X1 & X2 Visa GuideUnofficial Can international students work in China? Work-study yes, employment no
Unofficial summary · Sources checked
Yes, but only in one narrow form. While you are studying at a higher education institution in China you may take part in work-study activities (勤工助学); you may not take employment, engage in business or carry out other profit-making activities (Ministry of Education Order No. 42, Article 30). Work-study is a defined, school-managed activity with hour limits, and if it takes place off campus it must also be endorsed on your residence permit.
Order No. 42 was issued on 20 March 2017 and came into force on 1 July 2017; Article 30 sits in the chapters that apply to higher education institutions. Where this page quotes Chinese texts, the English is this site's translation and the Chinese text is the one that governs.
The two categories: work-study and work
Chinese rules separate paid activity by a student into two boxes, and the box decides everything else.
| Work-study | Employment or other work | |
|---|---|---|
| Allowed during study | Yes (Order No. 42, Article 30) | No: no employment, no business, no other profit-making activity (Order No. 42, Article 30) |
| Documents | Off campus: school approval plus an endorsement on the residence permit (Regulations, Article 22) | Work permit and work-type residence permit (Law, Article 41) |
| Time limits | In principle up to 8 hours a week and 40 hours a month (2021 work-study measures, Article 5) | Not set by the texts cited on this page |
| Who sets the details | The school, in its own implementing rules (2021 work-study measures, Article 4) | The State Council's administrative measures (Law, Article 41) |
The Exit and Entry Administration Law is the statute; the Regulations on Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners are State Council Decree No. 637. They are different instruments, and this page cites each by its own article number.
What the Law says about working
A foreigner who works in China must obtain a work permit and a work-type residence permit, and no entity or individual may employ a foreigner who does not hold them (Law, Article 41). The Law also assigns the education side: the competent education department under the State Council, together with other departments, is to establish an administrative system for foreign students working to support their study and to set out the scope of jobs and the limit of work time (Law, Article 42).
Working outside those rules has a name. Unlawful employment includes working without a work permit and work-type residence permit, working beyond the scope written in the work permit, and — for students — working in violation of the work-to-support-study rules or beyond the prescribed scope of jobs or the prescribed time limit (Law, Article 43). The texts cited here define unlawful employment; they do not state the penalties, which are covered on work and changes.
What counts as work-study
Under the 2021 Measures for the Administration of Work-Study by International Students at Higher Education Institutions (教外厅〔2021〕2号, dated 29 December 2021 and published on the Ministry of Education website on 12 January 2022; Article 17 provides that they apply from the date of issue), work-study means an international student, under the organisation and management of the school, using time outside class to earn lawful pay through work in order to improve study and living conditions (Article 3).
Two things are carved out: teaching internships and social practice that the school organises under the teaching plan are not work-study (Article 3). The measures apply to higher education institutions that provide degree education (Article 2); the texts cited here do not say how institutions outside that scope are treated.
The hour limits
Work-study on or off campus is, in principle, not more than 8 hours a week and not more than 40 hours a month. During the winter and summer vacations it is, in principle, not more than 16 hours a week and not more than 80 hours a month (2021 work-study measures, Article 5). The measures use "in principle" (原则上) for all four numbers.
Your school's rules decide the details
Work-study both on and off campus is conducted on the principles of having spare capacity for study, applying voluntarily, giving priority to students with financial difficulty, and observing the law, under the unified leadership and overall arrangement of the school (2021 work-study measures, Article 4). The school must draw up its own implementing rules setting out its specific arrangements and the powers and duties of the internal departments involved (Article 4). In practice that means the school's rules, not these national texts, tell you which posts exist, how to apply and how hours are recorded; the national texts do not fill in those details.
Off campus: school approval and an endorsement on the residence permit
If you hold a residence permit for study and intend to do off-campus work-study or an internship, you must first obtain the school's approval and then apply to the exit and entry administration authority of the public security organ to have the location and duration of the work-study or internship placement entered on your residence permit (Regulations, Article 22). Until that information is on the permit, you may not do the off-campus work-study or internship at all (Regulations, Article 22). The conditions for work-study and the procedure are set out on work and changes.
Questions people ask
Can I take an ordinary part-time job off campus?
No, not as employment. Order No. 42, Article 30 bars employment, business and other profit-making activities during study, and Law Article 41 requires a work permit and a work-type residence permit for work. Off-campus work-study is the narrow exception, and it needs school approval plus the endorsement on your residence permit (Regulations, Article 22).
Do I need a work permit and a work-type residence permit for work-study?
The texts cited on this page do not say that work-study requires them. What they do say is that work requires them (Law, Article 41) and that off-campus work-study or internship requires the school's approval and an endorsement on the study residence permit (Regulations, Article 22).
Are the 8 and 40 hour limits fixed?
They are stated "in principle" (原则上) in Article 5 of the 2021 work-study measures, so the national text presents them as the default rather than as an absolute cap. Article 4 requires each school to make its own implementing rules, and the national texts do not state how a week or a month is counted.
Does a paid teaching internship arranged by my school count as work-study?
No. Article 3 of the 2021 measures excludes teaching internships and social practice that the school organises under the teaching plan. An internship placement still has a rule of its own off campus: school approval and an endorsement on the residence permit (Regulations, Article 22).
Can I start a business or freelance online?
Order No. 42, Article 30 prohibits engaging in business or other profit-making activities during study, without qualifying the form the activity takes. The texts cited here do not distinguish online from offline activity.
Sources
- Measures for the Administration of Schools Recruiting and Educating International Students, Order No. 42 — Ministry of Education
- Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China — National Immigration Administration
- Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners, State Council Decree No. 637 — National Immigration Administration
- Measures for the Administration of Work-Study by International Students at Higher Education Institutions, 教外厅〔2021〕2号 — Ministry of Education (General Office), with the General Offices of the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the General Department of the National Immigration Administration
Checked 11 October 2026
This page is an unofficial summary of the official documents named above: it is not legal or immigration advice, it is not published by the Ministry of Education, the National Immigration Administration or any embassy or visa office, and where the official text or the instructions of the visa office or exit-entry office handling your case differ from what is written here, theirs prevails.