Transferring between Chinese universities as an international student: the rules

Yes, but as an exception rather than a routine option. Order No. 42, Article 13 allows a university to receive an international student who transfers from another school once the school that originally admitted the student has consented, and section 10.5 of the Quality Standards then requires the student to apply and both universities to agree, with the receiving university assessing the application against a standard no lower than its own entry standard for international students. The general national rule underneath this is that a student completes the degree at the university that admitted them and transfers only for reasons the rules recognise (Order No. 41, Article 22), and a university applies that rule to international students by reference; as part of it, a graduate transfer also needs the consent of the supervisor of the programme transferred into (Order No. 41, Article 23).

The three documents, and how each one reaches you

Three official texts govern the question, and they do different jobs.

• Order No. 42, the Measures for the Administration of Schools Recruiting and Educating International Students (Ministry of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Public Security), signed 20 March 2017 and in force from 1 July 2017 (Article 48); Chapters 2 to 5 apply to higher education institutions (Article 2). Its Article 13 is the provision that makes an incoming transfer possible at all.
• The Quality Standards for the Higher Education of International Students in China (Trial), issued with Ministry of Education notice 教外〔2018〕50号. Section 10.5 is the only part quoted here. These standards are addressed to universities — they state what a university must set, publish or do — and they are trial standards; where they leave a matter to each university, they leave it there.
• Order No. 41, the Provisions on the Administration of Students in Regular Higher Education Institutions, in force from 1 September 2017 (Article 68). It is written for students in regular degree education in general, not for international students as such. Order No. 41, Article 66 says that schools manage international students by reference to these provisions, and Order No. 42, Article 31 says that universities manage the student status of international students by reference to the rules for Chinese students. So Articles 22 and 23 below are the general national rule that a university applies to an international student by reference, and the university's own published rules for international students give the actual periods and procedure.

The Chinese texts are quoted as published; the English wording on this page is this site's own translation.

Who has to agree

The chain of consent is short but every link in it is required:

1. You apply. Section 10.5 of the Quality Standards puts the application with the student; Order No. 41, Article 23 adds that the student states the reasons.
2. Your current university agrees, and must provide the receiving university with a truthful and complete account of your academic record and conduct (Quality Standards, section 10.5).
3. The receiving university agrees, and reviews the application on the principle that you meet a standard not lower than its own entry standard for international students, that you meet its training requirements, and that it has the capacity to train you (Quality Standards, section 10.5).
4. The original admitting school consents to the receiving university taking you (Order No. 42, Article 13).
5. For a master's or doctoral student, the supervisor of the programme you want to enter consents (Order No. 41, Article 23).

The bars on transferring

Order No. 41, Article 22 states the general position first: a student should normally complete the degree at the university that admitted them, and may apply to transfer only because of illness, or because of a special difficulty or special need that makes it impossible to continue studying at that university or to meet its study requirements. The same article lists the cases in which a transfer is not allowed.

Bar as written	What it says
Enrolled less than one semester, or in the year before graduation	The student has been enrolled for less than one semester, or is in the year before graduation.
Admission score	The student's gaokao score is lower than the receiving school's admission score for the relevant major, for the same source region (生源地) and the corresponding year.
Academic level	The transfer would move the student from a lower academic level (学历层次) to a higher one.
Targeted employment admission	The student was admitted under a targeted-employment admission arrangement (定向就业招生).
Graduate admission control standard	For a graduate student, the admission control standard (录取控制标准) of the school and programme the student wants to enter is higher than that of the school and programme the student is in.
No justified reason	There is no justified reason for the transfer.

The fifth bar is the one written specifically for 研究生 (graduate students). The second is expressed in terms of gaokao scores.

Article 22 also covers the case where the need to transfer arises from something other than the student's own reasons — the article gives a change in the school's training conditions as the example. There the school should issue a certificate, and the provincial education administrative department of its location coordinates the transfer to a school at the same level.

How the receiving university decides

Order No. 41, Article 23 sets the decision path. The receiving university is responsible for reviewing the transfer conditions and the supporting proof, and if it considers that the student meets its training requirements and that it has the capacity to train the student, the transfer may proceed after the matter has been considered and decided by the university's president's office meeting or by a dedicated meeting (校长办公会或者专题会议). For a graduate student, the supervisor's consent is required on top of this.

Where the transfer crosses provinces, the provincial education administrative department of the place the student leaves consults the one of the place the student enters, and the transfer is handled once the transfer conditions are confirmed. The article also provides for transfer of household registration (户口): the provincial education administrative department of the receiving place sends copies of the relevant documents to the public security organ where the receiving school is located. How that part bears on an international student's residence paperwork is not settled by the provisions quoted on this page.

Student status, immigration and files

This is the part section 10.5 of the Quality Standards is most specific about. When the two universities handle the transfer, they must, in accordance with relevant national regulations and their respective responsibilities, coordinate closely and smoothly on the student's 学籍 (student status), on immigration and entry-exit matters, and hand over copies of the student's file (文书档案副本).

What the deadlines are, how many credits carry over, and whether a scholarship attached to your current place can follow you are matters the provisions quoted on this page do not cover; the university's own published rules for international students give the procedure and the periods.

A planning suggestion, not a rule

Nothing below is a requirement from any of the documents. As a way to organise the approach: read your current university's published rules for international students first, since those carry the periods and the procedure; ask which office handles transfer applications before you write anything; keep the reason for the transfer and the evidence for it together, because both the grounds and the "no justified reason" bar turn on it; and approach the receiving programme's supervisor only after you know the receiving department is willing to consider a transfer at all.

Questions people ask

Do I have a right to transfer to another Chinese university?

No. The general rule in Order No. 41, Article 22 is that a student completes the degree at the university that admitted them, and a transfer application is assessed against the grounds and the bars in that article, with both universities and the receiving programme's supervisor having to agree.

Can I transfer during my first semester?

Not under the first bar in Order No. 41, Article 22, which refuses a transfer where the student has been enrolled for less than one semester; the same bar also applies to a student who is in the year before graduation.

Does my supervisor really have to agree?

For a graduate student, yes: Order No. 41, Article 23 requires the consent of the supervisor of the programme transferred into, in addition to the consent of both universities.

Who handles my residence permit during the transfer?

Section 10.5 of the Quality Standards requires the two universities to coordinate closely and smoothly on student status and on immigration and entry-exit matters, and to hand over copies of your file; the actual procedure and timing are set out in the university's own published rules.

Will my credits transfer with me?

The provisions quoted on this page do not cover credit recognition.

Sources

• Measures for the Administration of Schools Recruiting and Educating International Students (Order No. 42) — Ministry of Education of the PRC (moe.gov.cn)
• Quality Standards for the Higher Education of International Students in China (Trial) — Ministry of Education of the PRC (moe.gov.cn)
• Provisions on the Administration of Students in Regular Higher Education Institutions (Order No. 41) — Ministry of Education of the PRC (moe.gov.cn)

Checked 11 October 2026

This page is an unofficial summary, is not published by or affiliated with the Ministry of Education, the China Scholarship Council, CHSI or any university, is not legal advice, and if it differs from the official text or from the current notice of the university or authority handling your case, that official text and notice prevail.