Pre-Employment Health Check in China (入职体检)
A standard pre-employment health check (入职体检) in China costs roughly ¥100–400 ($15–55) at a public hospital checkup centre, takes about an hour on a fasting morning, and returns a report HR can use in 1–3 working days. If you're a foreign hire on a work (Z) visa, note the trap in the paperwork: the 入职体检 is not the government work-permit medical — that's a separate exam on the standardized 体检表 form, usually done at an International Travel Healthcare Center (ITHC) for roughly ¥300–700. Many foreign employees need both, and they are not interchangeable.
Budget ¥100–400 at a public hospital checkup centre for the company onboarding physical (¥600–1,500 at private/international clinics), and — if you're on a Z visa — plan the separate ITHC work-permit medical (~¥300–700) as well. Ask HR two questions before booking: which exams they need, and how recent the report must be (3–6 months validity is typical; some companies want 1–3).
Two different exams — don't book the wrong one
This is the single most common mix-up for foreign hires, and the reason offers stall at the residence-permit stage:
| 入职体检 (company onboarding physical) | Work-permit medical (体检表) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who requires it | Your employer's HR policy | Government (work permit / residence permit) |
| Where it's done | Any hospital checkup centre or clinic HR accepts | Normally an ITHC (International Travel Healthcare Center); other reports often need notarization or re-verification |
| Cost | ¥100–400 public · ¥600–1,500 private | ¥300–700 by city and add-ons |
| Output | Hospital checkup report (usually Chinese) | Stamped Physical Examination Record for Foreigner + health certificate, typically ~4 working days |
| Covered in depth | This page | China visa medical exam guide |
If HR simply says "go do a 体检," ask which of the two they mean. Some employers accept the ITHC medical as covering both purposes; others insist on their own onboarding panel too, especially state-owned enterprises, schools, and food-industry roles (which may additionally require a health certificate 健康证 — a third, food-safety-specific document).
What the 入职体检 includes
Panels vary slightly by hospital and employer, but a standard onboarding package looks like this:
| Component | What's checked |
|---|---|
| Vitals & basics | Height, weight, blood pressure; vision and color-vision (relevant for driving/technical roles) |
| Physician exam | Internal medicine + surgical exam (heart/lungs, abdomen, lymph nodes, spine and limbs); ENT at some centres |
| Blood tests | Blood routine (CBC) and liver function (ALT); some packages add fasting glucose and lipids |
| Urine | Urine routine |
| Imaging & cardiac | Chest X-ray and resting ECG; abdominal ultrasound in fuller packages |
The vision line is the one item on that table scored against a job standard rather than against your health. Driving, aviation, rail, marine and some technical and electrical roles carry uncorrected-acuity or colour-discrimination requirements, which is the whole reason a chart and an Ishihara book sit on an onboarding panel at all. If an acuity threshold is what stands between you and a role, that is a refractive question rather than a checkup one — and the rules differ by authority, which is why it is worth reading how occupational medicals treat refractive surgery before you book anything — and the thing worth settling before you price anything is whether elective eye surgery in China is actually safe, and how to read the outcome numbers honestly. A job requirement is a poor reason to hurry a decision about your corneas. Colour-vision deficiency is a different matter — it is congenital, no procedure corrects it, and any provider suggesting otherwise is selling something.
Two legal protections worth knowing. Since 2010, Chinese regulations prohibit mandatory hepatitis B testing (HBsAg) as a hiring condition for ordinary jobs — checkup centres routinely omit it from 入职 panels, and an employer demanding it for a normal office role is out of step with the rules. Similarly, pregnancy status may not be used as a hiring condition. If a panel you're handed includes items you're not comfortable with, you can raise it with HR — the standard panel above satisfies the typical policy.
Where to do it, and what it costs
| Route | 2026 planning range | Fits when |
|---|---|---|
| Public hospital checkup centre (体检中心) | ¥100–400 | Default route — fast, cheap, report accepted by virtually all employers; Chinese-language environment |
| Dedicated checkup chains (Meinian 美年, iKang 爱康国宾) | ¥150–600 | Employer-arranged batch checks; heavy WeChat booking; results in an app |
| Private / international clinics | ¥600–1,500 | You want English end to end and a same-visit English report — see English-speaking hospital routes |
Booking works like any checkup: WeChat mini-program, hospital app, or walk-in registration on a fasting morning — the full playbook is in our appointment-booking guide. Bring your passport; arrive before 9:30am so blood draws are processed same-day. The report is usually in Chinese at public centres — if your HR is overseas or you want the results for your own records, an English report or translation can be arranged (see getting results in English).
Timing, validity, and what HR actually wants
- Exam time: ~1 hour for the standard panel, fasting from midnight (water is fine — details in the prep checklist).
- Report turnaround: 1–3 working days at public centres; many hospitals push an e-report through their WeChat account you can forward to HR directly.
- Validity window: most employers accept a report issued within 3–6 months; conservative HR policies want 1–3 months. A recent comprehensive checkup report often substitutes — ask before paying for a duplicate panel.
- Foreign hires: sequence matters. The ITHC work-permit medical feeds the residence-permit clock, so book it first (slots and the ~4-day certificate are the bottleneck); the 入职体检 can be done any morning after arrival. City specifics: Shanghai ITHC · Guangzhou ITHC.
Upgrading: onboarding check vs a real annual physical
The 入职体检 is a compliance document, not a health assessment — the panel is deliberately minimal. If you're relocating to China anyway, the pragmatic move many expats make is to upgrade the same morning: a Grade IIIA health-management-centre comprehensive package (roughly $150–450) covers the entire onboarding panel and adds the imaging and labs that actually tell you something — see the annual physical cost guide and the full cost guide for what each tier buys. One visit, one fasting morning, both boxes ticked.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a pre-employment health check cost in China?
As a 2026 planning range, a standard pre-employment health check (入职体检) at a public hospital checkup centre costs roughly ¥100–400 ($15–55). Private and international clinics run the same panel for roughly ¥600–1,500. Foreign hires on a work (Z) visa usually also need the separate government work-permit medical at an International Travel Healthcare Center, which costs roughly ¥300–700 and is a different exam.
Is the 入职体检 the same as the China work-visa medical exam?
No. The 入职体检 is a company onboarding physical any hire (Chinese or foreign) may be asked to do, done at a hospital checkup centre of your choice. The work-permit medical is a government exam on the standardized Physical Examination Record for Foreigner (体检表), normally done at an International Travel Healthcare Center (ITHC), and is required for the Z-visa/residence-permit process. Many foreign hires need both.
What tests are in a Chinese pre-employment health check?
A typical 入职体检 panel: height, weight and blood pressure, vision and color-vision, an internal-medicine and surgical exam, blood routine, urine routine, liver-function tests (ALT), a chest X-ray, and an ECG. Some employers add an abdominal ultrasound. Mandatory hepatitis B testing for hiring has been prohibited in China since 2010, and pregnancy testing may not be used as a hiring condition.
How long is the report valid and how fast do results come?
Most employers accept a pre-employment checkup report issued within the last 3–6 months (some insist on 1–3 months — confirm with HR). The exam itself takes about an hour on a fasting morning, and reports are typically ready in 1–3 working days, often retrievable electronically via the hospital's WeChat account.