China EOR Case Study: Visa Letters, Euro Bonuses and Expense Reconciliation for a German Manufacturer

A German manufacturer employs teams in Chengdu and Hangzhou through a China Employer of Record (EOR). The EOR is the legal employer, so it must issue documents such as the employment verification letter, while the client directs daily work. This case follows six situations that rarely appear in compliance guides: a visa letter for a training trip to Germany, a bonus set in euros but paid in RMB, lost receipts, an invoice total that did not match the reimbursement total, a payment that seemed late, and the monthly payroll cycle. In each one, the fix came from three habits: say who issues each document, record the original currency, rate and RMB amount, and tell the client exactly where a payment or file is stuck. Rules differ by consulate, finance team and city, so confirm details locally.

Table of Contents

1. The Short Answer: What Does This Case Show?
2. The Client and the Employment Setup
3. Why Small Operational Details Define the EOR Experience
4. Scenario 1: Visa Documents for a Training Trip to Germany
5. What Consulates Typically Ask For, and Who Can Supply It
6. Scenario 2: A Euro Bonus Paid Through China Payroll
7. Scenarios 3 and 4: Lost Receipts and an Invoice That Would Not Match
8. Scenarios 5 and 6: A Delayed Payment and the Monthly Payroll Rhythm
9. Outcomes at a Glance
10. Responsibility Map: What the EOR, the Client and the Employee Each Own
11. A Reusable Monthly Playbook for Your Own China Team
12. Illustrative Variation (Hypothetical, Not a Real Client)
13. Frequently Asked Questions
14. Glossary of Key Terms
15. About Knit
16. Related Reading

1. The Short Answer: What Does This Case Show?

An EOR relationship is judged less by the contract and more by how the first awkward request is handled. Most guides on hiring in China explain the legal framework: who signs the labor contract, how social insurance works, what a termination costs. All of that matters. But once a team is running, the questions that reach the EOR's service desk are different. An employee needs a letter for an embassy. Headquarters approves a bonus in a currency the payroll does not use. A pile of receipts arrives by courier and the totals do not add up.

This article summarizes a real client case from Knit's China EOR service, anonymized and written for hiring managers, finance leads and HR teams who work with a China team from abroad. The client is a German manufacturer with employees in Chengdu and Hangzhou. Knit is the legal employer of those employees. The client manages their daily work.

The case covers six situations:

• A visa employment letter and related documents for an employee traveling to Germany for training.
• A bonus approved in euros that had to be paid in RMB and reconciled on the invoice.
• Reimbursement receipts that were sent by courier and could not be found at first.
• A monthly invoice total that did not match the reimbursement total.
• A reimbursement that arrived later than a colleague's, which prompted a question about whether the German side had paid.
• A simple monthly cycle for payroll data and attendance.

None of these is a legal crisis. Each one, handled badly, turns into a delay, a dispute or a loss of trust. Handled well, each becomes a short written rule that the next month inherits. That is the real subject of this case: how a provider turns one-off questions into a fixed process.

Two cautions apply throughout. First, this is an account of one client's experience, not a promise that every consulate, bank or finance team will respond the same way. Second, anything touching immigration, tax or accounting rules should be confirmed with the relevant authority or a licensed professional. Where this article cites official sources, the links are in the text so you can read them yourself.

2. The Client and the Employment Setup

The client in this case is a German manufacturer. We refer to it as "the Client" throughout, and the employee who needed the visa documents as "Employee A." No names, contact details or invoice figures from the original record appear here.

The Client has teams in Chengdu and Hangzhou and employs them through a China Employer of Record. Under that arrangement:

• Knit is the legal employer. It signs the labor contracts with the Chinese employees, runs monthly payroll, withholds and files individual income tax, and enrolls employees in social insurance and the housing fund.
• The Client directs the work. It sets goals, assigns tasks, approves leave and decides on bonuses, the same way it would for any other team.
• A named service contact sits between them. Day-to-day requests go to a customer success contact on the Knit side, who routes them to finance, administration or compliance colleagues as needed.

The Client's German headquarters also works with Knit on German employment matters. This article covers only the China EOR arrangement.

That split of roles is the foundation for every scenario below. When an embassy asks for proof of employment, the question "Who is the employer?" has a legal answer, and the answer is not the Client. When a bonus is paid, the question "Who pays the employee?" also has a legal answer: the EOR, through China payroll, in the currency and on the schedule that payroll uses. If you are new to the model, our explainers on what an Employer of Record is and the complete China EOR guide cover the structure in more detail.

