Can a Foreigner Take a Second Job in China? Which Employer Your Work Permit Is Tied To, and the Exception Guangzhou Wrote Down

The question foreign employees ask most often is this one: after hours, at the weekend, can I take on a second piece of work somewhere else?

The person asking usually already holds a valid Foreigner's Work Permit and a work-type residence permit, so it feels like a follow-on to "I am already working in China legally." In the text it is not a follow-on. It is a different question: your permit names one employer, and the issue is whether the second piece of work falls inside that permit's scope.

The main text of the Guangzhou application guide we read does not answer this head-on — the one place that says a person "may work for more than one employer" is buried in a note under a materials table (section 5 takes that table apart).

This article separates the problem into independent tracks: what the permit is tied to, where the line in the law sits, who gets penalised, what exactly the Guangzhou exception we found requires, which track allows multiple employers by design, and the entirely separate regime for international students. Each is sourced, dated, and marked with who it applies to — because these provisions do not govern the same people.

As usual, what this article does not do: it only reports the public texts we were able to read. It is not legal advice. Whether a particular arrangement is "beyond the scope prescribed in the work permits" is determined by the accepting authority and the enforcement authority — not by us, and not by your employer.

1. What the permit is actually tied to

Rules on the Administration of Employment of Foreigners in China (promulgated 22 January 1996 by the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and MOFTEC as Lao Bu Fa [1996] No. 29; amended by MOHRSS Order No. 7 of 12 November 2010 and MOHRSS Order No. 32 of 13 March 2017), Article 23. The article has 3 paragraphs, each of 1 sentence:

外国人在中国就业的用人单位必须与其就业证所注明的单位相一致。外国人在发证机关规定的区域内变更用人单位但仍从事原职业的，须经原发证机关批准，并办理就业证变更手续。外国人离开发证机关规定的区域就业或在原规定的区域内变更用人单位且从事不同职业的，须重新办理就业许可手续。

Working translation (we did not find an official English text of these Rules, so this is ours): the employer for whom a foreigner is employed in China must be the same as the one stated on the employment permit; changing employer within the area prescribed by the issuing authority while remaining in the same occupation requires that authority's approval and an amendment to the permit; taking employment outside that area, or changing employer within it into a different occupation, requires the employment-permit procedure to be gone through afresh.

Paragraph 1 states the principle; paragraphs 2 and 3 are both about a change — from employer A to employer B. Nowhere does the article contemplate being at A and B at the same time. That is our reading of how the text is structured, not a conclusion the text states: it is written around one person to one employer and leaves no slot for a parallel second job, but it does not contain a sentence forbidding one either. The instrument that settles the parallel question is the law in the next section.

A wording point must be flagged or this will be misread: this provision says 就业证 (employment permit), not today's Foreigner's Work Permit. After the unified work permit system took full effect in 2017, what is actually issued is the Foreigner's Work Permit.

So do these 1996 Rules still count? Two checks you can run yourself. First, they sit in the National Immigration Administration website's "Government Affairs Disclosure — Policy — Departmental Rules" section. Second, and more directly: the Guangzhou Guide to Apply for Foreigner's Work Permit lists them as item 5 of its own "I. Review and approval according to" — "Rules for The Administration of Employment of Foreigners in China (Lao Bu Fa [1996] No.29, revised and issued by the Order No.32 of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security)". In other words, when Guangzhou processes your permit, these Rules are among the stated legal bases. Just read them knowing they use the older certificate name.

2. The line in the law

Start with the provision that comes before it. Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (adopted 30 June 2012, in force 1 July 2013), Article 41, paragraph 1. The official English in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs parallel text, 2 sentences:

Article 41 Foreigners who work in China shall obtain work permits and work-type residence permits in accordance with relevant regulations. No entities or individuals shall employ foreigners who have no work permits or work-type residence permits.

The second sentence is a prohibition, and its subject is "no entities or individuals" — it binds the party hiring you. The fines in section 3 exist to enforce it.

Now, what counts as unlawful employment. Article 43 of the same law. The Chinese original is a colon followed by an enumeration: the whole article has only 1 full stop, divided into 3 items:

外国人有下列行为之一的，属于非法就业：（一）未按照规定取得工作许可和工作类居留证件在中国境内工作的；（二）超出工作许可限定范围在中国境内工作的；（三）外国留学生违反勤工助学管理规定，超出规定的岗位范围或者时限在中国境内工作的。

The official English:

Article 43 Any of the following acts of foreigners shall be deemed unlawful employment: (1) Work in China without obtaining work permits or work-type residence permits in accordance with relevant regulations; (2) Work in China beyond the scope prescribed in the work permits; or (3) Foreign students work in violation of the regulations on the administration of foreign students working to support their study in China and work beyond the prescribed scope of jobs or prescribed time limit.

