When a residence permit is not issued: Article 31, verification and why the decision is final

Under Article 31 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China, a foreigner’s residence permit shall not be issued in five situations: the visa held is not of a type for which a residence permit should be issued; the applicant resorts to fraudulent acts in the application; the applicant fails to provide relevant supporting materials in accordance with relevant regulations; the applicant is not eligible to reside in China because of a violation of relevant Chinese laws or administrative regulations; or the issuing authority considers that a residence permit should not be issued in other circumstances. Article 36 of the same Law provides that a decision not to issue a foreigner’s residence permit, or not to extend the duration of residence, is final. The National Immigration Administration’s service guide for issuing, extending, replacing and reissuing foreigners’ residence permits records that an applicant has the right to state his or her case and to defend it (Section 11), but the official documents used here do not set out a route to challenge the decision, and this article gives no advice on appeals.

The Law and the Regulations are cited from the English texts published by the National Immigration Administration. The service guide is published in Chinese by the National Immigration Administration; the English wording used below for that document is this site’s translation of the Chinese text.

This article covers only refusal, verification and the finality of the decision. The application steps themselves are described in Residence permit for study after arrival.

The five grounds in Law Article 31 for not issuing a residence permit

Article 31 is written in terms of "foreigners" and does not name students; the Law as a whole uses "foreigners" rather than "students", except in Articles 42, 43 and 45, which name foreign students. The five grounds are:

1. The visa held does not belong to the type for which a foreigner’s residence permit should be issued (Law, Article 31(1)).
2. The applicant resorts to fraudulent acts in application (Law, Article 31(2)).
3. The applicant fails to provide relevant supporting materials in accordance with relevant regulations (Law, Article 31(3)).
4. The applicant is not eligible to reside in China because of violation of relevant Chinese laws or administrative regulations (Law, Article 31(4)).
5. Other circumstances in which the issuing authority considers a foreigner’s residence permit should not be issued (Law, Article 31(5)).

The second paragraph of Article 31 provides an approval route: foreigners with expertise and foreign investors who conform to relevant State regulations, or foreigners who need to change their status from stay to residence for humanitarian or other reasons, may undergo the formalities for obtaining a residence permit upon approval by the exit/entry administrations of public security organs under local people’s governments at or above the city with districts (Law, Article 31, second paragraph). The service guide repeats this: foreigners who conform to State provisions on specialized talents or investors, or who truly need to change from stay to residence for humanitarian or other reasons, may process a residence permit upon approval by the exit/entry administration of the public security organ under the local people’s government at or above the city divided into districts (service guide, Section 4).

The service guide’s prohibitory requirement states directly that a residence permit shall not be issued to an applicant who has one of the circumstances in Article 31 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law (service guide, Section 5). Under the service guide, a foreigner who needs to reside in China after entry for non-diplomatic or non-official reasons may apply for issuance, extension, replacement or reissue; the application must be made in person, except that high-level talents and urgently needed specialized talents required by the State, persons under 16, persons over 60, or persons with mobility difficulties due to illness or other reasons may be represented by the inviting entity or individual, the applicant’s relatives, or a relevant specialized service agency (service guide, Section 4).

How the office verifies an application

The Regulations allow the exit and entry administration authority of the public security organ to verify the purpose of the application through interview, telephone inquiry and on-the-spot investigation, and the applicant as well as the entity or individual that provided the letter of invitation or certification documents shall cooperate (Regulations, Article 20).

The service guide sets out the verification step as part of the procedure. It says the office shall verify the authenticity of the application reason through interview, telephone inquiry, on-site investigation and other means, and confirm that the applicant is of foreign nationality (service guide, Section 7, step (三)). If the applicant or the relevant entity or individual is notified for an interview and, without justified reason, does not accept the interview within the agreed time, the office may, in accordance with the law, not issue the visa or permit (service guide, Section 7, step (三)).

When the application meets the acceptance conditions, the office shall accept it and issue an acceptance receipt, and make the decision whether to issue within the receipt’s validity. For a residence permit application, the acceptance receipt is valid for no more than 15 working days from the date of acceptance (service guide, Section 7, step (二)). If the procedures and materials are incomplete, the office shall in one go inform the applicant of the procedures to be completed and the materials to be supplemented (service guide, Section 7, step (二)).

