China (CN)

Authority: Chinese Service Centre for Scholarly Exchange (CSCSE, cscse.edu.cn) under the Ministry of Education (MOE) — primarily verifies degrees of Chinese nationals returning from abroad. For foreign nationals, the employer's HR department and the local FWP bureau review degree documents as part of the work permit process. Formal academic equivalency in the Western sense is not routinely issued to inbound foreign professionals.

Process: For work permit purposes: prepare apostilled degree certificate and transcripts (from Hague Convention member countries) + certified Chinese translation + employer cover letter. Submit via employer to the local MoHRSS bureau as part of the FWP package. For academic employment at Chinese universities: the university's International Office will review credentials and may request CSCSE verification for overseas degrees. Do not send original documents — use certified copies.

Equivalency service: CSCSE (cscse.edu.cn) — degree verification service primarily used by Chinese returnees; some Chinese employers and universities also use it to verify foreign degrees. Local FWP bureaux assess whether a foreign degree meets the minimum education threshold for the work permit category applied for.

Apostille: China joined the Hague Apostille Convention on 7 November 2023. Public documents from other member countries (including most EU countries, USA, UK, Australia, Canada) now require only an apostille from the issuing country's competent authority — the previous consular legalisation chain (notary → home country foreign ministry → Chinese embassy) is no longer required for apostille-eligible documents from member states. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) is China's designated apostille authority for Chinese public documents used abroad. Note: some local Chinese bureaux may still be updating their procedures — confirm requirements with the specific bureau handling your case.

Legalisation: For documents from countries that are NOT members of the Hague Apostille Convention: full consular legalisation chain remains required — (1) authentication by the issuing country's competent authority, (2) legalisation by the Chinese Embassy or Consulate in that country. Allow 4–8 weeks for consular legalisation.

Sworn translation: All foreign-language documents submitted to Chinese government authorities must be accompanied by a certified Chinese translation from an agency approved by the relevant local authority. There is no single national registry of certified translators — use translation agencies with experience in Chinese government submissions. Machine translations are not accepted. Cost: CNY 200–800 per page depending on language pair.