The information was given by my local staff.

He told me a few Wholly Foriegn-owned companies' foreign staff could not get their work permit, thus cannot get their working visa.

The Labor Bureau wants a bank statement showing the application has RMB 300,000 in the bank before they approved the Work Permit application.

This is not a misinterpretation on our side, but the barrier we are facing with the Labor Bureau. I asked my staff to get a written statement of the new requirement, but they cannot give. They only gave a verbal statement of the latest requirement.

It sounds rediculous, but I guess many foreigners will be greatly affected. Since it is Work permit, I believe even English teachers will also be coming under the same category.

I already owned a company for a few years, and I am also affected.

So I guess once they see a major exodus of foreigners out of Kunming, they will then call for an investigation on the matter and come out with more reasonable solution.

I am not sure but, I think in the WTO agreements there are articles that limit discrimination and excessive fees against foreign businesses and foreign nationals doing business in WTO countries.

If anyone cares, that might be a starting point.

Also, request a formal notice 正式通知. This must exist in written form. This is the way China operates.

Get it translated by a third party not related to your staff. In 2003, I was given a Chinese government formal notice and a translation into English. It was, in my opinion rather abusive as it purported to nullify key contract provisions. I showed it to a Chinese English teacher and within minutes she pointed out the provided translation was seriously wrong and the points I objected to were not mentioned in the original Chinese. A Chinese lawyer cleared it up with a phone call.

I get the feeling the local government foresees a huge increase of foreigners when the new airport is completed and thus lots of fees to be made. Land sales can only go on until it is all sold. A new source of ready income needs to be found. Clearly, as long as it the niu de laowai being gored, it is PC.

I do not have Work Permit - - as here as Investor - - and have a Resident Certificate - - so I don't know the rules.

However, I have some Chinese friends who have each started a business and they had to show a bank deposit of RMB300,000 to get the Business License. It was then my understanding that if the business had a Business License, Work Permits then followed very easily.

I'm only reporting here what I was told - - but I think a good lawyer could clear up quickly.

It sounds to me that want proof the the company hiring foreigners have a minimum capital of 300K before they would issue the work permit. I feel this is a reasonable condition otherwise anyone with a dime in their pocket can register as a company and bring unlimited amount of foreigners into the country to work for a company that most likely will not be able to pay their salaries given that they don't even have 300K in the bank. In essence, it sounds like they are trying to prevent fraudulent shell companies from operating.

I doubt there will be a huge exodus as if you are working for a legit school or university, they can quite easily meet the requirement. In addition, quite a number of foreigners in Kunming don't have a work permit in the first place, they are either here on a tourist visa or student visa and are working illegally anyway.

When in doubt, contact the Beijing Immigration office first. Kunming sometimes (frequently?) likes to tack on illegal fees.

@Legacyier: you're still not being clear if it's the foreigner or the company that has to have a deposit. I'm pretty sure it's the company, and this is nothing new.

In fact, the first time I got a work permit to work at a Chinese company (ca. 2001), I believe the requirement was 500,000, but that was registered capital. Most Chinese companies will borrow the money and freeze it in a bank account for about a month while the company is registered. As soon as the registration is finished, they take the money back out.

If there's anything new here, it would be that they have to show the labor bureau that they still have at least 300,000 in the bank right now, rather than just on their registration papers.

Like I said, I just applied for a work permit extension through the WFOE I own (registered cap: 100,000), and this was never mentioned.