The foreign spouse of a Chinese citizen or the spouse of a foreigner who has obtained permanent residence status in China may apply for permanent residence, provided that he/she, at the time of application and prior to it, has been married for at least five years, resided in China for five consecutive years, with no less than nine months per year, enjoys stable living conditions and residence, abides by Chinese law, maintains good health, and has no criminal record.

1. Two 2-inch front-facing, bareheaded, color photos taken against a white background, along with a digital copy of the photo (submitted in disk).

2. Photocopies of the applicant's passport and valid visa used for five consecutive years prior to the date of application.

3. A photocopy of the Marriage Certificate (for marriages registered abroad: Marriage Certificates must be apostilled or certified by the Chinese embassy/consulate in that country, or submitted with a certificate issued by the embassy/consulate of the applicant's country in China; documents and certifications shall be issued within six months prior to the date of application acceptance).

4. A photocopy of the spouse's identity certificate (the spouse of Chinese nationality shall provide the Beijing's household registration certificate and the ID card; the parent of foreign nationality shall submit the valid passport and the Foreigner Permanent Resident ID Card)( The marital status column in the spouse's household registration certificate should be "married" or "has a spouse").

5. A photocopy of the notarized housing property right certificate. If the property is not owned by the applicant, a notarized statement from the property owner agreeing that the applicant may reside therein must also be provided. If the applicant leases another person's housing property, he/she shall provide a notarized lease contract with a lease period of more than one year from the date of application (the notarization shall be issued within six months prior to the date of acceptance).

6. Proof of living security. Income proof or pension proof of the applicant, and notarized photocopy of the bank deposit certificate (the amount is CNY 150,000 or above, frozen for more than six months). If these documents are held by the person to be depended on, the person to be depended on shall provide a notarized statement confirming willingness to provide living support for the applicant (the notarized document must be issued within six months before the application is processed).

7. A photocopy of the certificate of no criminal record in a foreign country  (country of origin). The certificate shall be apostilled, or certified by the Chinese embassy or consulate in that country, otherwise a certificate issued by the embassy or consulate of that country in China is needed. The time of issuance and certification shall be within six months prior to the date of the acceptance of the application.

8. A photocopy of the physical examination certificate issued by either a health and quarantine department designated by the Chinese government, or by a foreign medical institution certified by the Chinese embassy or consulate in the concerned country (the designated exit-entry health and quarantine department in Beijing is the Beijing International Travel Health Care Center; the certificate shall be issued within six months prior to the date of the acceptance of the application).

9. If the applicant had Chinese nationality before, he/she shall provide the photocopies of the residence permit and the naturalization paper or the household certificate transcript in the foreign country concerned, along with that of his/her Chinese passport used for naturalization.

10. Personal resumes of both husband and wife (which shall include the details from 18 years old to the present, with no missing gaps between years or months).

1. The applicant must sign the application form.

2. If the applicant's name has changed, the proof of name change must be provided.

3. The certificates issued by the relevant foreign institutions must be authenticated by apostilles or authenticated by the Chinese embassy(-ies) or consulate(s) in the country(-ies) concerned.

4. A Chinese translation with the official stamp by the translation company is required for any material in a foreign language.

5.All the original copies shall be reviewed before the submission of photocopies. Photocopies shall be in the A4 format.

6. If the applicant needs to print his/her Chinese name on his/her Foreigner Permanent Resident ID Card, he/she should clearly indicate whether to print his/her Chinese name in the "Other Matters to be Explained" column on the application form.

7. If the applicant hasn't canceled his/her Chinese household registration or Chinese resident ID card, he/she needs to cancel first.

First application: CNY 1,500 

Production: CNY 300 

Replacement: CNY 300 

Re-issuance: CNY 600