Work, family and company papers for China
Starting a job in Shanghai, joining a spouse in Beijing or registering a company in Shenzhen? Our apostille for China Singapore service prepares your Singapore documents so Chinese work permit offices, Public Security Bureaus and market regulators accept them.
Since 7 November 2023, a single SAL apostille replaces the old Chinese Embassy step. We match your document to the checklist from China, have private papers notarised by our partner Notary Public and advise on the Chinese translation.
Tell us the document and which office in China asked for it, and we confirm the steps and price before any work starts.
Yes — since 7 November 2023
Mainland China applies the Hague Apostille Convention from 7 November 2023, so a Singapore document needs only an SAL apostille and no Chinese Embassy or visa centre authentication. Private documents are notarised first; government documents go straight to SAL.
Source: HCCH Apostille Convention status table · Last checked 2 November 2026
WHERE IT IS USED IN CHINA
Chinese offices ask for an apostille for China on Singapore papers at the points below, whether you are moving for work, family or business:
Your employer uploads your apostilled highest degree and no-criminal-record certificate to the online system for foreigners working in China.
The Notification Letter of Foreigner's Work Permit that supports your Z visa is only issued once those apostilled papers are approved.
Your spouse and children need apostilled marriage and birth certificates when they apply at the local Exit and Entry office of the Public Security Bureau.
A Singaporean marrying in China must prove single status with an apostilled ROM marriage search or declaration.
The Administration for Market Regulation checks the apostilled ACRA records of a Singapore parent company before registering a new Chinese entity.
International and local schools in China ask for an apostilled birth certificate and sometimes school records from Singapore.
Courts and notary offices want apostilled powers of attorney and company identity papers from Singapore parties in a case or inheritance.
Chinese banks and property offices accept an apostilled power of attorney so a relative can act for you while you stay in Singapore.
DOCUMENT REFERENCE
Issuer and purpose decide the route. This table shows where each common document starts before its SAL apostille for China:
| Document | Issued by | First step in Singapore | Common use in China |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree certificate | NUS, NTU, SMU or a private school | Notarised by our partner Notary Public | Highest degree proof for a work permit |
| Academic transcript | University registrar | Notarised by our partner Notary Public | Talent category points and further study |
| Certificate of Clearance (COC) | Singapore Police Force | Straight to SAL | No-criminal-record proof for a work permit |
| Marriage certificate | ROM or ROMM | Straight to SAL | Spouse's residence permit |
| Birth certificate | ICA | Straight to SAL | Child's residence permit and school place |
| Search for Marriage Record | ROM | Straight to SAL | Single status for marriage registration |
| ACRA Business Profile | ACRA | SAL e-Apostille | Investor identity for AMR registration |
| Board resolution | Singapore company directors | Signed before our partner Notary Public | Appointing the legal representative in China |
| Power of attorney | Individual or company | Signed before our partner Notary Public | Property, bank or court matters |
Company papers for a WFOE, joint venture or representative office often come as a set, so we handle them through our corporate document legalisation service.
THE ROUTE
No Chinese Embassy queue sits in this China apostille route. The final Singapore stage is the SAL apostille, and the next stop is the office in China:
We compare your scans with the list from your employer, school or office in China and confirm the route and price.
Our partner Notary Public notarises degrees, declarations, resolutions and powers of attorney, while government documents skip this step.
The Singapore Academy of Law adds the apostille certificate, or an e-Apostille for ACRA records.
We send scans first, then hand over the originals in Singapore or courier them to your address in China.
Your employer, the Exit and Entry office, civil affairs bureau or AMR accepts the apostilled document, usually with a Chinese translation.
DOCUMENT GUIDES
Guides below explain each document's Singapore apostille for China in more detail, grouped by why it is needed:
The degree, police and work history proof your employer files for your foreigner's work permit.
Civil records for a spouse or child's residence permit, or for marrying again in China.
Records a Singapore parent company files when it registers or changes an entity in China.
Authority for someone to act for you in China, and records for study or talent applications.
FREE CHECK FOR CHINA
Send us the list from HR, the school or your agent in China, and we mark which items need an apostille and quote before any work starts.
COST
Prices for an apostille for China depend only on the Singapore steps your document needs, and SAL's own fee is already included.
Priced separately: Chinese translation (quoted per page and language), urgent handling (quoted with your deadline) and courier to China.
TIMING
Without a consular stage, a Singapore apostille for China is usually ready within a few working days of receiving your original.
Review time at the office in China is separate, and you can read how other clients found our timing in our client reviews.
BEFORE YOU SEND IT
Gathering these first lets our apostille and legalisation services in Singapore team finish your documents for use in China without a second round:
Hong Kong and Macau have long applied the Apostille Convention under their own systems, so an SAL apostille works there too, but Taiwan does not, so see our Taiwan document legalisation route.
Courier your Singapore original to us and we return it apostilled, as part of our legalisation from overseas service.
AVOID A REJECTION
Small errors around the SAL apostille China offices receive cause most returned files. These are the ones we catch first:
✕ Booking consular authentication at the visa centre
✓ We confirm that the SAL apostille alone is enough for mainland China, so you skip a step that no longer exists.
✕ A COC or ROM search that is too old on arrival
✓ We check the issue date against the office's time limit, often six months for a COC and three months for a ROM search, before we apostille it.
✕ Translating in Singapore when China wants a local agency
✓ We ask the receiving office first; if a Singapore version is accepted we arrange a certified translation for legalisation, otherwise the translation is done by a registered company in China after the apostille.
✕ Signing a Chinese-drafted power of attorney at home
✓ Our partner Notary Public must witness your signature, so we review the draft and you sign it in front of us.
FAQ
Clients usually ask us these questions just before ordering an apostille for China. Something else? Ask us on WhatsApp.
Ask On WhatsAppNo, an apostille does not change the content of a document. You can swear a one-and-the-same-person declaration before our partner Notary Public and have it apostilled for China with your other papers.
Yes. We can courier the originals to any address in China, and we email you scans first so HR can start the work permit file.
Yes, in many cases. The translator's declaration is sworn before our partner Notary Public and the set is apostilled together, but we confirm with you that the office accepts a translation made outside China first.
The apostille itself has no expiry date. Chinese offices judge the age of the document underneath it, so a stale COC or marriage search needs a fresh copy and a new apostille.
Yes. Your nationality does not matter, only that the document was issued in Singapore, so PRs and pass holders use the same route.
Yes, a legalisation done before 7 November 2023 generally remains valid. If the office asks for a recent document, you will need a new one with an apostille.
Our partner Notary Public certifies a true copy of the passport after seeing the original, and SAL then apostilles the notarised copy for China.
No, our partner Notary Public must witness it in person in Singapore. If you cannot travel, the Singapore Embassy or consulates in China can take a statutory declaration in person, which you then present to the civil affairs bureau.
Share a scan and tell us which office in China asked for it. We confirm the apostille route and price before any work starts.