This notice was published by China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs in June 2018. What follows is CDB’s translation. Find the original here.
Notice from the Ministry of Civil Affairs regarding “The work method for the Ministry of Civil Affairs to process applications to establish professional supervisory units for overseas non-governmental organisations’ representative offices (trial)”
Overseas Non-governmental (ONGOs) organisations:
“The work method for the Ministry of Civil Affairs to process applications to establish professional supervisory units for overseas non-governmental organisations’ representative offices (trial)” has already passed the eighth review of the minister’s office in 2018. We hereby present it to you, please conduct your application work in accordance.
Attached please find:
1. The application book for ONGOs proposing that the Ministry of Civil Affairs act as PSU for their representative office
2. The situation form for ONGO’s activities in China
3. The letter regarding the approval of the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) to be a PSU
The Ministry of Civil Affairs
21 June 2018
“The work method for the Ministry of Civil Affairs to process applications to establish professional supervisory units for overseas non-governmental organisations’ representative offices (trial)”
In order to standardise the work of accepting and processing applications for the MCA to act as the professional supervisory unit of ONGOs’ representative offices, according to “The People’s Republic of China’s Law on the Management of Domestic Activities of Overseas Non-governmental Organisations in China”, “The List of Fields of Activity, Categories of Projects and Professional Supervisory Units for Overseas NGOs Carrying Out Activities in Mainland China (2017)” (here on referred to as “the List”) and “Guidelines on Registering a Representative Office and Filing to Conduct Temporary Activities for Overseas NGOs” (here on referred to as “the Guidelines”), the following method has been laid down:
1. Scope of acceptance
ONGOs must meet the following conditions, in order to apply for the MCA to be the PSU for the registration and establishment of the representative office:
- Comply with section ten of “The People’s Republic of China’s Law on the Management of Domestic Activities of Overseas Non-governmental Organisations in China”.
- Comply with the scope of work for organizations with the Ministry of Civil Affairs as PSU, as set by “the List”.
2. Required Documents
- Application book for ONGOs proposing that the Ministry of Civil Affairs act as PSU for their representative office (one copy)
- Situation form of ONGO’s activities in China (two copies)
- Documents 2-11 for establishment and registration stated in the “the Guidelines”
If the above documents are in foreign languages a Chinese translation must be provided, and all documents must be authenticated and notarised. The ONGO is responsible for the truthfulness and legality of the documents it submits.
3. Acceptance of Applications
Once the MCA has received the documents listed in section two, all documents will be processed within sixty days, and a decision of acceptance or denial of being a PSU will be made. In special cases, the process of making a decision can be extended, and the applying ONGO will be informed in advance. The processing time will not be extended more than thirty working days.
Those who agree to be a PSU must stamp the relevant application forms in the name of the MCA and issue a letter of agreement to the ONGO (document 3). Those who do not agree to be a PSU must inform the applying ONGO in a timely manner.
During the approval process the MCA can take steps to further understand and verify the situation of the ONGO.
4. Other
ONGOs’ representative offices that have registered at the Public Security Bureau, and have the MCA as their PSU, will provide the MCA with annual work plans and annual work reports according to the regulations. For those that need to alter or cancel registration, an application should be made to the MCA, and after approval, to the public security department for processing.
The contact number concerning the Ministry of Civil Affairs processing and accepting applications for establishing a PSU for overseas non-governmental organisations’ representative offices is: (010) 58123284
