As a legal representative, applying for a work visa does not necessarily require hiring Chinese employees first. However, according to relevant laws and regulations in China, if your company establishes a representative office or company in China, there are certain requirements for hiring Chinese employees.
The company can directly hire Chinese individuals and sign written labor contracts with them, or hire Chinese individuals through qualified labor dispatch units. At the same time, the permanent representative office of foreign enterprises recruiting Chinese employees must entrust the foreign affairs service unit to handle it, and shall not recruit without authorization or entrust other units or individuals. In addition, Chinese employees can only be hired by local qualified foreign affairs service companies or other institutions designated by local government departments. There is no direct employment relationship between Chinese employees in the representative office and the representative office, but an employment relationship is established with Chinese employees through foreign affairs service companies.
Therefore, if you have established a representative office or company in China as a legal representative, you need to follow the above regulations when hiring Chinese employees.
