According to the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners and the Decree of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, FBI & Police Clearance Letter (Proof of No Criminal Records) is needed for Employment Visas (Z Visas) application. And Labor Law of the People’s Republic of China require the job applicant must request a Certificate of Non-Criminal Conviction (CNCC certificate) from their origin local security bureau. This certificate proves they have no criminal record.

Company Law of the People’s Republic of China subscribe that this requirement shall be applicable to foreign-invested companies with limited liability and such companies limited by shares; and where laws on foreign investments provide otherwise, the provisions there shall be applicable.

1. Senior managers include the manager, deputy manager and the person in charge of financial affairs of a company, and the secretary of a board of directors of a listed company and the other persons specified in a company’s articles of association.
2. A proprietary shareholder means a shareholder whose capital contribution accounts for more than 50 percent of the total capital of a company with limited liability or the amount of the shares who holds accounts for more than 50 percent of the total amount of the shares of a company limited by shares; and a shareholder, although the amount of his capital contribution or the proportion of the shares he holds is less than 50 percent, whose voting rights enjoyed on the basis of the amount of capital contribution made or the number of shares held are enough to have a vital bearing on the resolutions of a shareholders assembly or a shareholders general assembly.
3. An actual controller means a person who is able practically to govern the behavior of a company through investment relations, agreements or other arrangements, although the person is not a shareholder of the company.
4. Affiliated relations mean the relations between the proprietary shareholder, actual controller, director, supervisor and senior manager of a company with the enterprises which are directly or indirectly under their control, and other relations which may lead to transfer of the company’s interests. However, affiliated relations do not exist among the holding companies of the State although their shares are held by the State in common.

How to authenticate the Certificate of Non-Criminal Conviction with the Chinese Embassy?

Step 1:

Contact the local Security Bureau to Request the Clarance Letter

There are three options for the report: local (City/County) police department, state level or Federal level. For most people, the local or state level should be sufficient. Please do check with your employer for requirement.

If local or state background check is sufficient, please go to your local police department where you reside or last resided in the United States or contact the Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division of your state, request to conduct a state criminal records search and provide you with a document reflecting that there is no history of a criminal record.

The No Criminal Record Report should be signed by the relevant official and notarized properly. If the report is signed by the state appointed official and state secretary office can certify that official’s signature directly, the notary step may be skipped.

If you need to apply for high level management job or apply for China Residence Permit, then a nationwide background check is required, please contact with FBI for report.

Step 2:

Then submit the documents to the Secretary of State’s Office of Authentications (some documents need to be submitted to the Department of State). This office is responsible for authenticating official documents from the United States to be used in other countries. The Office of Authentications will review the documents, verifying the authenticity of the original to make sure it has not been tampered with or altered, and if approved, will place an apostille on the document.

Step 3:

An apostille is an internationally recognized form of authentication that verifies the authenticity of the document. Once the document has been authenticated with an apostille, it can be submitted to the Chinese Consulate/China Embassy to get the final authentication or legalization. Once we have completed these steps, your document should be considered valid for use in China for household registration, employment, and resident visa application purposes.