Refusing extension, change or reissue: Regulations Article 21

A separate rule in the Regulations covers later applications. In the following circumstances, the exit and entry administration authority shall not approve an application for extension, change or reissuance of a visa or residence permit, or an application for a stay permit (Regulations, Article 21):

1. The applicant fails to provide material supporting his or her application in accordance with relevant provisions (Regulations, Article 21(1)).
2. The applicant has knowingly falsified information in the application process (Regulations, Article 21(2)).
3. The applicant is not eligible for staying or residing in China due to violation of relevant Chinese laws or administrative regulations (Regulations, Article 21(3)).
4. Other circumstances where it is not appropriate to approve the applicant’s application for extension, change or reissuance of a visa or residence permit, or for issuance of a stay permit (Regulations, Article 21(4)).

These are Regulations grounds, not Law grounds. Law Article 31 governs the initial issuance of a residence permit; Regulations Article 21 governs extension, change, reissue and stay permit applications. The two lists overlap in substance but come from different instruments and must be cited separately.

Law Article 35 provides that where an ordinary visa, stay or residence permit held by a foreigner needs to be reissued due to damage, loss, theft, robbery or other reasons in compliance with relevant State regulations after entry, the foreigner shall apply for a reissue with the exit/entry administrations of public security organs under local people’s governments at or above the county level in the place of stay or residence (Law, Article 35).

What the service guide says about the applicant’s rights and duties

The service guide lists the applicant’s rights as follows (service guide, Section 11):

1. The equal right to obtain the administrative licence according to law if the statutory conditions and standards are met.
2. The right to state the case and to defend it in respect of the administrative licensing carried out by the administrative organ.
3. Other rights provided by laws and regulations.

The applicant’s duties are listed as follows (service guide, Section 11):

1. Truthfully submit relevant materials and reflect the true situation to the administrative organ, and be responsible for the authenticity of the substantive content of the application materials.
2. Cooperate with the administrative organ’s interview, telephone inquiry, on-site investigation, etc., to verify the authenticity of the application materials.
3. Other duties provided by laws and regulations.

Why the decision is final

Law Article 36 provides that decisions made by the exit/entry administration of the public security organ on rejecting applications for visa extension or reissuance, or on not issuing foreigners’ stay or residence permits or not extending the duration of residence, shall be final. The official documents used here do not set out an appeal, administrative reconsideration or review route against such a decision. This article therefore describes no challenge procedure and gives no advice on appeals.

The texts used and their dates

• Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China: English text published by the National Immigration Administration (page dated 2021-03-10). The Law was adopted on 30 June 2012 and came into force on 1 July 2013 (Article 93). Cited as "Law".
• Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners: State Council Decree No. 637, promulgated on 12 July 2013 and in force from 1 September 2013; English text published by the National Immigration Administration (page dated 2021-03-10). Cited as "Regulations".
• National Immigration Administration service guide for issuing, extending, replacing and reissuing foreigners’ residence permits: Chinese text on the government service platform; the page prints no date of its own and the folder of its URL is 201903. The English used for this guide is this site’s translation. Cited as "service guide" with section numbers.

Questions people ask

On what grounds can a residence permit be refused?

A residence permit shall not be issued on the five grounds in Article 31 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law: the visa held is not of a type for which a residence permit should be issued; fraudulent acts in the application; failure to provide relevant supporting materials as required; ineligibility to reside in China because of a violation of Chinese laws or administrative regulations; or other circumstances in which the issuing authority considers a residence permit should not be issued. The service guide’s prohibitory requirement repeats that an applicant with Article 31 circumstances shall not be issued a residence permit (service guide, Section 5).

What happens if I miss the interview?

The service guide states that if the applicant or the relevant entity or individual is notified of an interview and, without justified reason, does not accept the interview within the agreed time, the office may, in accordance with the law, not issue the visa or permit (service guide, Section 7, step (三)). The Regulations also require the applicant and the entity or individual that provided the invitation or certification documents to cooperate with verification by interview, telephone inquiry and on-the-spot investigation (Regulations, Article 20).

Can I challenge the decision not to issue a residence permit?

Law Article 36 provides that a decision not to issue a foreigner’s residence permit, or not to extend the duration of residence, is final. The service guide records that an applicant has the right to state his or her case and to defend it (service guide, Section 11), but the official documents used here do not set out an appeal or review route, so this article gives no advice on appeals.

Sources

• 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 — National Immigration Administration
• National Immigration Administration service guide for issuing, extending, replacing and reissuing foreigners' residence permits — National Immigration Administration

Checked 11 October 2026

This page is an unofficial summary, is not legal or immigration advice, is not published by the National Immigration Administration or any other body named above, and the official text and the instructions of the visa office or exit-entry office handling your case prevail if they differ.