Counted by full stops the official English is also 1 sentence — items (1) and (2) close with semicolons and only item (3) ends with a full stop — laid out over four lines. So on Article 43 the two versions agree on sentence count and differ only in layout. That is not the general rule: the table note quoted in section 5 is 1 sentence in Chinese and 2 in the official English. Count from the version in front of you rather than carrying a count across languages.

Note also that item (2) ends "; or" — the three items are alternatives. Satisfying any one of them is enough; they do not have to be met together.

Of the three, item (1) covers people with no permit at all and item (3) covers students (see section 6). For someone already on a permit and in post who wants extra work, the operative item is (2): "Work in China beyond the scope prescribed in the work permits."

Everything turns on that phrase. The article does not define which elements make up the scope, and does not enumerate which acts exceed it, leaving the judgement to the enforcement stage. We will not make that call for you — and we suggest you do not let the outfit offering you the second job make it either.

While we are here, a correction to a very common line — "just look at what's printed on your card." MOHRSS's Notice on Integrating the Foreigner's Work Permit with the Social Security Card provides that from 1 December 2024 application, extension, change and cancellation of the work permit are handled entirely online, and a foreigner no longer needs to obtain a physical Foreigner's Work Permit after entry; those already holding a physical card keep it on a "no change, no replacement" basis until their next extension or change. So for anyone processed after December 2024 there is no card to hold up to the light (we covered this in Does Guangzhou still issue a physical work permit after the card integration). The "scope" lives in the permit record, not in printing on a card.

Finally, the official English uses "unlawful employment" in Article 43 and "work in China illegally" in Article 80. Two renderings in one statute, for the same thing.

3. Penalties: the individual and the hiring party are fined separately

Where there is a hard constraint the penalty belongs in the same article, or the reader cannot judge the size of the risk. Article 80 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law has 3 paragraphs. (This section quotes the official English; the Chinese edition of this article quotes the Chinese original.)

Paragraph 1, 1 sentence, penalising the foreign national:

Article 80 Foreigners who work in China illegally shall be fined not less than RMB 5,000 but not more than RMB 20,000 yuan; where circumstances are serious, they shall be detained for not less than five days but not more than fifteen days and shall also be fined not less than RMB 5,000 yuan but not more than RMB 20,000 yuan.

Paragraph 3, 1 sentence, penalising the hiring party:

Individuals or entities that illegally employ foreigners shall be fined RMB 10,000 yuan for each illegally employed foreigner, with a cap of RMB 100,000 yuan in total; and the illegal gains, if any, shall be confiscated.

Read those two together. Paragraph 3 is the real reason most "second jobs" never get off the ground: the institution that wants you to teach a few classes faces RMB 10,000 per person if the arrangement is found to be illegal employment. So when they say "we need to check your permit situation first," that is usually not a brush-off.

Article 80 also has a paragraph 2, penalising the intermediary — anyone who introduces jobs to ineligible foreigners is fined RMB 5,000 per foreigner, capped at RMB 50,000 for an individual and RMB 100,000 for an entity, with illegal gains confiscated. This article does not develop it, but if the work came through a friend or an agent, that paragraph is in the room too.

There is also a provision that closes off a whole class of employer. Rules on the Administration of Employment of Foreigners in China, Article 33, the whole article is 1 sentence:

禁止个体经济组织和公民个人聘用外国人。

Working translation: individual economic organisations and individual citizens are prohibited from employing foreigners. This shuts down a very common arrangement outright — private tutoring for a family, or work for a sole trader (个体工商户). This is not a question of whether to file anything; the hiring party is simply not eligible to employ a foreigner.

A note on reading 以上 and 以下 in Chinese statutory text: by drafting convention they include the stated figure, so 五千元以上二万元以下 includes both 5,000 and 20,000. The official English above confirms the inclusive reading for this provision with "not less than" and "not more than". This reading is needed again in section 6, where 六个月以上 and 一年以上 likewise include the stated figure — six months or more, one year or more, not "more than".

4. Guangzhou did write an exception — but it is written for "foreign scientific and technological talent"

This is the most useful item in this article, and the easiest to over-read.

Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, Several Measures on Further Optimising the Handling of Work Permits for Foreigners Coming to China (dated 15 March 2022; posted 16 March 2022), Article 5. The heading is 「允许在穗工作的外国科技人才兼职工作」 and the body beneath it is 2 sentences:

已取得《外国工作许可证》的外国科技人才，经聘用单位同意并在市科技局（市外专局）报备后，可以在穗兼职工作。报备时，外国科技人才应征得原聘用单位同意并与原聘用单位及兼职单位签订书面三方协议，明确各自的权利与义务。

This provision has an official English version, published on the Bureau's own website on 2 April 2022, and it is what we quote rather than a translation of our own:

Foreign science and technology professionals who currently work full-time in Guangzhou are allowed to take up other part-time jobs Foreign science and technology professionals with a valid "Foreigner's Work Permit" may take up other part-time jobs in Guangzhou, on condition that they have obtained the permission of their current full-time employer and have completed the archival filing procedure with the Municipal Science and Technology Bureau (Municipal Foreign Experts Affairs Bureau), in which the foreign professionals shall provide the written consent of the current full-time employer and a written tripartite agreement signed by the foreign professional, the current full-time employer and the part-time employer in which their respective rights and obligations are specified.

That page carries its own disclaimer: "The English version is for reference only. Should there be any inconsistencies between Chinese and English versions, the Chinese version shall prevail."

Broken into conditions there are five. Miss one and the provision does not apply:

#	Condition	Wording relied on
1	Already holds a work permit	「已取得《外国工作许可证》的」 / "with a valid 'Foreigner's Work Permit'"
2	Is foreign scientific and technological talent	「外国科技人才」 / "Foreign science and technology professionals"
3	Consent of the employing entity	「经聘用单位同意」; sentence 2 says 「应征得原聘用单位同意」
4	Filing with the municipal Science and Technology Bureau (Foreign Experts Affairs Bureau)	「并在市科技局（市外专局）报备后」 / "archival filing procedure"
5	A written tripartite agreement with the original entity and the part-time entity	「与原聘用单位及兼职单位签订书面三方协议，明确各自的权利与义务」

Several points must be stated as the texts have them, without filling gaps:

"Foreign scientific and technological talent" is a talent category, not a description of your job. The document gives Article 5 no definition of it. Article 4 of the same document refers to foreign scientific and technological talent "engaged by the main undertaking entities of national, provincial or municipal science and technology programme projects, or urgently needed and in short supply for key industry development in the districts" — but that line is drawn by Article 4 for its own age relaxation, and Article 5 does not state that it adopts the same scope. So whether this provision reaches you is determined by the accepting authority. Someone doing R&D at an ordinary company is not automatically the "foreign scientific and technological talent" the document means; a language teacher, a salesperson or an administrator is further still from those words. We do not read it more broadly.

The official English says two words the Chinese does not. Its heading reads "who currently work full-time in Guangzhou", and the body says "the permission of their current full-time employer". The Chinese heading says only 「在穗工作的外国科技人才」 — there is no 全职 in it. By the page's own disclaimer the Chinese prevails where they differ; but since the issuing body's own English reads it as full-time employment in Guangzhou, whether a full-time post is a precondition for the part-time one is worth asking before you file. Note also that the official English renders the Article 5 term 《外国工作许可证》 simply as "Foreigner's Work Permit" — which supports the typo point below.

It says part-time work "in Guangzhou." The locality is Guangzhou. The Several Measures on Deepening Guangzhou-Foshan Integration (3 February 2026), which we read, contain no corresponding part-time provision; whether Foshan has some other document, and how Shenzhen or anywhere else treats this, we did not search.

What the texts do not say, we do not supply. The provision does not say whether the part-time entity must itself obtain any permit for you; it does not say which form, counter or system the filing goes through; and it gives no processing time limit for the filing.

And ask in the right place — the counter has moved once already. The Bureau's Announcement on the Relocation of the Guangzhou Foreigners' Work Service Window to the Guangzhou Immigration Service Center (posted 19 September 2025) states, in its official English:

New address: One-Stop Service Window for Foreigners Working in China, Guangzhou Immigration Service Center (Address: 4th Floor, Entry and Exit Reception Hall for Foreigners of Guangzhou Public Security Bureau, No. 155 Jiefang South Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou). Service starts from October 9, 2025.

The same notice states that the former counters 516 and 517 on the 5th floor of the Guangzhou Government Affairs Center closed after 30 September 2025; gives service hours as "Monday to Friday 9:00-12:00, 13:00-17:00"; and gives the enquiry line as the Guangzhou government service hotline 020-12345. Note carefully that the notice's list of services provided at the window has five items — work permits for foreigners, the High-end Foreign Talent Confirmation Letter, invitation letters for foreign experts, recognition of high-level foreign talent, and recognition of high-level Hong Kong/Macao/Taiwan talent — and "part-time filing" is not on that list. So phone before you travel.

