Notice of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government on Issuing the "Several Provisions on Encouraging Overseas Students to Work and Start Businesses in Shanghai
Article 1In order to further improve work related to overseas returnees, accelerate the development of Shanghai as a high-level talent hub, implement more proactive, open, and effective policies for attracting overseas talent, encourage overseas returnees to work and start businesses in Shanghai, and build a comprehensive innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem and a more internationally competitive talent development environment, these Regulations are hereby formulated.
Article 2These Regulations apply to overseas returnees who come to work or start businesses in Shanghai, including those who have acquired foreign nationality as well as those who studied abroad from Hong Kong, Macao, or Taiwan.
The overseas returnees referred to in the preceding paragraph must meet one of the following conditions:
(1) Individuals who have studied abroad at their own expense or through government-sponsored programs and obtained a bachelor’s degree or higher from an overseas institution;
(2) Individuals who have obtained a bachelor’s degree or higher in China, or hold an intermediate or higher professional technical title, and have undertaken one year or more of advanced study at overseas universities or research institutions, achieving notable results as visiting scholars or trainees.
Article 3The city will prioritize the introduction of high-caliber overseas returnees urgently needed in leading industries, emerging industries, future industries, and other sectors facing critical shortages.
For the purposes of these Regulations, high-caliber overseas returnees, in addition to meeting the general criteria for overseas returnees, must also satisfy one of the following conditions:
(1) Renowned scientists who enjoy considerable prestige in international academic and technical circles, pioneers or founders in their respective fields, or individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of a particular field;
(2) Experts with profound academic accomplishments, who have made major contributions to the advancement of a specific discipline or field, published influential academic papers in internationally renowned journals, or received internationally recognized academic awards; whose achievements stand at the forefront of their industry or field and are widely acknowledged by peers;
(3) Experts or scholars holding positions equivalent to associate professor or associate researcher and above at prestigious overseas universities or research institutes;
(4) Experts or scholars serving in mid- to senior-level management roles within foreign governments, intergovernmental international organizations, or prominent non-governmental entities;
(5) Senior management professionals working in globally recognized enterprises, or highly skilled technical personnel holding senior positions in renowned multinational corporations or financial institutions, or occupying senior technical roles in well-known law (accounting, consulting) firms—individuals familiar with relevant business practices and international regulations, possessing extensive practical experience;
(6) Experts, scholars, or technical personnel who have led large-scale international research or engineering projects and possess substantial experience in scientific research and engineering technology;
(7) Technical professionals who hold significant technological inventions, patents, or proprietary intellectual property rights with promising prospects for industrial application;
(8) Overseas returnees designated as high-caliber by relevant national authorities or the Municipal Talent Work Bureau;
(9) Other individuals with special expertise deemed urgently needed by the city.
Article 4The Municipal Talent Work Bureau is the competent authority responsible for managing overseas returnee affairs in this city. It is tasked with formulating and implementing policies and plans for attracting overseas returnees, establishing platforms for exchange and collaboration among overseas returnees seeking innovation and entrepreneurship in Shanghai, enhancing the city’s attractiveness and cohesion for this group, conducting comprehensive analysis of incoming returnee data, and evaluating the effectiveness of related initiatives.
The Municipal Science and Technology Commission, Municipal Education Commission, Municipal Public Security Bureau, Municipal Market Supervision Administration, Municipal Commerce Commission, Municipal Finance Bureau, Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, Municipal Taxation Bureau, Municipal Economic and Information Technology Commission, Municipal Health Commission, Municipal Transportation Commission, Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Management Commission, Municipal Intellectual Property Bureau, Shanghai Customs, People’s Bank of China Shanghai Head Office, State Administration of Foreign Exchange Shanghai Branch, and other relevant departments and units shall, in accordance with their respective responsibilities, support efforts to encourage overseas returnees to work and start businesses in Shanghai.
Article 5Work involving overseas returnees shall adhere to the principle of “supporting study abroad, encouraging return, freedom of movement, and enabling them to contribute.” All relevant departments, units, returnee entrepreneurship parks, social organizations for overseas returnees, and employing entities shall strengthen education on China’s national conditions for overseas returnees, ensuring they conscientiously abide by laws, regulations, and social ethics while upholding the tradition of contributing to the country upon returning home. At the same time, attention should be paid to their work and living conditions, providing convenience for their employment and entrepreneurial activities in Shanghai.
Article 6A sound coordination mechanism for overseas returnee affairs shall be established to address major issues arising in this work.