One more point matters for foreign companies. Hiring in China without an entity is possible only because the EOR is a locally registered employer. If you want the background, see why companies use an EOR before a legal entity in China and hiring in China before establishing a local company. The scenarios below show what the arrangement looks like in month three, month eight and month fourteen, not just on day one.

3. Why Small Operational Details Define the EOR Experience

Hiring managers choosing an EOR tend to compare coverage, compliance and headline cost. Those are fair criteria. But the people who live with the arrangement day to day, including the employee, the manager, the finance analyst and the HR lead, form their view of the provider from smaller moments.

Three kinds of friction recur in China EOR work for foreign clients:

1. ‍Third-party documents. Embassies, banks, landlords and visa centers ask for documents that assume a simple employer-employee relationship. With an EOR, the legal employer and the day-to-day manager are different organizations. Someone has to explain which party can issue which paper.‍
2. Cross-currency pay. Headquarters often budgets in euros or dollars. Chinese payroll runs in RMB. A bonus, allowance or reimbursement that starts in one currency and ends in another needs a documented conversion, or the employee, the manager and the finance team will each see a different number.‍
3. Paper and reconciliation. Chinese accounting practice still relies on receipts and invoices, in paper or electronic form, to support reimbursements. When documents travel internationally by courier, are batched irregularly or are matched against a monthly invoice, small gaps appear.

None of these friction points is unique to one provider or one client. They are structural. A useful way to judge any EOR is to ask how it handles them: Does it say in advance what it can and cannot issue? Does it record the original currency, the rate and the RMB amount? Does it tell you where a payment is stuck before you ask?

The case that follows is useful because it shows concrete answers to those questions. It also shows the limits. In several scenarios, the EOR could do only part of what was asked, and the right response was to say so plainly and agree on an alternative.

Our article on bilingual HR support in China makes a related point: when a team works across two languages and two legal systems, clear written explanations are part of compliance, not an add-on to it.

4. Scenario 1: Visa Documents for a Training Trip to Germany

The request. Employee A, a China-based employee, was going to train at the Client's factory in Germany. The embassy's checklist asked for three items: an employment verification letter, the employer's business license, and bank statements for the employer. The Client asked the EOR to help prepare all three.

What the EOR could provide, and why.

• Employment verification letter: yes. Because the EOR is the legal employer, the letter has to come from the EOR, on its letterhead with its seal. Its content must match the labor contract. The Client filled in the employee's details and the travel dates, following the embassy's template, and the EOR checked the information before stamping.
• Business license: yes. The EOR can supply its own business license as a standard document.
• Bank statements: only in part. The EOR cannot provide statements for its whole company account. At most it can provide records tied to this employee's salary payments.

How the team worked through it.

1. The Client completed the verification letter using the embassy's template.
2. The Knit customer success contact passed the details to internal finance and administration colleagues, who checked them against the labor contract and payroll records and then signed and stamped the letter.
3. Both sides asked a more basic question: What is the embassy trying to confirm with a bank statement? The usual purposes are to show that the sending organization operates normally, can cover travel costs, and that the traveler has stable income and no reason to stay abroad.
4. With that purpose in mind, the Client proposed that the German host, which was inviting the employee, commit to covering costs during the stay, and that the Client itself provide its own bank statements.
5. Everyone agreed to confirm this approach with the embassy and to follow the embassy's final position.

The result. The document list was clear, and each document had a named issuer. Whether the bank statement arrangement was accepted depended on the embassy's final decision, not on either company.

The lesson. Visa requirements vary by country, visa type and consulate, and they can change. Ask the embassy for the current checklist early, and decide who issues each document before anyone starts drafting. The most useful step in this scenario was not the letter itself. It was asking why the embassy wanted a bank statement, because the answer pointed to an alternative that worked within each party's limits.

5. What Consulates Typically Ask For, and Who Can Supply It

Every consulate publishes its own list, so no single checklist applies everywhere. The European Commission's page on Schengen visa policy explains that the EU visa code sets out the procedures and conditions for issuing short-stay visas, and that a Schengen visa is generally valid for every country in the Schengen area. It does not list the documents for a particular applicant, so the checklist from the consulate that handles the application is what governs.

