication
  • Criminal record check
  • Designated medical
  • Permit card issue
  • Renewal calendar
03聘外许可 / 用人单位资质

Employer hiring licence

For companies that intend to employ foreign staff: the registration that makes hiring legal, and the reporting that keeps it that way.

Employer side3–5 weeks
  • Employer registration
  • Quota & job category
  • Contract templates
  • HR document flow
  • Annual reporting

Most clients need two of these three. If you already hold a Z visa but no permit, or a company but no hiring licence, tell us which one you have — we start from there instead of rebuilding the file.

Map my filings
03 / Process

How a case runs

Five stages, each with a named owner and a date you can hold us to. Nothing starts until the fee, the scope and the exclusions are agreed in writing.

01

Eligibility

A short call and a document read. We tell you which route actually fits, and what is likely to be refused — before you pay for anything.

Day 1
02

Proposal

Fixed fee, scope, timeline and the list of what sits outside it. Signed before work begins; the number does not move later.

Day 2–4
03

Document pack

We assemble, translate, notarise and authenticate. You review one checklist, once — not a folder of PDFs and instructions.

Week 1–3
04

Filing

We file, book appointments and attend where permitted, then send you a written status every Friday until a decision is issued.

Week 3–8
05

Landing

Residence permit, police registration, bank account, SIM, school for the children. The first month is where most agencies stop.

First 30 days
04 / Questions

Asked before,
answered plainly.

If your question is not here, ask it directly — we answer in writing, not on a call you have to schedule first.

For most routes, yes. Z, X1, Q1 and S1 must be applied for abroad and converted into a residence permit after entry. M and Q2/S2 can be used as they are issued. Tell us where you are now and we will map the order for your case.

Rarely, and the answer changes by city. Some allow in-country conversion for eligible applicants; others require you to leave and re-apply. We check the specific city before you book a flight, not after.

They will need translation, notarisation and — depending on the country — legalisation or an apostille. We run that chain end to end and tell you the realistic lead time before it starts.

Usually yes, on Q1 or S1 dependant routes, which are separate applications with their own evidence. We file them alongside your work file rather than after it, so the family lands together.

Both. We handle employer registration, hiring licences, quota planning and the annual reporting, and we brief HR teams on document retention so renewals do not become emergencies.

The ranges on this page are indicative and depend on category, city and the state of your documents. You get a written estimate at proposal stage, and we flag slippage in the same week we see it.

05 / Start

Tell us four things.

We reply with a route, a document list and a fixed fee — usually within one business day. No sales call required.

Hours
Monday to Friday, 09:00–19:00 (UTC+8)
Reply
Within one business day
Languages
English · 中文
Where
Kunming, Yunnan, China — cases handled nationwide

Already have documents? Bring them to the first call and the eligibility answer gets sharper. Prefer WhatsApp or WeChat? Say so in your email and we’ll switch to it.

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