Efforts shall be intensified to advance the “one-matter” service initiative for overseas returnees, building integrated online and offline one-stop service platforms. Each district shall set up dedicated service windows for overseas returnees, providing policy consultation, handling applications, and ensuring necessary services for those coming to Shanghai to work or start businesses.
Article 7In accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and relevant provisions issued by the state and this municipality, overseas returnees are encouraged and supported in leveraging their expertise and strengths to serve the city’s economic and social development through various means, including full-time and part-time employment, collaborative research, returning to lecture, academic and technical exchanges, fact-finding consultations, and innovation and entrepreneurship:
(1) Serving in state organs as civil servants (except those who have acquired foreign nationality), consultants, advisors, or technical experts;
(2) Establishing technology-based enterprises through equity participation or investment;
(3) Serving as legal representatives of state-owned enterprises;
(4) Being hired or concurrently holding professional technical positions, mid- to senior-level managerial roles, advisory posts, or honorary titles at schools, research institutions, medical facilities, cultural and artistic troupes, news media outlets, financial institutions, key (open) laboratories, engineering technology research centers, and other enterprises and public institutions;
(5) Investing in education, healthcare, and related industries, or establishing architectural design, legal, accounting, and consulting service agencies;
(6) Leveraging advanced science, technology, equipment, and funding to engage in collaborative research with universities, research institutes, and various enterprises, or to establish joint research and development bases;
(7) Holding senior managerial or technical positions in major projects or key undertakings;
(8) Coming to the city to deliver lectures or participate in academic and cultural exchanges;
(9) Conducting research and development of commissioned projects abroad, or entrusting relevant domestic research units or groups to carry out overseas research projects;
(10) Relying on overseas research, educational, and training institutions, collaborating with relevant entities or accepting commissions to cultivate talent for employers and promote international talent exchange;
(11) Registering intermediary agencies in the city to provide brokerage services for attracting foreign capital, technology, and projects, or establishing co-working spaces, technology transfer institutions, and other science and technology service providers to connect with international innovation resources, offering specialized services such as incubation and technology transfer for fostering and commercializing international innovations;
(12) Applying for positions at overseas branches of local organizations;
(13) Serving the city through other means.
Article 8Communication and connections with overseas student organizations and individual returnees shall be strengthened, welcoming returnees to Shanghai for fact-finding and exchange activities. Various events targeting overseas returnees shall be organized to further enhance the influence of brands such as the global “Haiju Yingcai” innovation and entrepreneurship campaign, thereby facilitating returnees’ innovative and entrepreneurial endeavors in Shanghai.
Continuous efforts shall be made to promote integrated development of overseas returnee affairs across the Yangtze River Delta region, advancing cross-regional cooperation, sharing human resources, and orderly mobility of high-caliber returnees. Returnees are encouraged to serve the Yangtze River Delta region through diverse channels.
Article 9The Municipal Talent Work Bureau provides qualification certification and related services to enable overseas returnees to legally and regulatively enjoy preferential policies when establishing enterprises in Shanghai. Relevant departments and units shall, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, facilitate procedures for overseas returnees to found businesses and access associated benefits.
Article 10The Municipal Talent Work Bureau may first accept applications submitted by domestic relatives or friends on behalf of overseas returnees for qualification certification to avail themselves of enterprise establishment incentives, after which relevant departments and units will handle the subsequent formalities, thereby simplifying the process for overseas returnees investing in and founding enterprises in Shanghai.
Article 11Within industries permitted and encouraged for investment by national and municipal authorities, overseas returnees may utilize patents, proprietary technologies, and scientific achievements to engage in technology transfer, contracting, equity participation, pledge financing, and similar activities in Shanghai. They may also establish their own enterprises, enter into joint ventures with local companies, or invest in Shanghai under their personal names or registered overseas corporate identities.
Article 12The city encourages the establishment of returnee entrepreneurship parks. Eligible parks may benefit from policies supporting innovation and entrepreneurship carriers.
Article 13The Municipal Talent Work Bureau is responsible for managing returnee entrepreneurship parks, coordinating with districts and relevant departments to strengthen guidance and support for these parks, and conducting regular inspections and evaluations. Districts and relevant departments are urged to actively support the creation of returnee entrepreneurship parks, paying close attention to their construction and development, establishing mechanisms for assessing the technical quality of enterprises housed within the parks, and selecting high-tech enterprises for admission.
