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EG.A Foreigner Married to a Shenzhen Resident

1.What did we need ?

Supporting spouse must be a Shenzhen resident ( if not, you need to apply where your better half’s Hukou is or change Hukou to SZ). Shenzhen has a very good process for Green Card applications.

-5 or more years of marriage (overseas marriages are recognized) 

-Must have stayed in China for the previous 5 years, with at least 9 months in China each year

-Stable living (property, renting, financial)

-NCR– Non-Criminal Record from the country where your passport is from

-Notarized spouse’s economic guarantee statement.

-Life history for both spouses (called the CV)

-After submitting the application, an interview is required for both spouse 

2.How long did it take?

About 1 year from when you applied

3.Checking we qualified

3-1.Shenzhen resident √

-Changed Hukou to SZ

-Benefits: Shenzhen Exit and Entry bureau is more experienced in managing the process for expats 

-Tier 1 city more open to Green Card applications

-Your children can choose their hukou location 

3-2.MARRIED for at least 5 years √

-Married overseas?

Authenticated and translated by the government department, and then notarized by the Chinese embassy/consulate, in applicants home country

-Married in China?

Only requires notarization in China

3-3. 5 years resident in china√

What does this mean?

-The applicant must have lived in China for at least 5 years prior to the application date

-Can have been absent for up to 3 months in each of those years 

-If the applicant was away for more than 3 months in a year, then the clock will reset to 0, starting from when they return. 

3-4. Stable living√

What does this mean?

-Financial support 

-200K RMB bank term deposit (Minimum of 1 year, we did 2) can be in the name of either spouse

-own a home in, or outside SZ

-or a rental agreement for where you live (without rental RED BOOK) 

4.Preparing the documents 

4-1.NCR- non-criminal record

– Must be from the home country of the applicant where their passport is held

– Authenticated by relevant government department in the home country

– Translated by recognized authority

– Notarized by local Chinese embassy or consulate in the home country

– Must be no older than 6 months (start date is the day it is notarized by the embassy/consulate)

– Be aware of time frames to arrange this and have it sent to China (1-3 months)

4-2. Notarized spouse’s economic guarantee statement

-If the 200k term deposit is in the name of the applicant, the above statement isn’t required

-If the 200k term deposit is in the name of the Chinese spouse, then the statement is -required regardless of whether the applicant is working or not 

-Two original copies are needed, as the Exit and Entry Bureau keep one

4-3. CV – IT’s really your life history

– Starts from age 18 or when the applicant left high school (which ever is first ), up to date of application

– Must cover every time from then until now with no breaks. Must include education, work changes, and breaks between jobs if they are quite long

– Must be continuous and in chronological date order (oldest to current

4-4. Other documents

– ID and birth certificate for children, whether born in China or overseas. If overseas born, the birth certificate will require authentication etc

– CV for your children

– Passports, ID cards, photos of applicant and supporting spouse

4-5. Notarizing documents

– Foreign docs can’t be notarized in China

– All Chinese documents can be done in China

– Local Notaries Office right here in Shekou for Chinese documents only

5.What you need to know about the interview?

5-1.Applicant and spouse are interviewed separately

THERE IS No set list of questions

Examples:

– What are your spouse’s parents’ names?

– Where/when did you both meet?

– Where did your spouse go to school?

– How old is/are your child/children?

– What is your child’s birthdate?

– What is your marriage date?

– What do you know about your spouse’s work?

– What do you know about your spouse’s home country?

– What was your wedding like?

THE QUESTIONS ARE TO DETERMINE THAT THE RELATIONSHIP IS GENUINE AND YOU KNOW EACH OTHER WELL

6. What have we learnt from the experience?

6-1. on the day

– Application will take at least 1.5 hours

– Bring the original + 3 copies of everything (one each is needed for SZ, Guangdong and Beijing)

– Try to get there early so you are the first in the queue

– Only one counter for green card

– Bring your laptop + a USB as you might need to make changes on the day

– The Exit Entry Bureau have a photocopier and printers you can use

– Application form x 3 must be filled out by hand

– The applicant can choose a Chinese name to go on the card, in addition to their own English passport name

6-2. Once you have the card

– It’s valid for 10 years dated from when is printed not when you pick it up (usually 2-3 months from when it is issued)

– Renewal is straight forward, but you must have much remained in China for 3 months of each year

– Exemptions to the above are available and can be approved

6-3. WHERE TO SUBMIT THE APPLICATION

深圳市罗湖区解放路4016号深圳市行政服务大厅出入境大厅

This is pretty much all the info. You’d like to know of. if you wanna consult something else about it, please contact us.