As one example of what such a list can look like, the Czech Republic's consulate in Beijing publishes a page for business visits and short professional training. This is not the German list, and Germany's own requirements may differ, but it shows the kinds of items that employee applicants are often asked for:

• A sealed copy of the employing company's business license.
• An employer letter on company paper, with a stamp, signature and date, that states the applicant's position, salary and years of service, approval for the absence, the purpose of the visit, and who will bear travel and living costs.
• Bank statements for the last three months (excluding deposit accounts), with proof of the employer's solvency if the employer pays the costs.
• An invitation letter from the host or training organizer with a program and a statement of who pays.
• Letters in English, or in Chinese with an English translation.

The page also notes that a work permit may be needed in some cases, such as on-the-job training. That is worth checking early for any trip described as "training" rather than a meeting.

The table below maps these typical items to the roles in an EOR arrangement. It is a planning aid built from the published example and this case, not a legal checklist.

Three practical points follow from this map.

• ‍First, the letter must be accurate. A letter that lists a position or salary different from the labor contract creates a problem for the employee, the EOR and possibly the application. The EOR checks details against the contract and payroll record for that reason, and the Client should expect that check rather than treat it as a delay.‍
• Second, know the EOR's limits before you ask. In this case the EOR could not provide whole-company account statements and offered salary-related records instead. The Client then looked at what it could supply itself, namely its own statements and a cost commitment from the German host. Naming the limit early, and moving straight to the alternatives, saved a round of back-and-forth.‍
• Third, the host can carry weight. In this case the Client proposed that the German host commit to the employee's costs. Whether a consulate accepts that depends on its own rules, so it is a proposal to confirm, not an assumption.

For readers who plan business travel for China-based staff, one more habit helps: collect the consulate's current checklist in writing and share it with the EOR before drafting anything.

6. Scenario 2: A Euro Bonus Paid Through China Payroll

The request. The Client's German headquarters approved a bonus for a China-based employee. The amount was set in euros. The Client wanted it paid that month through the China EOR, and it wanted the employee, the Client's own team and the finance side to be able to check the number.

What the EOR did. The process had four steps:

1. Convert the euro amount to RMB at the exchange rate used for the Client's invoice.
2. Tell the employee the RMB figure before payment and get the employee's confirmation.
3. Once the employee confirmed, have finance update the invoice and share the update with the Client's contact.
4. Keep the original euro amount, the rate used and the RMB result in the invoice and the message history, so the figure can be traced later.

The EOR did not choose the rate on its own. It applied the rate set out for invoicing. That is an important boundary for any client: the conversion rule belongs in the service arrangement, not in an ad hoc decision made during payroll week.

The result. The employee knew the amount that would reach the bank account. The Client knew how the invoice had changed. Finance knew where each figure came from. Neither the employee nor the Client raised a question about the amount.

Why the legal context matters. Chinese payroll pays in RMB, and two provisions are worth knowing. The Labour Law, in the English reprint published by the Supreme People's Court, provides in Article 50 that wages are paid monthly to the worker in the form of cash and are not to be delayed without justification. The Labor Contract Law, in Article 30, requires the employer to pay remuneration on time and in full in accordance with the labor contract and state regulations. Both pages are 2015 reprints, so check the current text with PRC counsel. The practical reading is simple: once an amount is promised, the employee should receive the agreed figure, on time, in the pay cycle. A conversion step that leaves the employee unsure of the final number invites exactly the kind of dispute these rules are meant to prevent.

Two cautions are worth stating. First, how a bonus is classified for individual income tax and social insurance depends on the payment and the local rules, and this case does not address it. Our explainer on what counts as wages for social insurance in China is a useful companion. Second, exchange rate choice is a commercial and accounting matter. Confirm the method with your finance team and the EOR before the first cross-currency payment, not after it.

The table below sets out the minimum record for any cross-currency payment.

The lesson. Agree the conversion rate source, the timing and the invoice update process in writing before the first payment. Then keep the three numbers together: the original amount, the rate and the RMB total.

7. Scenarios 3 and 4: Lost Receipts and an Invoice That Would Not Match

Reimbursements look like the least important part of an EOR arrangement until a month closes. These two scenarios show how small paperwork gaps can consume days.

Scenario 3: Receipts that could not be found

The situation. An employee incurred costs during the trip to Germany and mailed the paper receipts to the EOR. When finance opened the package, it found one sheet of A4 paper and a set of meal receipts. The documents that were supposed to support one expense were not there.

What happened next.

1. The employee suggested that a scan might do. The reasoning was that the German side was aware of the expense, and that this type of document was a plain receipt without tax content.
2. Later, in a meeting, the employee found the originals. They had been under a notebook.
3. Mailing them again would have been costly, so the Knit customer success contact asked finance whether they could travel with the following month's documents. Finance agreed, and the current month's processing was not affected.

