Student status and certificates: what a Chinese university must register and issue
A Chinese university issues qualification certificates or other certificates of study to international students. For international students in degree education, it must also register their student status and graduation certificates electronically in good time. Degree certificates are issued to international students who meet the conditions for degree award. These rules come from Order No. 42, Article 21.
The Chinese texts of Order No. 42, the Quality Standards for the Higher Education of International Students in China (Trial), and the Degree Law are cited here in this site's English translation.
Certificates the university issues
Order No. 42, Article 21, first paragraph, says that the university issues qualification certificates or other certificates of study to international students, under national rules. Article 21 does not list the titles or forms of these certificates.
Electronic registration of status and graduation certificates
Order No. 42, Article 21, first paragraph, second sentence, says that for an international student in degree education, the university shall handle the electronic registration of student status and graduation certificates in good time.
Section 10.1 of the Quality Standards says that the university shall:
- improve its student status management system under national rules;
- standardize student status management of international students in China;
- implement the electronic registration system for the student status and academic qualification records of international students in China;
- set the conditions and procedures for international students changing their major.
The Quality Standards are trial standards addressed to higher education institutions.
Degree certificates
Order No. 42, Article 21, second paragraph, says that the university issues degree certificates to international students who meet the conditions for degree award. Article 21 does not state those conditions.
The Degree Law, Article 29, is written for degree-awarding units. Under it, a degree-awarding unit, acting on a resolution of its degree evaluation committee to confer bachelor's, master's or doctoral degrees, must:
- publish the list of persons granted degrees;
- issue the degree certificates;
- report the degree-award information to the provincial degree committee.
The provincial degree committee reports the degree-award information for its region to the State Council Degree Committee, which files it for the record. Article 29 does not name international students.
| Record | Provision | What it requires |
|---|---|---|
| Qualification or other certificate of study | Order No. 42, Article 21, first paragraph | The university issues it under national rules |
| Electronic registration of student status and graduation certificate | Order No. 42, Article 21, first paragraph, second sentence | For degree-education students, the university handles it in good time |
| Degree certificate | Order No. 42, Article 21, second paragraph | Issued to those who meet the conditions for degree award |
| Publication of the list and reporting | Degree Law, Article 29 | The unit publishes the list, issues the certificate and reports the information |
Student status management, withdrawals and expulsions
Order No. 42, Article 31, first sentence, says that the university manages the student status of international students by reference to the rules for Chinese students' student status management.
Order No. 42, Article 31, second sentence, says that when the university decides to withdraw an international student or expel them, it must file that decision for the record under the rules of the education administration department of the State Council. Article 31 sets no time limit for that filing.
Questions people ask
Who issues a degree certificate to an international student?
Order No. 42, Article 21, second paragraph, says the university issues it to international students who meet the conditions for degree award. Article 21 does not state those conditions, so this answer cannot list them.
Is a degree certificate registered electronically?
Order No. 42, Article 21, first paragraph, names electronic registration for the student status and graduation certificates of degree-education students. Article 21 names no electronic registration for degree certificates. Section 10.1 of the Quality Standards refers to the electronic registration system for the student status and academic qualification records of international students.
Sources
- Measures for the Administration of Schools Recruiting and Educating International Students (学校招收和培养国际学生管理办法), Order No. 42 of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security — Ministry of Education of the PRC
- Quality Standards for the Higher Education of International Students in China (Trial) (来华留学生高等教育质量规范（试行）) — Ministry of Education of the PRC
- Degree Law of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国学位法) — Ministry of Education of the PRC
Checked 11 October 2026
This page is an unofficial summary. It is not published by or affiliated with the Ministry of Education, the China Scholarship Council or any university, and it is not legal advice. If the official text differs from this summary, the official text and the current notice of the university or authority handling your case prevail.