The Duration of Employment Contracts for Foreigners

According to Article 2 of the Regulations on the Administration of Employment of Foreigners in China “the term ‘foreigners’ as used in the regulations refers to persons who do not hold Chinese nationality in accordance with the Nationality Law of the People's Republic of China. The term ‘employment of foreigners in China’ as mentioned in these Provisions refers to the conduct of foreigners who have not obtained the right of permanent residence to engage in lawful labor and obtain remuneration for their work within the territory of China according to law." Additionally article 17: "An employer shall conclude a labor contract with a foreigner to be employed in accordance with the law. The term of a labor contract shall not exceed five years. The labor contract shall be terminated at the expiration of the term, but may be renewed after the examination and approval procedures in accordance with the provisions of Article 19 of these provisions." Therefore, generally speaking, the duration of employment contracts between foreigners working in China and the employer shall not exceed 5 years. However, the Measures for the Treatment of with Permanent Residence in China" stipulates that foreigners holding permanent residence permits are exempt from applying for foreign employment permits in China, and "except for political rights and specific rights and obligations that cannot be enjoyed or must be fulfilled due to political rights and other legal restrictions, they have the same rights and obligations as Chinese citizens." Accordingly, the law does not stipulate whether the term of the labor contract for foreign personnel holding permanent residence permits is also limited to 5 years, and there are different views in practice, and the stance is not uniformly clear.

《外国人在中国就业管理规定》第二条规定：“规定所称外国人，指依照《中华人民共和国国籍法》规定不具有中国国籍的人员。本规定所称外国人在中国就业，指没有取得定居权的外国人在中国境内依法从事社会劳动并获取劳动报酬的行为。”以及第十七条：“用人单位与被聘用的外国人应依法订立劳动合同。劳动合同的期限最长不得超过五年。劳动合同期限届满即行终止，但按本规定第十九条的规定履行审批手续后可以续订。”

因此，一般而言，在华就业的外国人与用人单位所签订的劳动合同期限不得超过5年，但《外国人在中国永久居留享有相关待遇的办法》又规定持有永居证的外籍人员在中国就业免办《外国人就业证》，且“除政治权利和法律法规规定不可享有的特定权利和义务外，原则上和中国公民享有相同权利，承担相同义务。”据此，对于持有永居证的外籍人员，其劳动合同期限是否也限定于5年之内，法律并未予以规定，且实践中各地也存在不同观点，口径并不明朗。

We conducted a research in Shanghai and Nanjing, and the The Shanghai Human Resources and Social Security Bureau replied that foreigners with permanent residence permits can sign labor contracts for more than five years. However, we found no judicial cases to corroborate this conclusion . In Nanjing, in the case No. 498 Su 01 Min End (2021), the Nanjing Intermediate People's Court held that foreigners holding permanent residence permits enjoy the same rights and obligations as Chinese citizens in principle, except for political rights and specific rights and obligations that cannot be enjoyed by laws and regulations. Therefore, they can enter into contracts without a fixed term. In Suzhou, the most usual practical operation is: foreigners who have obtained permanent residence permits can sign labor contracts like Chinese citizens, and are not subject to the five-year limit.

To sum up, regarding whether an employer can sign a labor contract exceeding five years or even indefinite-term contracts with a foreign employee who has obtained a permanent residence permit, there is no uniformity in judicial practice across different regions. It is suggested that employers should first understand the local laws and regulations and practice before deciding to sign a long-term labor contract with foreign employees to avoid disputes arising from unilateral termination.

我们就此在上海及南京地区进行了检索，上海人社答复称有永居证的外国人可以签署超过5年的劳动合同，但在司法实践中，未能检索到可印证此结论的相关案例。而在南京地区，检索到(2021)苏01民终498号案例中，南京中院认为持有永居证的外籍人员除政治权利和法律法规规定不可享有的特定权利和义务外，原则上和中国公民享有相同权利，承担相同义务，故可以订立无固定期限劳动合同：而在苏州地区，目前较大的实践操作是认为：已经取得永居证的外籍人员可以类同于中国公民一样签署劳动合同，不再收到相关年限的约束。

综上，关于用人单位能否与已取得永居证的外籍员工签订超过5年期限劳动合同，甚至无固定期限劳动合同的问题，由于各地司法实践并不统一，建议用人单位在决定与外籍员工签订长期劳动合同前，应先了解当地法律规定和实操。以避免因单方终止而产生的相关争议。