外籍人士在中國——日常生活法律指南

Foreigners in China-----Legal Guide for Daily Life

無論是學習還是工作，外籍人士在中國的日常生活首先面臨兩件大事：居住和交通。本文以問答的形式，將相關常見法律問題整理如下：

Whether for study or work, the daily life for foreigners in China is faced with two major issues: residence and transportation.In the form of question-and-answer, this article sorts out common legal questions as follows:

（一） 居住法律指南 Legal Guide for Residence

問1：外籍人士可以在中國買房嗎？

Question 1: Can foreigners buy houses or apartments in China?

答1：可以，在中國境內工作、學習達到一定時間且滿足一定條件的境外個人可以購買一套符合實際需要的自用、自住商品房。對於實施住房限購政策的城市，境外個人購房應當符合當地的住房政策規定。多數城市都要求外國人工作或居住滿一年以上方可購房。

Answer 1: Yes. Overseas individuals who work or study in China can purchase a commercial housing unit for their own use according to their actual needs. For cities implementing house purchase quota policies, the purchase of housing units by overseas individuals shall comply with local housing policies. Working or living for more than one year is frequently required in most cities for foreigners to buy a housing unit.

問2：外籍人士在中國購房可否從銀行貸款？有什麼特殊要求?

Question 2: Can foreigners borrow money from banks to buy a housing unit in China? What are the special requirements?

答2：可以。外籍人士在中國購房，在銀行貸款方面享受與中國居民相同的待遇，即購房貸款最高可達所購房屋總價的七成，還款期限最長可達30年。一般中國境內的外資銀行是辦理外籍人士房貸業務的主力軍。外籍人士購房貸款的特殊要求包括：指定國內聯繫人、提供在中國正常工作的證明、購房合同、護照、名字等外文文件的翻譯與公證等。

Answer 2: Yes. Foreigners who buy housing units in China enjoy the same treatment as Chinese residents in terms of bank loans, namely up to 70% of the total price of a housing unit can be loaned and up to 30 years of repayment period can be chosen. Generally, foreign banks in China are the main force of housing loan business for foreigners. The special requirements of foreigners』 loans of housing purchase include appointing domestic contacts, providing certificates of normal work in China, notarizing purchase contracts，translating and notarizing foreign documents such as passports and names, and etc.

問3：外籍人士在中國買房或租房時需要注意哪些常識？

Question 3: What common sense should foreigners pay attention to when buying or renting a housing unit in China?

答3：首先，中國房產用地並非永久產權，普通商品房用地產權僅為70年，不過，住宅建設用地使用權限期間屆滿時，可自動續期。其次，中國房屋面積指的是建築面積而非實際使用面積。建築面積等於實際使用面積加上公攤面積。

Answer 3: First of all, China&39;s housing area refers to the building area rather than the actual use area.The building area is equal to the actual use area plus the shared area.

問4：如果房屋買賣與房屋租賃發生衝突，中國法律中如何處理？

Question 4: If there is a conflict between housing sale and housing lease,how to deal with it in Chinese law?

答4：一般原則是「買賣不破租賃」，即在房屋租賃期間，即便房屋因為買賣而發生所有權轉移，也不影響租賃合同的效力，租客可以繼續居住至合同期限屆滿，不過新房東有權收取房租。但是先抵押後租賃、先查封後租賃和屬於破產財產的房屋，不適用該原則。此外，出租人出賣出租房屋的，應當在出賣之前的合理期間內通知承租人，承租人享有以同等條件優先購買的權利，但是，房屋按份共有人行使優先購買權或者出租人將房屋出賣給近親屬的除外。

Answer 4: The general principle is &34;. That is, during the lease period, even if the ownership of the housing unit is transferred due to sale, it will not affect the validity of the lease contract. The tenant can continue to live until the expiration of the contract, but the new landlord has the right to collect rent. However, this principle is not applicable to housing units which are mortgaged or sealed up before the lease, or which are belong to bankruptcy property. In addition, Where the lessor is to sell a dwelling unit under a lease, it shall give the lessee a notice within a reasonable time limit before the sale, and the lessee has the right of first refusal under the same conditions, unless a divided co-owner of the property exercises the right of first refusal, or the lessor sells the property to any of his close relatives.

