How do you renew a residence permit in China in 2026?

File at the Exit-Entry Administration that serves your registered address, usually by appointment. MOFCOM expatriate guidance and local practice point movers to apply before expiry, commonly about 30 days ahead for ordinary work renewals. Bring the passport, current residence permit page, temporary residence registration form, employer introduction letter and work-permit evidence for work types, or school/family documents for other categories, plus the photos and forms your city publishes.

If you changed flats, re-register the new address first: Register address. If your job changed, the Foreigner's Work Permit may need change or re-application before Exit-Entry will extend a work-type permit: Get a work permit. Cities with one-stop foreigner windows can share data, yet you still follow that city’s checklist.

Expired work permits, missing landlord chops on rental contracts, address forms that do not match the lease, and passport validity that is too short for the requested stay are classic refusals. Travel plans that leave China while a renewal is mid-process need careful timing; ask the window whether you may exit and return on the current stamp.

After a successful renewal, update banks, landlords, and schools that copied the old end date: Open a bank account. Mandarin forms dominate many district desks: Chinese bureaucracy without Chinese. Keep renewals inside the wider compliance folder: Paperwork after moving.