The result. The month closed without delay, and nobody had to ship a second package for one item.

The lesson. Photograph every receipt before it is mailed, check the set page by page, and send the customer success contact a list of what is in the envelope. Whether a scan can replace an original depends on the document type, the finance team's internal rules and the applicable regulations. The case does not settle that question, and neither should your team assume it. Ask finance first.

A related context point: in November 2024 the State Taxation Administration announced that fully digitalized electronic invoices would be promoted nationwide from December 1, described as having the same legal validity as traditional paper invoices. The news item does not address how reimbursement files should be stored or submitted. So the practical rule remains: ask your EOR's finance team what format it needs for each expense type, and keep the format consistent.

Scenario 4: An invoice total that did not match

The situation. During a monthly reconciliation, the EOR's finance team built a table of invoice amounts and highlighted the ones that matched the Client's data. The unmatched items were left unhighlighted. Where an invoice total was the sum of several amounts, finance asked the Client's contact to add line-item detail.

The cause. The contact checked and found that the wrong file had been uploaded: last month's file instead of the current month's. After the correct file was uploaded, the invoices lined up with the paper receipts and electronic invoices.

The result. The mismatch traced to one specific step, and the reconciliation was completed.

What the team adopted.

• Check the file first. Before anyone investigates amounts, confirm the right month's file was uploaded.
• Break down combined invoices. If one invoice covers several charges, supply the breakdown so finance can match each part.
• Use monthly batching. An invoice dated in a given month is reimbursed in that month. Collect receipts from the first to the last day, then submit them early the next month.

Monthly batching sounds minor, but it removes a common source of confusion. When expenses from different months arrive in the same submission, two employees can have reimbursements that look inconsistent, even though each was handled correctly. A fixed monthly scope makes the question "which month does this belong to?" easy to answer.

8. Scenarios 5 and 6: A Delayed Payment and the Monthly Payroll Rhythm

Scenario 5: Two employees, two payment timings

The situation. One employee's reimbursement covered a more recent month's submission, while a colleague's still covered an older month. The Client's contact asked whether the German side had failed to pay.

What the EOR did. The finance team checked and confirmed that the German side had paid. The delay was on the China side: a domestic bank card limit was holding up the local payment, which would be released after the bank finished its review.

The result. The cause was identified as a domestic bank limit, not the German payer. The Client did not need to keep chasing.

The lesson. When something looks late, the first useful message names where it is stuck. The possibilities are the foreign payer, the domestic bank or document review. A reply that only says "we are checking" leaves the Client guessing, and guessing leads to repeated emails. A reply that says "your payment arrived; the local bank is reviewing a card limit" ends the thread. The case does not give amounts or timeframes for this delay, and no general timing should be inferred from it.

Scenario 6: The monthly payroll rhythm

The setup. To reduce the Client's routine work, the team agreed on a simple monthly cycle:

• The Knit customer success team reminds the Client to upload the month's payroll data.
• The Client's HR uploads the data to a shared folder and confirms attendance. Unless the Client reports otherwise, employees are treated as having full attendance, so the Client only has to report exceptions.
• Reimbursement files are uploaded at the same time and passed to finance for checking.

Why it works. Two design choices carry the process. The first is a default: full attendance unless told otherwise, so the Client reports changes rather than confirming every employee every month. The second is a single cycle: payroll data and reimbursement files go together, so finance handles one set of inputs on one schedule.

The original record does not report a measured time saving, and this article does not claim one. What it shows is a design pattern that other teams can copy: define the default, ask only for the exceptions, and bundle related inputs.

Any such default should be written into the service agreement. For example, the agreement should say what counts as an absence to report, what the cutoff date is for changes, and how late changes are handled. For a view of how payroll and EOR fit together at provider level, see our comparison of PEO and EOR models.

9. Outcomes at a Glance

The table summarizes the six situations. The "reported result" column reflects what the client record states, not a guaranteed outcome.

10. Responsibility Map: What the EOR, the Client and the Employee Each Own

Most of the friction in the case came from uncertainty about who owns a step. The table below turns the six scenarios into a responsibility map. It is a general planning tool, not a statement of what any specific service agreement says. Your own agreement governs.

The last row matters. An EOR handles compliance and pay for the employee, but decisions about business trips and training remain with the Client. The EOR can issue a letter confirming employment. It does not decide whether an employee should travel, who hosts them or who bears the costs.

11. A Reusable Monthly Playbook for Your Own China Team

The six scenarios reduce to a short set of habits. You can adopt them regardless of which provider you use.

