Moving a WFOE to another city or province
Relocating the registered address of a foreign-invested company in Mainland China — one application at the destination, the tax exit, and everything else that follows the address
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A wholly foreign-owned enterprise that moves its registered address to another city or province is neither wound up nor re-created: it keeps its legal personality and its unified social credit code. Since 2025 the move has been a single application, filed at the destination; the outgoing registry has thirty days to hand it over and may not obstruct the move. On the tax side there is no deregistration: losses, unused input VAT, general taxpayer status and the credit rating travel with the company. What needs preparing is everything tied to the old premises: permits, staff, the lease, agreements with the local government. This note covers moves between provinces and between cities of the same province.
What happens to the company?
Nothing, as a legal person. The unified social credit code (统一社会信用代码) does not change for as long as the company exists, “whatever change occurs in its information” (State Council, Guofa [2015] No. 33). The move is a change of registration: the company applies to the registry of its new address before moving there, and the outgoing registry may not refuse to transfer its file without good reason (State Council Decree No. 746, art. 27). For a foreign-invested company, the receiving registry must also be one authorised by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) to register foreign-invested enterprises (SAMR Order No. 51, arts. 3 and 8); the change report on foreign investment information goes with the change itself, with no separate step (MOFCOM–SAMR Order [2019] No. 2, art. 11).
How does the registration run?
The Implementing Rules still allow three months for the file transfer (art. 62); Order No. 96 and Guidance No. 48 cut that to thirty days.
What happens on the tax side?
On paper, the Measures on Tax Registration still require a company that changes tax office to deregister at the old one and register again at the new one (art. 27). Since 1 April 2023, a move between provinces works otherwise (State Taxation Administration, Shuizong Zhengkefa [2022] No. 87). There is no tax deregistration. Once the registry has recorded the new address, the company files a cross-province relocation report with the outgoing tax bureau, which completes the exit at once; the incoming bureau sets up the company within one working day. The conditions: no tax inspection under way, invoices and tax-control devices cancelled, taxes, late fees and penalties paid, and no other matter pending.
| Follows the company | Does not follow it |
|---|---|
| General VAT taxpayer status; the export refund filing | Incentives tied to a place — a zone, a region, a local preferential rate |
| Corporate income tax losses not yet used | Subsidies and rebates granted by the local government under an agreement |
| Unused input VAT, without a transfer form | Permits tied to the premises (see below) |
| The tax credit rating; tax prepaid; the e-invoice quota | — |
| High-tech enterprise status, if the whole company moves within the validity of the certificate (Guokefahuo [2016] No. 32, art. 18) | High-tech status in a partial move: the destination certifies again |
The revision of the Tax Collection Administration Law, approved by the State Council on 31 August 2026 and now before the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, may bring the text into line with this practice.
Shuizong Zhengkefa [2024] No. 38, in force since 1 September 2024, closed the remaining gaps. A pending matter is either completed within a time limit or closed, at the company’s choice. A low-risk company leaves at once and any risk task passes to the incoming bureau; only medium- and high-risk cases are dealt with before the exit. Tax offices are expressly forbidden to raise risk tasks, or add conditions, in order to block a move.
What else follows the address?
| Where | What changes |
|---|---|
| Foreign exchange and banks | A change of basic information in the direct investment registration, made at a bank in the place of registration (SAFE operating guidelines, s. 1.4) |
| Customs | The customs registration is amended within 30 days of the change of address (GACC Order No. 253, art. 9) |
| Social insurance | Where contributions have been paid, the outgoing bureau can change the registration at the same time; the incoming bureau registers the company, which then registers its employees |
| Housing fund | Same city: the original centre. Another city of the province: the destination opens the account, the origin closes it. Another province: the existing transfer procedure |
| Permits tied to premises | A food business licence is applied for again (SAMR Order No. 78, art. 29); a pollutant discharge permit is reissued if the production site moves, amended within 30 days if only the domicile changes (Decree No. 736, arts. 14 and 15) |
What about the staff?
