Life of Guangzhou - How to Apply for the Qualification Certificate for Organizations Abroad to Introduce Foreign Cultural & Educational Experts to Work in China

Any organization abroad that intends to appoint foreign cultural and educational experts to work in China must obtain the Qualification Certificate for Organizations Abroad to Introduce Foreign Cultural and Educational Experts to Work in China. The certificate serves as a basic document for organizations abroad to start the intermediary business of introducing foreign cultural and educational experts to work in China.

1. The applicant must be:
1) a corporate body;
2) a non-religious group; and
3) an organization capable of introducing foreign cultural and educational experts to work in China.

2. Documents required for application include:
1) The application Form for this certificate;
2) Official documentation issued in the country of the foreign organization;
3) Official certificate of financial standing issued in the country of the foreign financial institution;
4) A letter of introduction regarding the organization abroad;
5) Curriculum vitae of the legal representative of the organization concerned (including educational background and work experience); and
6) Related data concerning the establishment of institutions in Guangdong Province, China.

3. Procedure and deadline:
1) Application:
The applications by organizations abroad which do not have a branch in mainland China shall be submitted to the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, while organizations which already have a branch in Guangzhou can apply to the Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs of Guangzhou.

2) Acceptance:
a. The Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs of Guangzhou will accept the application of those organizations which can provide the required application documents in the standard form.

b. For the organizations that can not provide the required documents for the application or for those whose documents are not in the standard form, the Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs of Guangzhou will inform the applicant of all the needed additions and corrections. Should the applicant not be notified of the requirements of additions or corrections within the required time limit, the acceptance date of the application will be the day when it was received.

c. Should the application be rejected (due to being incomplete, improperly completed, etc.), the Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs of Guangzhou will justify the rejection. If the organizations do not produce the required documents for application or standard application forms, the Administration can reject the applications if no further additions or corrections have been made after notification.

3) Inspection:
The Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs of Guangzhou conducts the preliminary examination of the documents for application. If the documents need verifying, the Administration, together with the Public Security Bureau of Guangzhou and the Foreign Affairs Office of the People’s Government of Guangzhou, will conduct an on-the-spot investigation, which shall take no more than ten workdays. The whole examination procedure will take no more than 20 working days. After the examination, all the documents for the application together with the assessment and the comments from the Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs of Guangzhou will be sent to the Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs of Guangdong Province for further examination.

4) Approval:
By examining and verifying the documents for application according to the relevant regulations and seeking advice from the Public Security Bureau of Guangzhou and the various foreign affairs offices, the Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs of Guangdong Province will decide on the approval within 45 days.

In the following situations, the Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs of Guangdong Province will not grant approval:
a. The documents for application are not factual;
b. The applicant is not qualified to introduce foreign cultural and educational experts to work in China; or
c. There are other factors that cause the Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs of Guangdong Province to consider it improper to grant to the applicant a Qualification Certificate for Organizations Abroad to Introduce Foreign Experts in the Cultural and Educational Field to Work in China.

In case of rejection, the Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs of Guangdong Province will state the reasons. If the application is approved, the Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs of Guangdong Province will, within ten working days after the decision of approval is made, grant the applicant the Qualification Certificate for Organizations Abroad to Introduce Foreign Experts in the Cultural and Educational Field to Work in China (issued by the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs).

The Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs of Guangdong Province will then report the documents of the approved organizations abroad to the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs for registration.

4．Annual inspection and registration:
The Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs of Guangdong Province conducts the annual inspection of the organizations abroad that have obtained the qualification to introduce foreign cultural and educational experts to work in China. Based on the inspection, it can make one of the following decisions:
1) The organization abroad which has been certified to conduct regular introduction of foreign cultural and educational experts to work in China can register, which means its qualification remains valid;

2) If the organization abroad has violated the regulations while introducing foreign experts to work in China, its registration will be suspended – its qualification will first be suspended for three months and then decisions will be made as to whether it can be registered or not based on whether it has stopped violating the regulations;

3) If the organization abroad intends to stop introducing foreign cultural and educational experts to work in China, its qualification will be nullified after the fact is confirmed; or

4) If the organization abroad has seriously violated the regulations while introducing foreign cultural and educational experts to work in China, its qualification will be nullified and it can not apply for this administrative approval for two years.