Before the month starts

• Write down who issues each common third-party document (verification letters, income proofs, business license copies) and share the list with your team.
• Agree the exchange rate source, the timing and the invoice update steps for any cross-currency payment.
• Set a default for attendance and the cutoff date for reporting exceptions.

During the month

• Ask the consulate or other third party for its current checklist in writing before asking the EOR to draft anything.
• For any expense, keep the receipt, a photo of it and a note of the month it belongs to.
• When a payment looks late, ask where it is stuck, and expect a specific answer.

After the month closes

• Upload payroll data and reimbursement files together, early in the following month.
• Confirm the file is the right month before debugging amounts.
• Provide a breakdown for any invoice that combines several charges.
• Record the original currency, the rate and the RMB amount for any cross-currency payment.

When a request falls outside what an EOR can do

• Ask why the third party wants the document. The purpose often points to an alternative the EOR can support.
• Confirm the alternative with the third party, and note its final position in writing.

If you are evaluating providers, these habits also work as questions. A useful provider can answer them concretely: How do you document a currency conversion? What can you issue for an embassy, and what can you not? How do you tell clients where a payment is stuck? For more on provider evaluation, see our guide to EOR costs, compliance and best practices in China.

12. Illustrative Variation (Hypothetical, Not a Real Client)

The following scenario is invented to show how the habits above carry over. It does not describe a real client, and the figures are placeholders.

Company B is a mid-sized engineering firm with headquarters abroad and three employees in China, employed through an EOR. Its headquarters approves a year-end bonus for Employee X in the home currency and wants it paid in the December payroll. At the same time, Employee Y has been invited to a supplier workshop abroad and needs an employment verification letter, and Employee Z has mailed a set of expense receipts that include a mix of paper and electronic invoices.

A team using the playbook would handle the month like this:

• Bonus. Before December, Company B and the EOR confirm which rate source applies to the conversion and when it is fixed. The EOR sends Employee X the RMB figure, obtains confirmation, updates the invoice and keeps the original amount, rate and RMB figure together.
• Letter. Company B asks the consulate for its current checklist, then sends the EOR the facts and the template. The EOR checks the details against Employee Y's contract and payroll record and issues the letter. If the consulate asks for bank statements, Company B and the EOR discuss what each side can supply.
• Receipts. Employee Z photographs everything before mailing and sends a list of the contents. The EOR's finance team checks the set against the invoice file, asks for a breakdown of any combined invoice and handles any gap in the next month's batch.
• Cycle. Payroll data and reimbursement files are uploaded together. Full attendance is assumed unless Company B reports otherwise.

In this version, no single step is difficult. The difference lies in having decided, before the month began, who owns each one.

13. Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can a German company without a Chinese entity employ staff in China?

Yes, through an Employer of Record. The EOR is a locally registered entity that acts as the legal employer, signs compliant labor contracts, runs payroll and handles employer obligations. The company directs the daily work but is not the legal employer. Confirm the structure for your situation with a licensed PRC adviser.

Q: Who issues an employment verification letter for an overseas training trip?

Under an EOR arrangement, the EOR issues and stamps it, because it is the legal employer. The content must match the labor contract and the employee's actual role. The client usually supplies the trip facts and follows the consulate's template. Check the consulate's current checklist for language and format requirements before drafting.

Q: Can an EOR provide the bank statements an embassy asks for?

Usually not for its whole company account. At most, it can provide records tied to the employee's salary payments. Acceptance is the embassy's decision, and the inviting company abroad may be able to supply other materials. Ask the embassy why it wants the statement, then agree who supplies what.

Q: How should a euro bonus be converted into RMB?

Convert at the rate set out in the invoicing arrangement, tell the employee the RMB amount and obtain confirmation before payment, then update the invoice. Keep the original euro amount, the rate and the RMB amount on record. Agree the rate source and timing in writing before the first cross-currency payment.

Q: Can a scan replace a lost original receipt?

It depends on the document type, the finance team's internal rules and applicable regulations, so ask finance before assuming it works. If the original turns up, ask whether it can be sent with the next month's batch. Photograph and list every receipt before mailing so gaps are visible early.

Q: What should I check first when an invoice does not match the reimbursement total?

Confirm that the right month's file was uploaded, since a file from the wrong month was the cause in this case. Then compare each invoice line by line. If one invoice combines several charges, provide a breakdown so finance can match each part to a receipt.

Q: What is monthly batching for reimbursements?

