FAQ
We regularly update this list of questions with information drawn from Chinese law, official statements, and our interviews about NGOs’ on-the-ground experiences
According to one source, a Ministry of Public Security (MPS) representative said that foreign staff of foreign NGOs seeking to register a representative office may enter China on tourist or short-term business visas. Once the representative office is registered, foreign staff should apply for work permits.Read more
The Ministry of Public Security has not offered clear guidance on this point. Notably, an earlier draft of the Foreign NGO Law forbade “accept[ing] donations from within Mainland China.” The final version of the Law says only that foreign NGOs and their representative offices may not fundraise within mainland China.Read more
According to the Foreign NGO Law, a foreign NGO must provide “proof of premises of the proposed representative office,” though the law is not explicit on what constitutes “proof” if an NGO does not yet have an established presence in China. This requirement may not present any problems for foreign NGOs that already had a presence in China and are now seeking to register under the new legal regime, but it may present difficulties for...Read more
Can my organization appeal if public security officials reject our request to establish a representative office or prohibit our temporary activity?According to one source, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) has stated on multiple occasions that foreign NGOs have the right to appeal MPS regulatory decisions rejecting NGOs’ requests to establish a representative office or carry out a temporary activity. Appeals should be made according to domestic legal processes to challenge administrative decisions by regulators,...Read more
The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) has not offered clear guidance about this apparently common problem. The China NGO Project has learned from several foreign NGOs that many PSUs are either unprepared to or unwilling to sponsor foreign NGOs, sometimes including past partners. Further, there is no guidance as to how to approach a PSU about sponsoring a foreign NGO’s representative office (whether by phone, fax, letter, email, or in-person). (The MPS has, however, issued...Read more