問5：外籍人士在中國租房需要注意什麼具體法律問題？

Question 5: What legal issues should foreigners pay attention to when renting housing units in China?

答5：主要有六個方面的法律問題需要注意：一是租賃合同的籤訂人是否具有主體資格，建議儘量通過合法中介租賃房屋，籤約時要求對方提供身份證明、房產證明；二是租賃期限6個月以上的，應當採用書面形式。為了避免爭議，強烈建議租房合同都採用書面形式；三是租賃期限不得超過20年。超過20年的，超過部分無效；四是有必要以清單的形式列舉家具等出租物，並明確在何種情形之下由哪方履行出租物的維修義務；五是有必要明確租金是否包括物業費、網絡通訊費、有線電視費等內容；六是配合房東做好街道和派出所租房備案登記手續。

Answer 5: There are six main legal issues to be noted: (1) whether the signatory of the lease contract has the qualification.It is suggested to rent housing units through legal intermediary as far as possible.When signing the contract, identity certificates, property certificates should be required to provide by the other party. (2)Where the lease term is above 6 months, the lease contract shall be in written form. Nevertheless, written form is always highly recommended for avoiding disputes. (3) The lease term may not exceed twenty years. If the lease term exceeds twenty years, the portion of the lease term beyond the initial twenty year period is invalid. (4) It is necessary to make a list of furniture and other lease items and form of lists, and make clear in the lease contract which party will be responsible for the maintenance of them under what kind of circumstances. (5)It is necessary to make clear whether the rent includes property management fee, network communication fee and cable TV fee,and etc. (6)Please cooperate with the landlords to go to the local residential district and police station to finish the housing rental registration procedures.

（二）交通法律指南 Legal Guide for Transportation

問題1.外國人如果僅持有外國駕照或國際駕照，能否在中國駕駛汽車？

Question1: Are foreigners allowed to drive in China if they have foreign driver&39;s licenses?

答：不能。外國人在中國駕駛汽車必須持有中華人民共和國駕照，否則就屬無證駕駛，是違法行為。雖然根據《聯合國道路交通公約》，持有外國駕照，在半年內不用換領本地駕照即允許駕車，但很遺憾中國尚未參加該公約，因此不直接承認外國駕照和國際駕照在中國的有效性。

Answer：No. Foreigners driving in China must hold driver’s licenses of the People&39;s licenses are allowed to drive within six months without renewing of local driver&39;s licenses and international driver&39;s license, you need to submit your passport, residence permit in China, original international or foreign driver&39;s license,you need to submit your passport, residence permit in China, Certificate of Driver’s Physical Condition, and pass the theoretical examination and road driving examination altogether.

In any case, multilingual examinations are provided, including English, French, German, Spanish, Arabic, etc.

問3：如果外國人只是打算在中國短期駕駛汽車，也需要通過考試取得中國駕照嗎？

Question3: Do the foreigners need to pass the exams and obtain Chinese driver’s licenses if they only plan to drive in China temporarily?

答：不需要，如果外籍人士持有國外駕照，可以直接申請中國《臨時機動車駕駛許可》，即無須經過考試，只要接受適當的道路交通安全法律、法規學習，就可以領取有效期最長不超過三個月的《臨時機動車駕駛許可》，在中國境內駕駛汽車。而且，北京、上海等地的國際機場就可以辦理，非常便捷。

Answer: No, they don’t need to do so .If the foreigners have foreign driver&39;s Republic of China;

2. Contract Law of the People&39;s Republic of China;

4. Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China;

5. Provisions on the Application for and Use of Motor Vehicle Driving Licenses;

7.Provisions on the Administration of Motor Vehicles and Drivers of Temporary Entry;

8.Provisions on the Procedures for Handling Road Traffic Accidents;

9.Opinions on Regulating the Access to and Administration of Foreign Investment in the Real Estate Market.

浙江省社科聯社科普及課題成果

課題編號：14ZD21

負責人：李文青

課題名稱：外籍及港澳臺人士中國法律指南（中英文）

推薦單位：杭州師範大學