In Huangpu and Nansha the permit is no longer handled by the municipal bureau. The Decision of the Guangzhou Municipal People's Government on Adjusting Certain Municipal Administrative Powers (Guangzhou Municipal People's Government Order No. 223, adopted at the executive meeting of 13 April 2026, promulgated 1 July 2026, in force from 1 August 2026) lists, in its annex, "work permits for foreigners coming to China" with the municipal implementing body as the municipal Science and Technology Bureau and the receiving bodies as the competent science and technology departments of Huangpu and Nansha districts, marked "limited to: 1. handling work permits for foreigners coming to China; 2. applications to change a work permit; 3. applications to cancel a work permit." Filing is not among those three. So the Article 5 part-time filing most likely remains at municipal level — but that is our inference from its absence in the delegation list; the annex itself does not say where filing sits, so confirm on the number above. Note also that the annex gives only the item name, the implementing body, the receiving body and those three "limited to" entries — it does not state the criterion for routing (registered address of the employer, place of work, or something else). The text has no answer to that.

This document states no validity period. As of 11 September 2026 it was still posted in the Bureau's "Foreigners' Work Permits" section. To be straight about how far we checked: we read the titles of all three pages of notices in that section and saw no document superseding or repealing it, and we checked the repeal list in the annex to Order No. 223 (nine items) — these Several Measures are not among them; but we did not open every notice on those three pages. By contrast the February 2026 Guangzhou-Foshan Measures, in the same section, does state "these measures are valid for 2 years." Whether a validity period is stated is not consistent even within one section — turn to the closing paragraph of each document and check.

A detail that does not change the meaning but is worth knowing: Article 5 writes 《外国工作许可证》 — missing the character 人. In the same document the bracketed form 《外国人工作许可证》 appears only in Article 3, while Article 1 writes 外国人工作许可证 without the book-title marks. Together with the official English rendering it as "Foreigner's Work Permit", this looks like a slip in the original. We quote the original as it stands and do not tidy it.

5. One track allows multiple employers by design: the 90-days-or-less permit

The previous section was an exception. This one is not — it is a separate channel that permits multiple employers by design. But it has a strict eligibility list. Clear that gate first; only then does the multiple-employer question arise.

Guide to Apply for Foreigner's Work Permit (FWP) in Guangzhou (Amended in 2020), volume "(III) Guide to Apply for Short-term Foreigner's Work Permit in Guangzhou (90 days or less)". Its section "1. Application Criteria" sets out four qualifying reasons and five situations that are not treated as short-term job tasks. The official English:

(1) Foreigners entering China for short-term job tasks refer to those who, for the following reasons, stay within Mainland China for 90 days or less: ① To complete technical, science research, management, advisory jobs, etc. with their partner within Mainland China; ② To conduct trial training for sports within Mainland China (including coaches and athletes); ③ Photographing (including advertisements and documentaries); ④ Modelling (including models for car shows and print ads); (2)The following circumstances shall not be deemed as short-term job tasks: ① To provide maintenance, installation, testing, dismantling, advisory and training services upon purchasing equipment. ② To provide advisory services, supervise or conduct inspections on bid-winning projects within Mainland China; ③ To be assigned to complete short-term tasks in branches, subsidiaries and representative offices within Mainland China; ④ To participate in sports events (including athletes, coaches, team doctors, assistants and other related personnel. However, according to the international sports organizations, cases in which a person entering China with registration card approved by competent departments of China are excluded); ⑤ Volunteers who receive no payment for their work or paid by foreign organizations

Find yourself on those two lists first. Someone posted for a few months to a branch, subsidiary or representative office in China, and someone coming to install and commission equipment their company has bought, are in group (2) — this track is not open to them.

Note too where this track is entered from. The same volume's procedure states that once approved the system generates the Notification Letter of FWP, and the applicant "shall apply for Z visa or F visa at the Chinese embassies or consulates abroad" with the printed Notification Letter. This is a channel applied for by the employer in the system and entered by the applicant obtaining a visa abroad — not something a person already in China on a long-term permit can switch onto.

Only after clearing that gate does the note buried under the table matter. The materials table has four notes. Note 1, 1 sentence in Chinese:

申请《外国人工作许可通知》（来华工作90日以下，含90日）的，允许在多个用人单位工作，申请时应填写全部工作城市名称（不超过5个）。

The official English renders it as 2 sentences:

1.With Notification Letter of FWP (90 days or less), the applicant may work for more than one employer. All the working cities (no more than 5) should be indicated in the application.

One Chinese sentence, two English ones; same meaning, different segmentation.

Note 2, 1 sentence, is the hard boundary of this track. Official English:

2.The applicant should work within the approved duration and it is prohibited to extend.

Note 4 is about translation and bears directly on what you file, 2 sentences. Official English:

4.For documents of non-Chinese language (passport or international travel documents excluded), the employer shall provide the translated version issued by Chinese notary organizations or the translated version authenticated by Chinese diplomatic or consular missions in foreign countries or foreign diplomatic or consular missions in China. The employer shall re-submit the document if the translated version is in serious discrepancy with the original copy.

