How to register a Consulting WFOE in China – JR & Firm

After signing an agreement with our clients for WFOE registration in China, we issue a formal invoice. At this stage, we anticipate that our clients will make a payment for the service, allowing us to commence the process.

Upon receiving full payment for the WFOE registration, we provide our clients with a detailed questionnaire. This document requests all the necessary information about the company, business activity, founders (shareholders), and executives (including the company director and supervisor). We request that our clients complete the questionnaire and return it to us via email.

1. Company Name Choices: In China, WFOE names should follow this structure: [Place of Registration] + [Chosen Name] + [Business Direction] + Co., LTD. For example, Shanghai Silk Road International Trading Co., LTD, or for a consultancy company: Shanghai Silk Road Consulting Co., LTD. An alternative structure is: [Chosen Name] + [(Place of Registration)] + [Business Direction] + Co., LTD. For example: Silk Road (Shanghai) International Trading Co., LTD. Please note, in China, a company’s Chinese name is considered its main name. If our clients know Chinese, we ask for name choices in both Chinese and English, following the above structure. If not, English name choices will suffice, and we will select a corresponding Chinese name based on similar sounds. Avoid city, country, and historical names, as they’re typically disallowed. Also, we discourage direct translations of the English name due to high likelihood of them being taken. We recommend selecting similar-sounding Chinese characters to avoid delays. The Chinese name does not need to have a specific meaning, as meaningful characters are often taken.

2. Company’s Legal Person (Company Director): The legal person is an individual and cannot be a corporate entity. Please prepare their full name (as on the passport), a copy of their passport (not ID), along with their address, phone number, and email address.

3. Company’s Supervisor: The company supervisor is a separate individual from the company director, meaning they cannot be the same person. Please provide their full name (as on the passport), a copy of their passport (not ID), and their address, phone number, and email address.

4. Company’s Shareholder(s): Shareholders are the owners of the company and can be both individuals or corporate entities. Both the company director and supervisor can be shareholders. There can be up to 50 shareholders. Whether an individual or corporate shareholder, full information is required: full names, contact details, address, and either passport copies (for individual shareholders) or a full set of company documents (for corporate shareholders).

5. Company’s Business Activity: What products and/or services does the company plan to sell? Please prepare a detailed list.

6. Company’s Registered Capital: The registered capital is the amount the founders plan to invest in the company over a span of 30 years or more. The amount varies depending on the activity and place of registration. We recommend $300,000 for international trading companies and $100,000 for consultancy companies, as examples. The registered capital amount is usually suggested by the local government.

7. Full Contact Details for All Involved Executives and Shareholders: We need the complete contact details for all executives and shareholders. This includes addresses, emails, and phone numbers.

Once we receive the completed WFOE registration questionnaire, we review it carefully and follow up with our clients accordingly. If there’s any missing information, or if the company requires additional permits or licenses based on its planned products or services, we will inform the client. If everything is in order, we prepare the application documents, attach our clients’ documentation, and submit the WFOE registration application. The estimated waiting period for feedback from the government on the registration application is approximately 10 business days. Please note that timeframes in China are approximate due to government bureaucracy.

Once the WFOE registration application is submitted, the government generally responds within 10 business days. If approved, they will issue the company’s structural documents, which the founders (shareholders) and executives (director and supervisor) are required to sign with a black gel pen and mail back to us (Note: In China, only black gel pens are acceptable for signing legal documents; other colors and ballpoint pens are not accepted). We then submit the signed documents to the company registrar and await the business license. The waiting period for the business license is roughly 10 business days unless expedited service was purchased. With expedited service, a business license can be obtained within 2-5 business days. Contact us for more details about the expedited service.

