How to Get a Work Permit and Residence Permit in Shanghai (2026)

Working legally in Shanghai takes two documents, not one. First your employer applies for your Foreigner's Work Permit through the human resources bureau, then you convert your Z visa into a work-type Residence Permit at the Public Security Bureau's Exit-Entry Administration within 30 days of arriving. The residence permit costs 400 RMB for up to one year, 800 RMB for one to three years, and 1,000 RMB for three to five years. Anyone employed here longer than three months needs both. I have watched a lot of friends land in Shanghai clutching a Z visa and assume the hard part was over. It is not over. The Z visa is a single-entry ticket with a short fuse on it, and the clock starts the moment you clear immigration. What follows is the sequence as it actually runs, in the order you will live it. What is the difference between a work permit and a residence permit? The work permit is permission for a specific company to employ you. The residence permit is permission for you to live here. They are issued by two different authorities, they are applied for in that order, and having one without the other does not make you legal. Your employer drives the work permit application. You drive…