Residence permit fee in China: 400, 800 or 1,000 yuan in the national service guide

The National Immigration Administration's Chinese service guide for residence permits sets the fee by validity period: 400 yuan for a permit valid for less than one year, 800 yuan for one year (inclusive) to less than three years, and 1,000 yuan for three years (inclusive) to five years (inclusive). The guide cites the National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Finance notice Fa Gai Jia Ge [2004] No. 2230 as its charging basis. This site's English rendering of the Chinese text is used below.

How the bands relate to the validity range

Law, Article 30 says that the validity period of a non-work-type residence permit is at least 180 days and at most five years. The three fee bands cover that range:

Validity period of the permit	Fee in the Chinese guide
Less than one year (within the 180-day to five-year range)	400 yuan
One year (inclusive) to less than three years	800 yuan
Three years (inclusive) to five years (inclusive)	1,000 yuan

The Chinese guide sets bands by validity only. It does not say whether work-type and non-work-type permits are charged differently, so this article does not assume a difference.

Law, Article 30 applies where a visa states that the holder must apply for a residence permit after entry. In that case the application must be made within 30 days of entry. The Law also says the exit-entry administration decides within 15 days of receiving the application.

Accompanying persons and information changes

The English guide from the National Immigration Administration, a page dated 1 April 2021, repeats the three bands. It then adds three charges that the Chinese passage quoted here does not print:

• "The above charging standards shall apply on every accompanying person added to the residence permit."
• Removing an accompanying person: CNY 200 per person per time.
• Information change: CNY 200 per person per time.

These items appear only in the English guide, so the amounts are attributed to that document alone.

The English guide words the bands as "1-3 years" and "3-5 years". The Chinese text uses the inclusive wording quoted above, and this article follows the Chinese wording.

What the sources do not say

• Law, Article 92 says foreigners who apply for residence permits "shall pay visa fees or document fees in accordance with relevant regulations." The Law does not print the amounts.
• The Chinese guide does not print its own date. The URL folder is 201903. The English guide is dated 1 April 2021.
• The guides do not state how or when the fee is paid.
• A local exit-entry office's current fee notice prevails over the figures printed in these guides.

For the steps that follow arrival, see the residence permit for study after arrival guide on this site.

Sources

• National Immigration Administration service guide for issuing, extending, replacing and reissuing foreigners' residence permits (Chinese), National Immigration Administration
• Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (English text), National Immigration Administration
• Service Guide on residence permits for foreigners (English, dated 2021-04-01), National Immigration Administration

Checked 11 October 2026.

This page is an unofficial summary. It is not legal or immigration advice, and it is not published by the bodies named. The official text and the instructions of the exit-entry office handling your case prevail if they differ.