Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Ministry of Public Security, State Administration for Industry and Commerce, Overseas-employment Agency Provisions

Promulgated: May 14 2002
Effective: July 1 2002
Applicability: The Provisions apply to agencies acting as intermediaries between foreign employers and Chinese nationals seeking overseas employment (Article 2). The Provisions do not apply to agency services for employment in Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan for Chinese citizens (Article 42).

Main contents: Part Two deals with the establishment of an overseas-employment agency. Article 5 requires that agencies have personnel possessing the requisite legal, language, finance and accounting qualifications, and possess a contingency fund of not less than Rmb500,000. Article 6 stipulates that a permit (valid for three years) can be applied for at the provincial level labour and social security administrative department, and forbids foreign organizations, foreign individuals and foreign resident organizations from engaging in overseas-employment agency activities.
Part Three contains provisions related to agency operation and administration. Article 9 lists different types of overseas-employment agency activities such as: providing consultation services to Chinese citizens; being entrusted by foreign employers to recommend sought-after personnel; assisting in the processing of certification, passports and visas; and helping the expatriate employee protect his/her legal rights through intermediation, arbitration and litigation. Article 10 makes it the legal obligation of the agency to verify that a foreign employer is operating legally and has the right to hire foreign labour, and assist the employee in the signing of the employment contract. Article 12 requires that a detailed service agreement (between the agency and the client) and the labour contract (between the client and the foreign employer) should be submitted to the provincial level labour and social security administrative department for approval. Article 14 outlaws contracting or subcontracting overseas-employment agency activities to an unauthorized organization. Article 39 states that agencies that obtained permission before the implementation of the Provisions must reapply for permission within 90 days.
Related legislation: PRC, Labour Law, Jul 5 1994, CLP 1994 No.7 p21
Repealed legislation: Administration of Overseas-employment Agency Provisions, Oct 14 1992