Your company in China,
started properly.
A foreign-owned company, a work permit that survives inspection, an import-export licence and the VAT refund that comes with it. One team in Shanghai handles the paperwork so you can handle the business.
- 12 yrsOn the ground in Shanghai
- 3Company · visa · trade
- 6–10 wksCompany to visa
- EN / 中文Working languages
Three desks, one file
Most clients arrive for one thing and need all three. We keep it in one file so nothing has to be explained twice.
Foreign-owned company
WFOE, joint venture or representative office. Name approval, licence, chops, bank account, tax registration, invoicing. Negative-list check before you commit.
Company setup →02Work permit & residence
Category B work permit for founders and staff, Z visa guidance, health check, residence permit. Including the case where you sponsor yourself through your own company.
Work visa →03Import, export & refund
Customs registration, e-port card, FX listing, single-window account, export VAT refund filing. The whole chain, not just the licence.
Import & export →Four steps, no mystery
You will always know which document is being filed and who is holding it.
Call and scope
Twenty minutes. We check your nationality, business scope and whether your activity is on the negative list. You get a written scope with prices and a document list the same day.
Documents
You send scans. We check every page before filing — most delays are a passport copy that is cropped or a degree certificate that was never legalised.
Filing
We file, chase and report. One named contact, replies in English, updates at each milestone instead of silence.
Handover
Licence, chops, bank account, permit card, customs code — handed over in a folder, with a calendar of the recurring obligations you cannot miss.
We are the operator, not the middleman
We run the address
The registered address is our own serviced office, not a resold shell. Inspectors are received by staff who know your company name.
One file, three licences
Company, permit and customs record share the same address, the same legal representative and the same bank account. Consistency is what makes approval fast.
We say no early
If your activity needs a licence you cannot get, or your degree will not clear the points test, you hear it on the first call — before you pay for translations.
Everything in writing
Scope, price, timeline and what happens if an authority says no. Nothing agreed on a phone call that is missing from the quotation.
Three things that cost people months
“I can register the company and apply for my own work permit the same week.”
RealityThe work permit needs a company with a bank account, a tax record and a real office. Rushing the sequence is the single most common reason founders sit in China on a tourist visa for two months.
“A virtual address is fine, everyone uses one.”
RealitySince the 2025 rules tightened, Shanghai parks no longer accept addresses with no actual workspace. Company registration, tax and bank onboarding all verify the address separately — and the bank sends someone to look.
“Any company can claim the 13% export refund.”
RealityYou need general VAT taxpayer status, VAT invoices that match the customs declaration, and money received through a proper channel. Without those, the refund is zero and the risk is a tax inspection.
Founders who need the boring parts done
Consulting & software
One or two people, invoicing Chinese clients, needs a company that can issue fapiaos and a legal representative with a residence permit. The most common file we open.
Trading & import
Buying in China or shipping into China. Needs the customs record, a foreign currency account and someone who understands what the refund clerk will ask for.
Food, beverage & retail
Importing products that need label filing and CIQ clearance before the first container moves. Slower, more documents, worth planning before signing a lease.
Other cities too — pick yours in the form
Shanghai is the only city we run ourselves: the office, the filing team and the people who meet inspectors are all here. For other cities we work with partner desks we have used for years — tell us which city and we will check who we have there.
Cities we can cover: Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Chengdu, Changsha, Nanjing, Suzhou, Chongqing and Hong Kong, China. If we have someone there we introduce them properly; if we do not, we say so. We take no commission on the introduction.
Pick your city in the form →Tell us your situation, get a written plan
Twenty minutes on the phone is usually enough to know whether your plan is realistic, what it costs and how long it takes.
- Written scope and price before any payment
- English-speaking contact, WeChat or WhatsApp
- We tell you when the answer is “not this year”