The place of work is a term of the labour contract, and it changes only by written agreement (Labour Contract Law, art. 35). Where the move makes the contract impossible to perform and no agreement is reached, the employer may terminate on 30 days’ notice, or one month’s pay in lieu (art. 40(3)), and owes severance of one month’s wage per year of service (arts. 46 and 47). Labour authorities have long counted an enterprise relocation among the “objective circumstances” that allow it. The courts look at the real effect on the employee: a move within the same city, with transport provided, usually gives no right to severance; a move to another city or province usually does. Employees protected by article 42 — during pregnancy or medical leave, for instance — cannot be dismissed on this ground.
The Fair Competition Review Regulation (State Council Decree No. 783, in force 1 August 2024, art. 9) forbids local measures that hinder a company from leaving, and the national guide on the unified market (2025, art. 45) forbids obstruction by added conditions, suspended procedures or deliberate delay. Those rules bind the authorities. They do not cancel a clawback clause in an investment agreement, a subsidy contract or a lease: read them before the decision, not after.
And within the same province?
| Point | What differs |
|---|---|
| Registration | The same procedure whenever the registry changes — between districts or cities of the province. A move that stays with the same registry is an ordinary change, filed within 30 days (Decree No. 746, art. 24) |
| Tax | No cross-province report, which is reserved for moves between provinces. In practice the provincial system treats the move as a change of tax office, without deregistration; tax-control device details are updated online (Shuizong Zhengkefa [2024] No. 38) |
| Housing fund | Handled between the two city centres of the province (Guidance No. 48) |
| High-tech status | Certification is mostly provincial, so a move within the province usually leaves it untouched; a few cities have their own certification body |
Relocate, or open a branch?
| Option | What it keeps | What it costs |
|---|---|---|
| Relocate the company | One company, one code; contracts, licences in its name, losses and VAT credits | The exit conditions; permits tied to the old premises; the staff question; local agreements |
| Open a branch分公司 | The head office and its local arrangements; a presence at the destination, registered within 30 days of the decision (Implementing Rules, art. 21) | Two sets of local filings; the head office stays where it was |
| New company and transfer | A clean start at the destination | New contracts and permits, transfer taxes, a second company to close |
What should be done before moving?
Sources. Regulations on the Registration of Market Entities (State Council Decree No. 746), arts. 24 and 27, and Implementing Rules (SAMR Order No. 52), arts. 21, 31, 35 and 62 · SAMR Order No. 51 on the registration of foreign-invested enterprises, arts. 3 and 8 · SAMR Order No. 95, arts. 18 and 25 · SAMR–National Archives Administration Order No. 96 on registration archives, in force 20 March 2025, arts. 14 and 16 · SAMR, MOHRSS, MOHURD and STA, Guidance on relocation registration as “one matter”, Guoshijianzhufa [2025] No. 48 · SAMR press conference, 8 May 2026 · State Council, Guofa [2015] No. 33 · STA, Measures on Tax Registration, art. 27; Shuizong Zhengkefa [2022] No. 87 and [2024] No. 38 · Guokefahuo [2016] No. 32, art. 18 · MOFCOM–SAMR Order [2019] No. 2, art. 11 · SAFE, direct investment foreign exchange operating guidelines, s. 1.4 · GACC Order No. 253, art. 9 · SAMR Order No. 78, art. 29; State Council Decree No. 736, arts. 14 and 15 · Labour Contract Law, arts. 35, 40, 42, 46 and 47 · Fair Competition Review Regulation (State Council Decree No. 783), art. 9; NDRC, Guide to building the national unified market (2025), art. 45. Commentary consulted: China Briefing, Zhong Lun, AllBright, Xinhua (2025–2026).
This note describes the general framework as at 9 October 2026 and is not legal or tax advice on a particular move. Provincial practice varies: confirm the documents and the sequence with the receiving registry and tax bureau before filing. Lo On Shing Consultants Limited, Hong Kong — BR 64679960.