Home permit application: avoid a gap in

No published figure yet. The authority does not publish this cost in a form we could verify and quote, so this guide covers the procedure only: what to bring, in what order, and where it goes wrong. We will add the figures the moment there is a source for them.

In order

Confirm your current permission is valid — Check the expiry on your visa or existing permit before you do anything else.
Ask which office serves your address — Get the district exit-entry administration that handles your registered residence.
Get the document list for your purpose of stay — Ask the office or your host which documents apply to you; do not guess.
Assemble the documents — Gather the full set before booking an appointment, since partial applications are not held.
Submit in person with your passport — Expect fingerprints and a photograph if the office does not already hold them.
Keep the receipt — It is your proof that an application is in progress while your passport is held.
Collect your passport and permit — Go on the date the office gives you and check every field on the permit at the counter.
Raise errors immediately — If a detail on the permit is wrong, have it corrected before you leave.

A home permit application is the step that turns your entry visa into permission to live in China for a stated period. The order matters: some steps must happen before others, and one missed document sends you back to the start. This is the procedure only, with no figures, because none could be verified against a source.

Before you go to the office

Confirm which office handles your address. The exit-entry administration that serves your district is the one that takes your application; going to the wrong one wastes a trip. Check that your passport has room and that your current entry visa or permit is still valid. If your permission to stay is close to running out, deal with the application first and everything else after. Collect the documents your employer, school or host is responsible for. Which documents those are depends on your purpose of stay, so ask the office or your host what applies to you rather than assuming.

At the office

Submit in person. The application is tied to you, and the office will want to see you and your passport. Expect to give fingerprints and to have your photograph taken if the office does not already hold them. Keep every receipt you are handed. The receipt is your proof that an application is in progress, and you may need it if anyone asks about your status before the new permit is issued.

After you submit

Your passport stays with the office while the application is processed. Plan for that: you will not have it for travel, banking or hotel check-in until you collect it. Collect the passport and the new permit on the date the office gives you. Check the permit before you leave the counter: the name, the passport number, the purpose of stay and the expiry date should all be correct. If anything on the permit is wrong, raise it at the counter immediately. Correcting it later is harder than correcting it on the spot.

Where applications fail

The common failure is a gap: letting your current permission lapse before the new application is submitted. Once you are out of status, the options narrow and the process restarts from a worse position. The second common failure is an incomplete document set. The office will not hold a partial application, so a missing paper means a new appointment. The third is an address that does not match the office’s district. Registration of your residence and the permit application need to agree.

Confirm before you act

Fees and processing times change. This page was checked on 2026-11-05; confirm the current rule with the authority named in each source above before you rely on a deadline.

Last checked 2026-11-05, next review 2027-05-04. Every figure above names its source and the date it was read. This page is a guide, not legal, tax or immigration advice — confirm with the authority before acting on a deadline.

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