Article 14Each returnee entrepreneurship park shall establish a dedicated service team to provide comprehensive assistance—including registration, tax agency, business support, training, technical certification, project submissions, legal consultation, and international cooperation—for returnees starting businesses. Parks are encouraged to offer specialized services such as R&D, intellectual property protection, and investment financing, streamlining procedures and reducing administrative steps. Furthermore, they should assist enterprises in applying for various national and municipal subsidy programs, and advocate for policy support to be granted, in accordance with regulations, to returnee-run enterprises that demonstrate strong innovation capabilities, great development potential, and favorable market prospects.
Article 15The city encourages and supports eligible returnee entrepreneurship parks in providing startup capital and financing guarantees to returnees, creating conditions for resident enterprises to attract international venture capital and pursue initial public offerings.
Article 16Returnee enterprises or entrepreneurial teams may, in accordance with relevant regulations, benefit from startup guarantee loans, social insurance subsidies during the early stages of business formation, awards for outstanding entrepreneurial projects, and innovation vouchers as forms of entrepreneurial support.
Article 17Various entrepreneurial guidance funds and support mechanisms are encouraged to increase assistance to returnee-founded enterprises. Financial institutions are urged to develop financial products tailored to the characteristics and developmental needs of returnee-run businesses, strengthening credit support and improving financing accessibility. Guarantee and re-guarantee institutions are encouraged to provide loan guarantees and re-guarantees for returnees establishing enterprises upon their return.
Article 18Efforts shall be intensified to protect the intellectual property rights of returnee-founded enterprises. Returnee enterprises are encouraged to file patent applications, and those meeting prescribed requirements may qualify for fee reductions. The technological achievements of returnees may, in accordance with relevant national regulations, be valued for equity contribution in investments.
Article 19
Returnee-founded enterprises are encouraged to apply for the establishment of postdoctoral research stations or postdoctoral innovation practice bases, joining postdoctoral work platforms. Recruitment of overseas doctoral candidates and postdocs for research activities is promoted, and eligible individuals are supported in applying for the city’s postdoctoral support program.Returnee entrepreneurship parks are encouraged to establish offshore innovation and entrepreneurship bases. Returnee entrepreneurship parks are also encouraged to set up returnee innovation academies and organize entrepreneurship boot camps, inviting overseas returnees to participate in park tours, project roadshows, and other innovation-themed activities in Shanghai. Various social service organizations are encouraged to play an active role, helping to build a returnee-focused, market-oriented support system for entrepreneurship.
Article 20
Universities and research institute laboratories are encouraged to open their doors to returnee-founded enterprises, supporting the establishment of corporate technology centers or joint engineering technology research centers with academia. Eligible returnees are encouraged to take on part-time positions at universities and research institutions, benefiting from associated preferential policies.Chapter 4 Related Policies and Benefits
Overseas returnees working or starting businesses in Shanghai, along with their spouses and children under 16 years old or attending regular middle school, may, in accordance with relevant regulations, apply to the Municipal Talent Work Bureau for permanent residency in the city. High-caliber returnees may also enjoy preferential policies as stipulated.Article 22
Overseas returnees working or starting businesses in Shanghai, together with their spouses and children, may, in accordance with applicable regulations, apply for a “Shanghai Residence Permit.” Among them, overseas returnees who have acquired foreign nationality and other eligible individuals, along with their spouses and children, may apply for a “Shanghai Overseas Talent Residence Permit.”Article 23
Districts shall pay close attention to the schooling and advancement of returnee children. Children holding the “Shanghai Overseas Talent Residence Permit,” whether in preschool or compulsory education, may, in accordance with relevant regulations, have enrollment procedures handled by the local education administration based on proximity principles. For children studying in senior high school and obtaining a high school diploma, they may, in accordance with regulations, take the national college entrance examination in the city and apply to universities with available admissions quotas. Eligible returnee children may also enroll in schools for children of foreign nationals within the city.Relevant departments and units are urged to create favorable conditions to better meet the educational needs of overseas returnee children, further optimizing the layout of schools for children of foreign nationals. For high-caliber returnees, assistance shall be provided, in accordance with regulations, to enroll their children in schools for foreign nationals. In areas where foreign residents are relatively concentrated, efforts should be made to gradually refine mechanisms allowing local primary and secondary schools to admit foreign students.
Article 24
Overseas returnees holding the “Shanghai Overseas Talent Residence Permit” may, following current practices in the Lingang New Area, obtain work permits and, within the validity period of their residence permit, secure extensions of stay. Their employing entities shall assist in completing the relevant procedures.
