How many hours can international students work in China?
Unofficial answer · Sources checked
In principle, work-study is capped at 8 hours a week and 40 hours a month during term, counting on-campus and off-campus work together; in the winter and summer holidays the cap is 16 hours a week and 80 hours a month. Those figures are Article 5 of the Measures for the Administration of Work-Study by International Students at Higher Education Institutions, issued as notice 教外厅〔2021〕2号 on 29 December 2021. The wording is "in principle", so your university's own implementing rules decide how the cap applies to you.
The English below is this site's own translation of the Chinese text.
What the rules say
The Measures were issued by the General Office of the Ministry of Education together with the general offices of the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the General Department of the National Immigration Administration. Article 17 provides that they apply from the date of issue, and Article 2 restricts their scope to higher education institutions that provide degree education.
| Period | Weekly limit | Monthly limit |
|---|---|---|
| During term | no more than 8 hours | no more than 40 hours |
| Winter and summer holidays | no more than 16 hours | no more than 80 hours |
Article 5 sets those limits for on-campus and off-campus work-study taken together, not for each separately. Article 4 adds the principles the activity runs on: having capacity to spare in your studies, applying voluntarily, priority for students with financial difficulty, and compliance with the law, all under the unified leadership and overall arrangement of the school. Article 4 also requires each school to formulate implementing rules that specify its own arrangements and the powers and duties of the internal departments concerned. Where the "in principle" wording in Article 5 leaves room, the Measures do not say what exceptions apply; Article 4 requires each school to formulate implementing rules, so ask your university's international student office.
A wider walkthrough of permission and procedure sits on this site's page Can international students work in China?.
What counts as work-study
Article 3 defines work-study as activity in which an international student, under the organisation and management of the school and outside class hours, earns lawful remuneration through work in order to improve their study and living conditions. It expressly excludes teaching internships and social practice that the school organises under the teaching plan, so a required placement is not work-study and is not governed by the hour limits.
Whether a given arrangement counts therefore turns on who organises it and whether it sits inside the teaching plan. Anything arranged outside that framework is work-study, on campus or off.
Posts and pay on campus
Article 7 says on-campus posts should mainly be teaching assistant, research assistant, administrative assistant and school public service posts. Posts are meant to meet student needs while avoiding taking up normal study time, and the pay for on-campus work-study is arranged by the school as a whole.
Article 8 sets three pay rules:
- Fixed on-campus posts are paid monthly. Pay for 40 work hours in a month is in principle not lower than the local minimum living guarantee standard for residents, and may float somewhat up or down.
- Temporary on-campus posts are paid hourly. The hourly rate may be reasonably set with reference to the minimum hourly wage standard fixed by the people's government of the place where the school is located.
- Off-campus work-study must pay not less than the minimum wage standard set by the people's government of the school's locality or the relevant department. The employer and the student agree the amount, and it must be written into the employment agreement.
The Measures set the reference standards, not amounts; no fee or wage figures are printed in them.
Off-campus work: area, period and going over the limit
Article 12 limits the geographic scope of work-study to the administrative area of the prefecture-level city where the school is located. Each granted period runs no longer than the validity of the study-type residence permit and in no case longer than one year.
Article 14 deals with breaches: working beyond the scope of the post or beyond the prescribed time limits is investigated and handled by the exit-entry administration department of the public security organ according to law. The Measures do not describe what that handling consists of.
Related questions
Do the weekly and monthly caps apply separately to on-campus and off-campus work?
No. Article 5 states the limits for both together, so hours in an on-campus post and hours in an off-campus post count against the same ceiling in the same week and month.
Does a teaching internship count as work-study?
No. Article 3 excludes teaching internships and social practice that the school organises under the teaching plan from the definition of work-study.
How long can one period of work-study last?
Article 12 sets the period at no longer than the validity of your study-type residence permit and no longer than one year, within the prefecture-level city where the school is located.
Who decides whether I can take a particular post?
Article 4 requires each school to write implementing rules setting out its own arrangements and its internal departments' responsibilities, so the university decides which posts exist and how the national limits are applied locally.
Sources
- Measures for the Administration of Work-Study by International Students at Higher Education Institutions (高等学校国际学生勤工助学管理办法), 教外厅〔2021〕2号 — Ministry of Education (General Office), with the General Offices of the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the General Department of the National Immigration Administration
Checked 10 October 2026
This page is an unofficial summary and is not legal or immigration advice; it is not published by or affiliated with the bodies named above, and where this page differs from the official text or from the instructions of the university, embassy or exit-entry office handling your case, the official text and those instructions prevail.