That gives two routes plus one exemption: a Chinese translation issued by a Chinese notary organisation, or one authenticated by a diplomatic or consular mission; and passports or international travel documents are excluded. (Note 3 concerns Z-visa stay length and work-type residence permits, which is outside this article's subject.)

On day 90, the two volumes' main texts are actually clean. The short-term volume's note says 「来华工作90日以下，含90日」 and the official English says "(90 days or less)" — both include day 90. The long-term volume's own opening sentence reads:

外国人来华工作，合同劳动期限超过90天的，按本指引办理工作许可。

超过90天 — "more than 90 days" — excludes day 90, and the official English matches: "Foreigners employed in China with a over 90-day labor contract should apply for FWP according to this guide." So day 90 belongs to the short-term volume; the two main texts do not overlap and Chinese and English do not diverge. The only loose wording is the long-term volume's title, which reads 「90 日以上」, and 以上 includes the stated figure. The title is loose; the body is not. Go by the body.

Last, what happens after this track runs out. Note 2 says no extension — but "no extension" is not "that's the end of it." Volume "(II) Guide to Apply for Foreigner's Work Permit (over 90 days)" lists, under applying from inside China, the circumstances in which a person may apply directly within China. Item ⑧ reads, in the official English:

⑧ Representatives of foreign establishments in China who have entered China with valid work visas; or foreigners who have obtained FWP for less than 90 days in China and now are employed by domestic employers within the validity period of their stay;

So someone holding a 90-days-or-less permit who is lawfully engaged by a domestic employer within the validity of their stay can apply for a work permit from inside China. That is a fresh application, not an extension — two different things, and they should not be run together.

6. International students are an entirely separate regime

If you are an enrolled international student, none of the five sections above is written for you. Your line is item (3) of Article 43.

Measures for the Administration of the Recruitment and Cultivation of International Students by Schools (Order No. 42 of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security, in force 1 July 2017), Article 30, paragraph 1, 1 sentence:

国际学生在高等学校学习期间可以参加勤工助学活动，但不得就业、经商或从事其他经营性活动。

Working translation: international students may take part in work-study activities while studying at a higher education institution, but may not take employment, engage in business, or carry on other commercial activities. The sentence splits "work-study" and "employment" into two distinct things. Paragraph 2 states that detailed administrative provisions would be formulated separately.

The annotation requirement is rooted in an administrative regulation, not only in a departmental document. Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners (State Council Order No. 637, in force 1 September 2013), Article 22, 2 paragraphs of 1 sentence each:

持学习类居留证件的外国人需要在校外勤工助学或者实习的，应当经所在学校同意后，向公安机关出入境管理机构申请居留证件加注勤工助学或者实习地点、期限等信息。持学习类居留证件的外国人所持居留证件未加注前款规定信息的，不得在校外勤工助学或者实习。

Working translation: a foreigner holding a study-type residence permit who needs to undertake work-study or an internship off campus shall, after obtaining the consent of their school, apply to the exit-entry administration authority of the public security organ for an annotation on the residence permit recording the place, period and other information of the work-study or internship; and a foreigner holding a study-type residence permit whose permit does not carry that annotation may not undertake work-study or an internship off campus.

This is a State Council administrative regulation, ranking above the departmental document below; they say the same thing, and the Regulations also make "consent of the school" a precondition. The document below fills in the operational detail.

Measures for the Administration of Work-Study Activities of International Students at Higher Education Institutions (General Offices of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Security and MOHRSS, and the General Department of the National Immigration Administration; Jiao Wai Ting [2021] No. 2, dated 29 December 2021; the Ministry of Education portal records both the generation date and the publication date as 12 January 2022, though the page URL reads 20220121).

First, who it governs and what counts as work-study. Article 2, 1 sentence: 「实施学历高等教育的高等学校（以下简称学校）适用本办法。」 — these Measures apply to higher education institutions providing degree-level higher education. Article 3, 1 sentence:

本办法所称勤工助学，是指国际学生在学校的组织和管理下，利用课余时间，通过劳动取得合法报酬，用于改善学习和生活条件的实践活动，不包括学校按照教学计划组织国际学生参加教学实习和社会实践。

"Under the organisation and management of the school" is part of the definition. Finding a weekend job yourself and then calling it work-study already fails at the definition, before the annotation question is ever reached. Article 4 likewise provides that on- and off-campus work-study takes place "under the unified leadership and overall arrangement of the school".