It means that expenses dated from the first to the last day of a month form that month's reimbursement scope, and the receipts are submitted early in the following month. The fixed scope makes it easy to tell which month an item belongs to and reduces confusion when two employees' reimbursements arrive at different times.

Q: Why might salary and reimbursement reach employees at different times?

Common reasons include different reimbursement months, bank limits and review steps. In this case the German side had paid, and a domestic bank card limit was the cause of the delay. When something looks late, ask your provider where it is stuck: the foreign payer, the local bank or document review.

Q: Does the client have to confirm attendance for every employee each month?

Usually not. In this case the default was full attendance unless the client reported absences, leave or changes by the data cutoff. Your service agreement governs the exact rule, so confirm the default, the cutoff and how late changes are handled.

Q: What should I look for when choosing an EOR for a China team?

Look for a legally registered local entity, compliant contracts and payroll, transparent invoices you can verify each month, and a named contact who responds on document, currency and reimbursement questions. Ask how the provider handles the situations in this article. For a view of coverage elsewhere, see Knit's Employer of Record in Germany guide and the global hiring guides.

14. Glossary of Key Terms

• ‍Employer of Record (EOR): A locally registered entity that acts as the legal employer of a worker on behalf of a client company that has no entity in that country. The client directs the work. The EOR handles contracts, payroll and statutory compliance.‍
• Legal employer: The organization named as the employer in the labor contract. It is the party that must issue employment documents, pay wages and carry statutory employer duties. In an EOR arrangement it is the EOR, not the client.‍
• Employment verification letter: A letter on the employer's letterhead, usually stamped and signed, that confirms an employee's position, employment relationship and sometimes salary. Embassies and banks commonly ask for one, and its content should match the labor contract.‍
• Bank statement: A record of account activity issued by a bank. In visa applications it is used to show financial means. An EOR typically cannot share its whole-company account statements but may provide salary payment records.‍
• Inviting party: The company or organizer abroad that invites a traveler, for example a host factory or a training provider. Consulates often ask for its letter and for a statement on who pays travel and living costs.‍
• Schengen visa: A short-stay visa generally valid for travel across the Schengen area. The consulate that handles the application sets its own document checklist under the EU visa code.‍
• Invoice exchange rate: The rate used in the invoicing arrangement to convert an amount from one currency to another. Using it for a cross-currency payment keeps the payroll figure and the invoice aligned.‍
• Reimbursement: Repayment of a business expense the employee paid personally. It usually needs supporting receipts or invoices, and each provider's finance team sets the format it accepts.‍
• Electronic invoice (e-invoice): An invoice issued and kept in digital form. China's tax authority has announced a fully digitalized version with the same legal validity as a paper invoice, but storage and reimbursement practices should be confirmed with your finance team.‍
• Monthly batching: A habit of grouping expenses by the month in which they were incurred and submitting them together early the next month.‍
• Individual income tax (IIT): The tax on an employee's income in China, withheld through payroll by the employer. Its treatment of a bonus depends on how the payment is classified.‍
• Social insurance and housing fund: Mandatory contributions that employers and employees make in China. The legal employer registers employees and pays them through payroll.

15. About Knit

Knit People was founded in Canada in 2015 and has about 11 years of experience supporting international employers. It serves 4,000+ clients across 172 countries and regions, processes over USD 600 million in annual payroll, operates 60+ owned entities, and maintains a China operations hub in Shenzhen. Its services include Employer of Record, PEO, Global Payroll and Contractor of Record, along with headhunting and recruitment, background checks, entity registration, global tax, insurance and work visa support. Knit holds MSB license No. M23187879. To discuss a China team or a cross-border hiring plan, contact the Knit team or review the Employer of Record services page.

16. Related Reading

• Hiring in China: What to Know and Why Use an EOR
• The Complete China Employer of Record Guide for 2026
• Hiring Employees in China Before Establishing a Local Company
• Employer of Record in Germany: The Essential Guide
• What Counts as Wages for Social Insurance in China
• Employer of Record China: Ensuring Bilingual HR Support for Your Team
• EOR vs. Entity Setup: The Real Cost Math

This article is an anonymized case summary and general educational information about employing staff in the People's Republic of China through an Employer of Record. It is not legal, tax, accounting or immigration advice. Visa document requirements differ by consulate and change over time, tax and accounting treatment depends on the facts, and the legal references here reflect public texts reviewed in October 2026, some of them older reprints. Before relying on any practice described above, confirm the current position with the relevant consulate, with Knit's local team, and with licensed professionals in China and Germany.