Register a Company in Hangzhou

Based on the company type, the registration process might vary, but generally speaking it goes as follows:

1) Company registration process in China starts with the founders filling our questionnaire and paying the initial deposit to engage our company for the registration process.
2) Based on the answers, our consultants will get back to you with detailed quotation and other details regarding the registration process, and we will sign a service agreement to formally start the process.
3) If you are outside of China, you will be asked to contact the Chinese embassy and a) get your passport legalized (individual investor / shareholder or b) get your existing company’s documents legalized (corporate investor / shareholder)
4) After you have legalized your documents at the Chinese embassy, you will be asked to mail those legalization documents (no original passports required) to China via post (DHL, FedEx etc.)
5) Once the documents and payments have been received, we will start the company formation process. First step is to register company’s name with the company registrar in China (you will be asked to give several options in English and/or Chinese, if you know the language).
6) After around 7-10 business days, company name will be confirmed, then
7) We will make an appointment with the company registrar and our staff member will take your legalized documents to the counter.
8) After around 2-3 business days, company registrar will give us your company’s structural documents and we will email them to you with instructions where to sign.
9) After you sign the structural documents of the company, you will be asked to mail the originals to us via post (DHL, FedEx etc.)
10) After we have received the signed documents, we will forward them to the company registrar.
11) After around 10 business days, your company’s General Business License will be issued (usually with 30 years validity)
12) At this point company director will be asked to visit China to open a corporate bank account (for people who cannot visit China, we offer China Nominee Director services)
13) Once we open the RMB account for your company, we will make an appointment with the tax office in China and the company director will be asked to visit the tax office in person for ID verification)
14) We will make another appointment with the bank to open a foreign currency account for your company (if necessary), and the company director will be asked to visit again in person.
15) If your company is an import / export company, we will make an appointment with the custom office, and the company director will be asked to visit in person to collect the custom permit and e-port.
16) Clients can take their company documents and official seals (company chops)

Based on the company type, our service fee range from ¥19000 （approx. 3000 USD) to around ¥350,000 (approx. 55000 USD) depending on the type of company you want to register.
For trading and consulting companies our service prices start from ¥19000. Please contact us for more details.

It depends on the service. For e.g. ¥19000 (approx. 3000 USD) service fee for trading or consulting company registration. in China, includes the following:

• Incorporation (General business license with 30 years validity);
• Obtaining company’s offical seals (company chops);
• Corporate bank account assistance (RMB account by default. NOTE: certain countries’ citizens cannot open foreign currency accounts – please speak to us for more details);
• 1 year company registration address (it’s not an office space – cannot be used for work visa purposes or day to day working);
• 1 year accounting service (monthly and annual tax filings only. VAT refund is not included If you need VAT refund in China, please speak to us, we can provide as a separate service);
• 1 year free consultancy on company-related matters;
• Company tax registration;
• Custom permit (import-export permit and e-port);

Clients are expected to appoint at least two positions when forming an LTD company in China:

1. Company director (aka Legal Representative) – can be of any nationality, should be able to visit China for corporate bank account opening and ID verification at the tax and customs offices (custom office is only in case of trading company);
2. Company supervisor (aka manager) – can be of any nationality, not required to visit China, however, his/her original passport should be available for the company director to bring to China when he/she visits to open a corporate bank account for the company.

It also depends on the company type. For e.g. consulting company registration takes around min. 20 business days and max 30 business days, trading company can take min. 25 business days and max 40 business days. Timeframe depends on many factors such as bank schedule, government bureaucracy, clients’ readiness to provide necessary documents when asked or availability to travel to China etc.

It depends on a specific situation.

If we help you register a company in China from distance (you being outside of China as a shareholder), you might be able to apply for work visa (Z) from your home country. However, this scenario will require that you appoint someone in China as your company director. Because in order to make the company active in China, company director will have to personally visit the bank and open a corporate bank account (you cannot use your personal bank account in China for business) for the company, visit the tax office in person and complete the company’s tax registration, then visit the local labour department and get a special permission to hire a foreign employee (in order for the company to issue work visa (Z) invitation) – a this stage you will be required to take up some position in your company in China (position will depend on your qualification). After that, you might be able to (depending on the requirements at the Chinese embassy in your country) apply for work visa (Z) from your home country.

Also, some countries’ citizens will be asked to exit China in order to apply for work visa with their newly registered company (i.e. they cannot switch from one type of visa to work visa within China) – they can apply for work visa at the Chinese embassy in their home countries.
Please contact us and we will be glad to discuss your specific situation.

Up to 50 shareholders can join one (LTD) company, and they can be of any nationality. NOTE: shareholders are not asked to be present in China, it’s only the company director – he / she will have to visit China in order to open a corporate bank account, for ID verification at tax and custom offices.

