Move to China
Leaving China: visa, tax, banking and departure checklist
Bounded checklist
DEPARTURE CONTROL
START HERE
Close dependencies before access disappears
Plan departure by responsibility, not by cancellation date.
Before you leave China, identify what the employer must close or transfer, what the immigration and tax authorities require for your facts, which bank or payment access you still need for final money flows, what the lease requires, and which family records must leave with you.
Do not close accounts simply because the flight is booked. Some of the most important payments — final salary, expense reimbursement, housing deposit, tax adjustment or insurance claim — may settle later.
01 · STATUS
Start with employment and immigration status
Confirm the last working day and ask the employer for a written list of the employment-side actions it owns.
Depending on the case, employment ending or changing can interact with work authorisation and immigration status. Do not assume that cancelling one document automatically resolves the others.
Record:
- final employment date;
- employer contact after departure;
- work-permit action the employer says it will take;
- evidence issued when that action is completed;
- current visa/stay/residence document and its dates;
- the responsible exit-entry authority route;
- any planned transfer to another employer or another status.
If you are changing jobs rather than simply leaving, use the dedicated employment-change route. The sequence can be different.
Do not invent a universal cancellation deadline. Check the current work and immigration authorities for your actual document and city.
03 · HOUSING
Finish the home with a handover record
Read the actual lease before deciding the move-out sequence.
Identify:
- notice requirement;
- final rent and utilities;
- cleaning or repair obligations;
- handover date;
- inventory;
- key/access-card return;
- deposit reconciliation;
- forwarding contact.
At handover, record the condition of the property and relevant meter readings. Keep photos, the signed handover document if one is used, payment receipts and written communication about the deposit.
Do not assume the deposit will be returned on a standard timeline or that a particular deduction is lawful simply because it is common in the market. The contract and applicable local law matter.
If a dispute has legal consequences, use qualified legal advice rather than a general checklist.
04 · PAYMENT ACCESS
Keep banking and payment access until the last flows settle
List every payment you still expect:
- final salary;
- bonus or reimbursement;
- housing deposit;
- tax payment or refund;
- insurance claim;
- utility settlement;
- mover or shipping claim.
Then ask the bank directly whether the account can remain open after your status changes, what identification it will require, and how closure works if you decide to close it.
For cross-border transfers, use the current State Administration of Foreign Exchange framework and the handling bank's current document requirements. Do not assume one person's remittance limit or evidence list applies to you.
Protect account recovery:
- keep the phone number or authentication method needed for the period you still require it;
- update contact details where the provider permits;
- download statements and receipts;
- do not share account credentials with an intermediary.
Close an account only when you understand what money still needs to move through it.
05 · HOUSEHOLD RECORDS
Take school, medical and pet records with the household
For children, ask the school what withdrawal, transfer, report or transcript records it can provide and what the next school may need.
For healthcare, request records that support continuity of care. Keep current prescription and insurance information where relevant. This guide does not decide what medical records are clinically necessary; ask the treating provider.
If a pet is leaving China, treat export as a separate route. The destination country, airline and China export/customs or health requirements all matter. Do not reverse an inbound pet checklist and assume it works for export.
Share sensitive records through controlled channels and keep your own secure archive.
07 · FINAL CHECK
Run a final-week and post-departure check
Before the flight, create an exit pack with:
Status and employment
- current passport and immigration documents;
- employer separation/transfer records;
- work-permit or immigration evidence already issued;
- responsible contact for anything still open.
Money
- bank access and recovery method;
- expected final payments;
- tax records;
- deposit and utility evidence;
- receipts for any open claim.
Home and family
- lease handover record;
- school records;
- healthcare records;
- pet/shipping records where relevant.
Open items
For anything unfinished, write:
Owner — next action — due date — how I will follow up from outside China.
That last line matters. A departure can be physically complete while administrative or financial items remain open.
Use the responsible authority or provider for each open task rather than handing the whole exit to one intermediary. Professional help is most useful when you can name the exact unresolved tax, immigration, employment, banking or legal issue.
Sources checked for this guide: National Immigration Administration; State Taxation Administration; State Administration of Foreign Exchange; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security policy route; General Administration of Customs for shipping/pet handoffs. Checked 14 August 2026. Transaction-, city- and case-specific rules require fresh confirmation.
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