Then the threshold you can check yourself. Article 11, paragraph 1, 2 sentences:

国际学生在校外从事勤工助学活动，须持协议书、学校证明函件及相关材料，按照有关规定于十日内向学校所在地公安机关出入境管理部门申请居留证加注工作单位、期限等勤工助学相关信息。持用未加注勤工助学相关信息的居留证不得进行校外勤工助学活动。

Working translation: to undertake off-campus work-study a student must, within ten days and in accordance with the relevant provisions, apply to the exit-entry administration department of the public security organ where the school is located — presenting the agreement, the school's certifying letter and related materials — for an annotation on the residence permit recording the work unit, the period and other work-study information; and a residence permit without that annotation may not be used for off-campus work-study.

The second sentence is the real threshold: no annotation, no off-campus work-study. Look at your residence permit and see whether the annotation is there — that is the only objective test in this article you can run on your own.

Sentence 1 also carries a time limit: within ten days. The text does not say what day the ten runs from; follow the accepting exit-entry administration department on that. Paragraphs 2 and 3 of the same article each carry a further ten-day duty: changing the off-campus work-study entity or period means applying within ten days to change the annotation; and where the activity ends because the entity terminated the agreement or for other reasons, the student must within ten days submit a written report to the school and go to the exit-entry administration department to have the annotation amended.

Scope and duration are in Article 12, 2 sentences:

勤工助学地域范围限于学校所在地设区的市级行政区域内。每次申请勤工助学期限不超过学习类居留许可有效期，且最长不超过一年。

Working translation: work-study is confined to the districted-city administrative area where the school is located; each application may not exceed the validity of the study-type residence permit, and in any case not more than one year.

The hour caps are in Article 5, 2 sentences:

国际学生校内外勤工助学，原则上每周不超过8小时，每月不超过40小时。寒暑假期间，原则上每周不超过16小时，每月不超过80小时。

Working translation: in principle no more than 8 hours a week and 40 hours a month; during winter and summer vacations, in principle no more than 16 hours a week and 80 hours a month. Note the cap is written for 校内外 — on-campus and off-campus combined, not an off-campus allowance — and both figures carry 原则上, "in principle".

Article 9 separately lists six basic conditions for off-campus work-study, including being at least 18 years old, holding a valid study-type residence permit with six months or more of validity remaining (以上 includes the stated figure, so exactly six months qualifies), and being an undergraduate, junior-college, postgraduate, advanced-study or research-scholar student who has studied continuously at the current school for one year or more — that item writes the student categories into the condition, so it does not reach everyone holding a study-type residence permit. Item (6) is "other conditions prescribed by the school", which leaves the door open to the institution: under the same Measures, an individual school's implementing rules may be stricter.

7. Situations people assume they know the answer to

These come up constantly, and the public texts do not answer them one by one. We set out the material the texts give and will not draw the conclusion for you.

A methodological caution first. Article 2, sentence 2, of the Rules on the Administration of Employment of Foreigners in China defines employment in China:

本规定所称外国人在中国就业，指没有取得定居权的外国人在中国境内依法从事社会劳动并获取劳动报酬的行为。

Working translation: employment in China, for the purposes of these Rules, means a foreigner who has not acquired permanent residence status performing social labour within China in accordance with law and obtaining labour remuneration for it.

But that definition is written for those Rules. Article 43(2) of the Exit and Entry Administration Law uses the word 工作 ("work"), not 就业 ("employment"), and the Law does not state that it adopts the definition above. So treat "within China" and "obtaining labour remuneration" as two things worth thinking about separately, not as elements that can be applied directly to Article 43.

Physically in China, working remotely for an overseas employer, paid to an overseas account. The "performing social labour within China" side holds, and there is remuneration; the difficulty is that this arrangement has no corresponding slot in the permit system. This is the most-asked and least-settled category, and among the documents listed in section 10 we did not find one that resolves it. Do not read "we found no prohibition" as "it is allowed."
Unpaid lectures and public-interest activities. The "obtaining labour remuneration" side of that definition does not hold. But note two things: "unpaid" has to survive scrutiny — whether travel allowances, gifts or per-session subsidies count as remuneration is not for you or us to define; and Article 81, paragraph 1 addresses "activities not corresponding to the purposes of stay or residence" with no remuneration element in it at all, so "no money changed hands" does not automatically mean no problem.
A one-off lecture fee, writing fee or consulting fee. A small amount does not change the nature of the act; Article 43(2) sets no monetary threshold.
Private tutoring, or work for a sole trader. This one does not need to be reasoned through: Article 33 of the Rules, quoted in section 3, prohibits individual economic organisations and individual citizens from employing foreigners. It fails on the hiring party's eligibility, whatever your permit says.
Changing post or joining another project inside your own employer. That is internal to one employing entity and is not the "second employer" this article is about. But if the nature of the post changes, go back to paragraph 3 of Article 23 in section 1.

To be explicit: none of these is enumerated in the documents listed in section 10, and the determination rests with the accepting and enforcement authorities. Writing the arrangement out and having the employing entity ask once is the only safe course.