Once we secure the WFOE business license, we will contact our clients and the bank to schedule an appointment to open a corporate bank account for the company. Please note, the company director must be present in China to open a corporate bank account and their citizenship should not be among the countries sanctioned in the bank’s system. Alongside being present, the director needs to provide a Chinese phone number linked to their passport and a second person’s passport and phone number linked to this second person’s passport. This second person can be anyone in China (provided their citizenship isn’t among the sanctioned countries) with a Chinese phone number. This requirement is due to the banks’ need to issue online banking devices that require two people’s information. Legally speaking, this second person doesn’t have any rights or obligations regarding the company’s finances or bank account. While this might seem unusual, it remains a requirement, so we advise clients to identify such an individual in China before opening a bank account. The bank account opening process takes around 5-6 hours, and we recommend our clients exercise patience during this process.

After your WFOE bank account is opened, we’ll proceed to contact the customs department to initiate the process for the e-port device (if you’re registering an international trading WFOE focused on import/export. Note that e-port isn’t required for consultancy or other types of companies). This process typically takes about 5 business days, and we’ll mail the e-port device to our clients once it’s secured.

Yes, following the acquisition of the e-port for the WFOE, we’ll register the company with the tax department. This process generally takes around 14 business days, and it requires the company director to visit the tax office in person for ID verification.

Indeed, the final step in the WFOE registration is the foreign currency permission application. This process typically takes around 7 business days and necessitates a visit to the relevant government department. After securing the foreign currency permission, the WFOE can commence its operations.

On the whole, the complete process for WFOE registration can span anywhere between 4 and 8 weeks. As we mentioned earlier, all timeframes are approximations due to the inherent unpredictability of government bureaucracy. Although these factors are beyond our control, we will do our absolute best to expedite the process.

Yes, but they cannot pay themselves a salary from this company. To receive a salary, they should first switch to their company’s work visa.

Yes, but you won’t be able to open a bank account for the company from a distance. The company’s legal representative (director) should visit Shanghai in person to open a bank account for the company.

You should submit a legalized passport copy for all the individual shareholders of the company and the Legal Representative (director) of the company. These should be legalized at the Chinese embassy. You should also provide a passport copy for the Legal Representative (director) of the company and the company supervisor.

Sorry, but we don’t accept installments. We require full advance payment to our company account. We also accept WeChat / Alipay payments. An official invoice from the company will be provided in either case.

We are ready to offer discounts up to 3000 RMB if you bring paying clients to us/client referral. Discounts will be offered only after the clients pay.

Sorry, we do not offer any visa services in China.

Sorry, we do not offer any visa invitations to China.

Sorry, no.

If your company is registered in Shanghai through us, then it might be possible. We will still need to check your country of citizenship and confirm it with the bank. Unfortunately, most banks in China can be extremely strict towards certain nationalities – for e.g. Iran, Nigeria, Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Cuba, Syria, Zimbabwe, and some others. i.e., they might not be able to open foreign currency accounts in China.

No. It will be illegal.

No, it will be illegal.

No. Only the passport copy of the company supervisor will be required during the process. He/She will not be asked to visit China at any time before, during, or after company registration. 

Yes, but please note, opening a branch office / representative office in China is not recommended, as these types of companies cannot trade in China, cannot receive income, cannot issue invoices. They can only engage in marketing and research activities, and represent their parent company in China only. If our clients wish to engage in trade / consulting activities, and be able to issue invoices to clients – local Chinese and international, then we recommend opening a fully functional company in China or a fully functional subsidiary of the existing company (not a branch office / representative office).

Yes, if you have a company outside of China and you want to open a company in China, which will be owned by this existing foreign company, then you will be required to provide legalized document copies of your existing foreign company. Set of documents differ from country to country, but in general we require 1) Certificate of incorporation 2) Articles of association 3) document which shows the list of shareholders – all these three documents will have to be legalized through the Chinese embassy and stamped by them, then you will have to send all the originals of the legalized documents to us by post. NOTE; original company documents of your existing company are not required, we only need the original legalized copies.

No. if you are the company Legal Representative or an individual shareholder of the Chinese company, please send us the original legalized copy of your passport. We do not need the original passport.