Yes, you can. NOTE: While having a Chinese shareholder is allowed, it might not give you any practical benefits if that’s what you’re looking for. For e.g. some investors are interested in entering the businesses which are in the negative list in China (prohibited business areas for foreign entrepreneurs), and they assume that taking a Chinese shareholder will make it possible for them to get involved in the prohibited business areas, but in fact that’s not always true. We recommend you speak to a professional Chinese lawyer and find out if you are allowed to do invest in the industry you want to.

We certainly can. However, please note that a Branch Office can only perform market research activities and represent the mother company from another country in China. Branch Office cannot engage in trade, cannot issue any invoices in China. If you want to do business in China, be able to issue invoices, engage in transactions with the local and international clients at the same time, it’s always advised that you register a fully functional LTD company. Please speak to us for more details.

If by “director” you mean the managing director, then only 1 individual director is allowed (corporate director is not allowed), which is also known as Legal Representative. But if you mean the position itself, China registered companies can have a board of directors too, so your company can have several directors on the board.

If by “manager” we are talking about “company supervisor”, then only 1 individual supervisor is allowed (corporate supervisor is not allowed), but if we are talking about the position “manager”, then China registered companies can have a board of managers too, so you can have several managers on the board.

JR & Firm (our US office) or Shanghai Silk Road (our Shanghai office) do not deal with visa matters directly. However, we can provide you information based on our experience (for official information please contact Chinese embassies / consulates or immigration offices) to give you an idea:

Work visa requirements in China:

1. Minimum bachelor’s degree from a recognized university

2. Minimum 2 years professional paid work experience (either before your education or after – work experience cannot overlap with education)

3. Resume / CV

4. Job offer / Work permit Invitation (if applying from outside of China: Work Permit Notification Letter)

5. Labour Contract

6. Work visa application form

7) Criminal Background Check from the country of citizenship.

JR & Firm (our US office) or Shanghai Silk Road (our Shanghai office) do not deal with visa matters directly. However, we can provide you information based on our experience (for official information please contact Chinese embassies / consulates or immigration offices) to give you an idea:

Work visa requirements in China for people without an academic degree:

1. Category A Work Permit (for highly skilled people)

1) Minimum 10 years professional paid work experience (either before your education or after – work experience cannot overlap with education). It can be from different employers / companies.

2) Chinese Employer’s willingness to pay a minimum 10,000 RMB / month in personal income tax for you. (in this scenario, your salary in China will have. to be at least 60,000 RMB/month). If it’s your own company, you will have to promise that you will pay this much salary and personal income tax. If you don’t keep your promise, there are legal consequences. 

3) Resume / CV

4) Job offer / Work permit Invitation (if applying from outside of China: Work Permit Notification Letter)

5) Labour Contract

6) Work visa application form

2. Investor sub-category (for Investors):

1) Hire at least 1 Chinese employee and pay for their social security (pension fund), which is around 2000 RMB / month

2) At least 2 years professional work experience (either before your education or after – work experience cannot overlap with education).

3) Resume / CV

4) Job offer / Work permit Invitation (if applying from outside of China: Work Permit Notification Letter)

5) Labour Contract

6) Work visa application form

7) Criminal Background Check from the country of citizenship.

JR & Firm (our US office) or Shanghai Silk Road (our Shanghai office) do not deal with visa matters directly. However, we can provide you information based on our experience (for official information please contact Chinese embassies / consulates or immigration offices) to give you an idea:

Work visa experience requirements for work visa in China:

1. Category A Work Permit (for highly skilled people)

– Minimum 10 years professional paid work experience (either before your education or after – work experience cannot overlap with education). It can be from different employers / companies.

2. Investor sub-category (Category B, for Investors):

– At least 2 years professional work experience (either before your education or after – work experience cannot overlap with education).

3. Category B 

– At least 2 years professional work experience (either before your education or after – work experience cannot overlap with education).

If you do not have any work experience, unfortunately, it might not be possible for you to apply for work visa in China (this information is based on requirements in 2022)

We might be able to issue a formal invitation from our company (not PU invitation) when you become a client to us, i.e. purchase our China company registration service (complete package, not partial). We do not issue any invitations to non-clients, and for people who only paid an initial deposit / made partial payments for our services.

Our China company registration service fees are extremely competitive in China – we offer some of the lowest prices you can find in the market. Therefore, we do not offer any discounts generally, however, if you refer at least 5 paying clients for our China company registration service, you will be given a $500 discount (this offer is per 5 paying clients only).

Our China company registration service is in Shanghai by default. However, if you want to register your company in another city / region other than Shanghai in China, please speak to us. We might be able to assist you through our partners.