8. If it is already happening

First, what this section does not do: it does not give legal advice, and it does not tell you how to make something that has happened look as though it did not.

Step one is a licensed lawyer looking at the specific arrangement — not disclosing it first. The reason should be stated plainly: your employer is not a neutral channel. Article 45 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law requires entities that employ foreigners to report relevant information to the local public security organs; and under Article 80, paragraph 3, the entity carries its own exposure of RMB 10,000 per person. Its interests and yours may not run together here. Get professional advice first, then decide who discloses what, to which authority, and when. Do not invert that order.

Second, see the full scale of the consequences, not just the fine. The two paragraphs in section 3 are money and detention: RMB 5,000 to 20,000 for the individual, with 5 to 15 days' detention on top where circumstances are serious; RMB 10,000 per person for the hiring party. What actually changes your status in China is Article 81, which has 3 paragraphs. Paragraphs 2 and 3, in the official English:

Where a foreigner's violation of this Law is serious but does not constitute a crime, the Ministry of Public Security may deport them. The penalty decision made by the Ministry of Public Security shall be final. Deported foreigners shall not be allowed to enter China within 10 years calculating from the date of deportation.

Paragraph 1 is the one quoted in section 7: where foreigners engage in activities not corresponding to the purposes of stay or residence, or otherwise violate Chinese laws or regulations such that they are no longer eligible to stay or reside in China, they may be ordered to exit China within a time limit. "The penalty decision made by the Ministry of Public Security shall be final" and "shall not be allowed to enter China within 10 years" are the two heaviest sentences in this article.

Third, continuing does not make the problem smaller. Article 43 turns on the act of working, not on a number of occasions.

9. One line each: which one applies to you

Every row carries its locality and its population. Do not read across rows — these do not govern the same people.

Your situation	The provision to read
Long-term Foreigner's Work Permit, want extra work at another entity in the same city, and you are foreign scientific and technological talent as the document means it	Guangzhou: Article 5 of the 2022 Several Measures — original employer's consent + filing with the municipal Science and Technology Bureau (Foreign Experts Affairs Bureau) + written tripartite agreement. Whether you count as that talent category is for the accepting authority; the form and counter are not stated, so call 020-12345 first. In Huangpu and Nansha: since 1 August 2026 handling, change and cancellation of the permit are delegated to the district science and technology departments, but filing is not in the delegation list — check which level to approach
Long-term permit, want extra work, but you are not that talent category (language teacher, sales, administration, or simply a technical job)	Article 5 names a talent category, not "a technical post". Have the employing entity put your specific arrangement to the accepting authority; do not self-arrange on the strength of Article 5
You are outside Guangzhou	This article searched Guangzhou only. Whether your city has a counterpart provision must be checked there; do not carry the Guangzhou provision to Foshan or Shenzhen
Guangzhou: short-term, 90 days or less, and your reason for entry is one of the four in volume (III)'s "Application Criteria" group (1)	The employer applies for the Notification Letter of FWP; note 1 permits more than one employer, with no more than 5 working cities. First confirm you are not in group (2)'s five exclusions — postings to branches/subsidiaries/representative offices, equipment installation and commissioning, supervision of bid-winning projects, sports events, and unpaid or foreign-paid volunteers are all excluded
You are already in China on a long-term permit and want to use the row above for a second job	You cannot. That channel is applied for by the employer in the system, and the applicant enters China on a Z or F visa obtained abroad with the Notification Letter. It is not an in-China switch
Guangzhou: you hold a 90-days-or-less permit and want to carry on working	No extension (note 2). But volume (II)'s in-China application criteria, item ⑧, covers foreigners who have obtained an FWP for 90 days or less and are now employed by a domestic employer within the validity of their stay — they may apply within China. That is a fresh application, not an extension
Your arrangement lands exactly on day 90	It belongs to the short-term volume. The short-term text says 「90日以下，含90日」 and the long-term volume's body says 「合同劳动期限超过90天」 — the two bodies do not overlap. The long-term title 「90日以上」 is the loose one; go by the body
The work is private tutoring, or for a sole trader	You do not need to get as far as permits. Article 33 of the Rules prohibits individual economic organisations and individual citizens from employing foreigners — it fails on the hiring party's eligibility
You are an enrolled international student wanting to do something off campus	That is work-study, not employment. Three gates first: the school must provide degree-level higher education (Article 2); the activity must be under the school's organisation and management (Article 3); and you must meet Article 9's six basic conditions (18 or over, six months or more of residence validity remaining, one year or more of continuous study at the current school as an undergraduate/junior-college/postgraduate/advanced-study/research-scholar student, etc.)
International student, already working off campus, no annotation on the permit	State Council Order No. 637 Article 22 and Jiao Wai Ting [2021] No. 2 Article 11 both make the annotation a precondition: without it, off-campus work-study is not permitted. Go to your school's international student office first, not to the employer
International student wanting to know how much, and where	Article 5 (hours): in principle no more than 8 hours a week and 40 a month, and 16 and 80 during winter and summer vacations — on-campus and off-campus combined. Article 12 (area and duration): confined to the districted-city area where the school is located; each application no longer than the study-type residence permit's validity, and at most one year