Article 25While working in Shanghai, returnees holding the “Shanghai Overseas Talent Residence Permit” may, in accordance with regulations, participate in city-level professional title evaluations, vocational (practice) qualification examinations, and professional (practice) qualification registrations. For eligible high-caliber returnees, their overseas professional work experience, academic research achievements, and contributions to technological innovation may serve as grounds for consideration of senior professional technical titles, irrespective of their domestic tenure requirements. Overseas professional qualification certificates held by returnees shall be recognized in accordance with regulations and matched with corresponding titles.
Article 26Returnees shall participate in social insurance according to national and municipal regulations, with eligible individuals receiving corresponding benefits. Unemployed spouses and children under 18 or still in high school may, in accordance with regulations, join the city’s basic medical insurance for urban and rural residents and enjoy related coverage; family members are encouraged to utilize shared family mutual aid funds as stipulated.
Article 27Overseas returnees holding the “Shanghai Overseas Talent Residence Permit,” having established labor (employment) relationships with local employers and reached mutual agreement, may, in accordance with regulations, make contributions to and withdraw from housing provident funds, and apply for housing provident fund loans. Upon termination of labor (employment) relations with local employers, they may, in accordance with regulations, proceed with sealing or transferring their housing provident fund accounts.
Article 28Overseas returnees holding the “Shanghai Overseas Talent Residence Permit” may, in accordance with regulations, apply for or replace motor vehicle driver’s licenses, complete vehicle registration procedures, and participate in auctions for non-commercial passenger vehicle license quotas within the city.
Article 29The city provides convenience regarding residence and entry/exit for overseas returnees. High-caliber returnees may, in accordance with regulations, obtain work-related residence permits marked “talent” or R-type talent visas; additionally, exceptionally talented returnees or those meeting market-oriented talent recognition standards, upon recommendation by relevant departments or employers, may, in accordance with regulations, apply for permanent residency in China.
Article 30Relevant departments, units, and districts shall strengthen financial coordination to provide support for high-caliber returnees coming to Shanghai for work or entrepreneurship.
Article 31Relevant departments, units, and districts shall give due consideration to career opportunities for spouses of high-caliber returnees, giving priority to qualified candidates under equal conditions.
Article 32High-caliber returnees recognized by the Municipal Talent Work Bureau may, in accordance with regulations, enjoy “green channel” processing for household registration and the issuance of the “Shanghai Overseas Talent Residence Permit,” opening personal free trade accounts, and receiving customs clearance facilitation.
Article 33Eligible returnees may, in accordance with laws such as the “Civil Service Law of the People’s Republic of China” and relevant regulations, apply for civil service positions in the city. Overseas academic degrees obtained by returnees, once certified by the Ministry of Education’s Study Abroad Service Center and determined to have correspondence with domestic academic credentials, may serve as valid basis for such applications.
Article 34Insurance companies in the city are encouraged to develop commercial health insurance products tailored to the medical needs of returnees. Hospitals meeting the required standards are encouraged to strengthen cooperation with domestic and international insurers, joining international direct-payment networks for health insurance. Market participants are supported in establishing third-party international health insurance settlement platforms.
Article 35Remuneration for returnees working in the city shall be determined favorably through negotiation between employers and employees, based on their appointed positions and individual contributions. Institutions such as universities and research centers, where high-caliber talents are concentrated, may independently identify a certain proportion of their staff as high-caliber returnees, adopting annual salary systems or negotiated wage arrangements to determine compensation levels without being constrained by overall unit performance-based wage ceilings. Enterprises are encouraged to establish employee pension plans, and parks already equipped with talent-specific pension schemes should prioritize returnees when setting up new plans.
Article 36Returnees may, in accordance with regulations, be included within the city- and district-level talent housing security framework. Districts and relevant departments are encouraged to provide rental subsidies or actual housing rentals to outstanding returnees engaged in technological innovation and entrepreneurship.
Article 37Contributions, profits, capital gains, proceeds from asset disposal, and liquidation income generated by returnees upon establishing foreign-invested enterprises upon their return may, in accordance with the law, be remitted into or withdrawn from China in either RMB or foreign currency.
Article 38When returnees require importing educational or scientific supplies from abroad for research or teaching purposes, they shall submit requests to customs through their affiliated tax-exempt universities or research institutions, which will then process duty-free exemptions in accordance with national regulations. If payment for imported goods is necessary, supporting documents such as import contracts, invoices, and customs declaration forms for import payments may be presented at designated foreign exchange banks to complete currency conversion procedures.
Article 39Outstanding returnees who have distinguished themselves through work and entrepreneurship in the city shall be commended in accordance with regulations, actively fostering a positive atmosphere of respect for talent.
Chapter 5 Supplementary ProvisionsArticle 40
第四十条本规定自2026年2月1日起施行，有效期至2031年1月31日。