How to Apply a PU Letter in Shanghai

We previously published an article on the Chinese government's "Temporary Ban Policy" on the blog, which means that if expats want to come to China now, they must apply for a new visa issued after 28th March 2020. For this, it’s necessary for you to apply for a PU letter (an invitation letter) issued by the China Foreign Affairs Office (FAO).

The following documents are required:

Ø  Application form (the template will be provided by FAO)

Ø  The information summary table about the applicant (the template will be provided by FAO)

Ø  The scan copy of the applicant’s passport (valid over 6 months)

Ø  Application Letter from the Shanghai inviting company (the template will be provided by FAO)

Ø  The inviting company's background table (the template will be provided by FAO)

Ø  Other necessary documents asked by the local FAO (please check it by yourself)

(Notice: If the application including applicants’ family members, you should also provide documents to prove the relationship between you, like marriage certificate and birth certificate of your children. Besides, providing a Chinese translation for those certificates that are not in English,)

 by one)When you have prepared all required materials, (one

Ø  Email them to the District FAO.

Ø  The background of both the inviting companies and expats will be verified by the District FAO,

Ø  Next all materials will be transferred to the Municipal Foreign Affairs Office which makes the final decision)

Here is the telephone number of the District FAO in Shanghai:

PuDong: 28282640           JinShan: 57921316

HongKou: 25658888         PuTuo: 52564588*7032

ChongMing: 59612211      JingAn: 33371830

QingPu: 69733065           MinHang: 33885231

JiaDing: 69989128          HuangPu: 33134800*31086

ChangNing: 22051409      FengXian: 67184258

SongJiang：37735271      YangPu: 25033655

BaoShan: 56131350          XuHui: 64872222

Something important you should know!

Ø  All foreigners should apply for a PU letter if they want to enter China after March 28th, 2020 according to the new policy.

(Foreigners from these European countries (Albania, Norway, Austria, Bulgaria, Belgium, Ireland, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Northern Macedonia, Slovenia, Iceland, Luxemburg, Malta, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Portugal, Poland, Denmark, Germany, France, Netherlands, Montenegro, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Italy, Serbia, Cyprus, Slovakia Croatia, Spain, Greece, Hungary, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.) holding a valid Chinese Residence Permit can apply for a new visa in the Chinese Consulate/Embassy in their countries.

Ø  If foreigners work for a Shanghai company but now in other foreign countries due to the COVID-19 and want to return China: (step by step)

a)      Make sure your Work Permit is valid

b)      Apply for a PU letter

c)      Apply for an M visa (in the Chinese Consulate/Embassy in your countries)

d)      After entering China

Holding a valid work visa (z-visa) allows you to continue to work

If your Z-visa is expired but Work Permit has been extended, change M visa to work residence permit.

Ø  If a foreigner is working in Shanghai but his/her family members are overseas due to the COVID-19 and want to return to China: (step by step)

a)      Apply for a PU letter for your families

b)      Apply for M or S1 or Q1 visa after receiving the visa

c)      Apply for a Residence Permit for your families

Ø  It will take about 1 month to process the PU letter.

Ø  All foreigners should be isolated for 14 days in the government designated location after entering Shanghai.

Ø  Make sure you choose the right visa application location for yourself. Simply speaking, if you plan to apply for the Visa in London, you are not allowed to apply for a visa in the Chinese Consulate in Paris after receiving the PU letter.

Ø  All foreigners coming back to China are required the negative certificate of the nucleic acid test of COVID-19 (within 5 days)