10. Sources

Every passage quoted above comes from the public texts below. We have preserved the original wording, including the 《外国工作许可证》 spelling in section 4; non-contiguous quotations are set out as separate blocks with an explanation.

Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (adopted 30 June 2012 at the 27th session of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress; in force 1 July 2013) — National Immigration Administration: https://www.nia.gov.cn/n741440/n741547/c1013311/content.html
The same law, Chinese-English parallel text — China Consular Service Network, Ministry of Foreign Affairs: https://cs.mfa.gov.cn/wgrlh/bgzl/201307/t20130701_961342.shtml
Rules on the Administration of Employment of Foreigners in China (promulgated as Lao Bu Fa [1996] No. 29; amended by MOHRSS Order No. 7 of 2010 and Order No. 32 of 2017) — National Immigration Administration: https://www.nia.gov.cn/n741440/n741587/n1316094/n1459238/c1459557/content.html
Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, Several Measures on Further Optimising the Handling of Work Permits for Foreigners Coming to China (dated 15 March 2022; posted 16 March 2022): http://kjj.gz.gov.cn/wjhgatrcyw/wgrlhgzxk/content/post_8137650.html
Guide to Apply for Foreigner's Work Permit (FWP) in Guangzhou (Amended in 2020) — index page: http://kjj.gz.gov.cn/wjhgatrcyw/wgrlhgzxk/content/post_7034328.html; volume (III), short-term, 90 days or less (PDF): http://kjj.gz.gov.cn/attachment/7/7336/7336241/7034328.pdf; volume (II), over 90 days (PDF): http://kjj.gz.gov.cn/attachment/7/7336/7336233/7034328.pdf; official English version (PDF): http://kjj.gz.gov.cn/attachment/7/7543/7543619/7034328.pdf
The same Several Measures, official English version (posted 2 April 2022, carrying the notice that the English is for reference only and the Chinese prevails): http://kjj.gz.gov.cn/wjhgatrcyw/wgrlhgzxk/content/post_8169607.html
Decision of the Guangzhou Municipal People's Government on Adjusting Certain Municipal Administrative Powers (Order No. 223, promulgated 1 July 2026, in force 1 August 2026): http://kjj.gz.gov.cn/wjhgatrcyw/wgrlhgzxk/content/post_10887127.html
MOHRSS, Notice on Integrating the Foreigner's Work Permit with the Social Security Card (in force from 1 December 2024) — gov.cn: https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/202412/content_6991296.htm
Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners (State Council Order No. 637, in force 1 September 2013) — National Immigration Administration: https://www.nia.gov.cn/n741440/n741547/c1014161/content.html
Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Bureau (Guangzhou Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs), Announcement on the Relocation of the Guangzhou Foreigners' Work Service Window to the Guangzhou Immigration Service Center (posted 19 September 2025): http://kjj.gz.gov.cn/wjhgatrcyw/wgrlhgzxk/content/post_10461084.html
Measures for the Administration of the Recruitment and Cultivation of International Students by Schools (Order No. 42 of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security, in force 1 July 2017) — Ministry of Education portal: http://www.moe.gov.cn/srcsite/A02/s5911/moe_621/201705/t20170516_304735.html
Measures for the Administration of Work-Study Activities of International Students at Higher Education Institutions (Jiao Wai Ting [2021] No. 2) — Ministry of Education portal: http://www.moe.gov.cn/srcsite/A20/s7068/202201/t20220121_595550.html
Guangzhou and Foshan Municipal Science and Technology Bureaus, Several Measures on Deepening Guangzhou-Foshan Integration to Facilitate Foreign Talent Coming to China to Work (dated 3 February 2026; posted 27 February 2026; cited in section 4): http://kjj.gz.gov.cn/wjhgatrcyw/wgrlhgzxk/content/post_10700562.html

Neighbouring articles in this series: Foreign teachers' work permits: the text and the job ad are not saying the same thing, Who actually issues a foreign teacher's criminal record certificate, Degree verification for a China work permit runs down three separate roads, How fast is Guangzhou's "urgent handling" for work permits, really.

Local policies differ, and the same matter may be treated differently in documents from different years. Follow the requirements of the accepting authority in your city as they stand at the time.