🇨🇳 Moving to China: tax, residency and cost of living

Key facts

Top income tax

45%

Corporate tax

25%

Capital gains

20%

Wealth tax

No

Inheritance tax

No

Cost of living index

42

Safety

8/10

Internet quality

5/10

Visa-free destinations

85

Foreigners can own property

Yes

Residency in

0 months

Citizenship in

0 years

Taxes

China taxes residents' worldwide income on a progressive scale from 3% to 45% across seven brackets (comprehensive income), with a standard deduction of 60,000 yuan per year. There is no wealth, inheritance or gift tax: a genuine advantage. Capital gains and dividends are taxed at a flat 20% (listed A-shares are exempt). Foreigners enjoy the six-year rule: foreign income stays untaxed until six consecutive years of tax residence. The biggest brake is currency control: individuals may exchange only about 50,000 dollars a year. VAT is 13% and crypto trading is banned.

Residency and visas

A residence permit comes via an employer (Z visa), as an entrepreneur or through the talent routes (R visa for the highly skilled). Permanent residence, the so-called Chinese green card, is notoriously hard: strict income, investment or expertise requirements and a years-long process. Naturalisation is in practice almost impossible. Language and Mandarin-language bureaucracy are high hurdles.

Property ownership

Foreigners can usually buy one home for their own use, and only after at least a year of living or working in China; buying purely as an investment is restricted. Land is always state-owned: you buy a 70-year use right for housing, not the land itself. The rules vary by city and can change quickly. Full freehold ownership as in Europe does not exist.

Cost of living and quality of life

China offers excellent infrastructure, high-speed trains, low crime and fast internet, with widely varying costs between the metropolises and the interior. The downside: the internet sits behind the Great Firewall (a VPN is needed for many Western services), there is strict state surveillance, air pollution in the big cities and outside them English is of limited use.

Passport and mobility

The Chinese passport gives visa-free access to around 85 destinations in 2026: mid-table. Heavier is the currency control: individuals may exchange only about 50,000 dollars a year and large transfers abroad are tightly regulated. China does not allow dual nationality. For anyone wanting to move freely with their wealth, it is one of the most restrictive large countries.

Residency and visas

• Werkvisum (Z-visum): verblijf via een Chinese werkgever die de functie sponsort; jaarlijkse verlenging, basis voor werk en verblijf · Residency in 5 years
• Talent-/R-visum (hoogopgeleide buitenlanders): versnelde route voor topexperts en wetenschappers, langere geldigheid · Residency in 4 years
• Permanente verblijfsvergunning (Chinese green card): berucht selectief; via hoge functie, forse investering, uitzonderlijke expertise of familie; jarenlange doorlooptijd · Residency in 4 years
• Gezins-/partnervisum (Q-visum): verblijf voor familieleden van Chinese burgers of permanente residenten · Residency in 5 years

Why people move to China

• No inheritance, gift or wealth tax

  Unlike most large economies, China levies no wealth, inheritance or gift tax. Anyone wanting to transfer wealth without a levy finds a real advantage here. Note the flip side, though: 45% income tax on residents' worldwide income and strict currency controls.

• Strict capital controls

  Individuals may exchange only about 50,000 dollars a year and cross-border transfers are tightly regulated. Getting capital out of China is hard. For international wealth planning this is a serious constraint, and a key reason why wealthy Chinese look abroad.

• Top infrastructure, but behind the Great Firewall

  China combines safety, fast trains and modern cities with strict internet and state surveillance. Western services often require a VPN. For anyone wanting to lower tax, China is more a country to leave than a destination: the high top rate on worldwide income and the capital controls weigh heavily.