Skip to content

International students under eighteen in China: the guardian rule in Order No. 42

Sources checked · Unofficial summary

Article 38 of the Measures for the Administration of Schools Recruiting and Educating International Students (Order No. 42) requires a school that enrols an international student under eighteen whose parents do not live permanently in China to have the parents formally entrust a foreigner or Chinese citizen who lives permanently in China as that student's guardian, with supporting documents. Article 38 sets no minimum or maximum age for admission. These are Chinese rules, issued by China's Ministry of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Public Security; they are not the conditions of any home-country regulator, and this page does not say whether they meet any such condition.

This page takes three Chinese provisions that bear on the question, one at a time: Article 38 of Order No. 42, Article 21 of the 2007 standard on undergraduate medical education in English, and Article 12 of Order No. 42. For the register's admission, fees and study pages, see this register's section page.

Article 38: the guardian for an under-eighteen student

Order No. 42 was issued jointly by the three ministries and, as its promulgation text states, takes effect from 1 July 2017. The English wording below is this site's translation of the Chinese text.

Article 38, first paragraph, applies when all of the following are true:

  1. The school is enrolling an international student.
  2. The student is under eighteen.
  3. The student's parents do not live permanently in China.

When those conditions apply, the school must require the following:

  1. The parents formally entrust a foreigner or a Chinese citizen who lives permanently in China to act as the student's guardian.
  2. The parents provide the relevant supporting documents.

Article 21: the guarantor for affairs in China

Article 21 is in the admission part of the Interim Provisions on Quality Control Standards for Undergraduate Medical Education in English for International Students, annex 1 to Ministry of Education document 教外来〔2007〕39号. That part begins with Article 20, which sets the requirements for applicants to study English-taught undergraduate medical education in China. The English wording below is this site's translation.

Article 21 says that applicants to study in China must have a reliable financial guarantee and a guarantor for affairs in China. The same article says that applicants must undertake to buy medical insurance for the period of study, as the school requires.

Article 21 does not use the word for guardian (监护人). It does not say what the guarantor for affairs in China must do.

Article 20 requires applicants to have high school graduation or above, and it names no age.

Article 12: the school decides admission

Article 12 of Order No. 42 says the following, in this site's translation:

  • A higher education institution must check the admission eligibility of a foreign applicant and the proof of financial guarantee, and must test or assess the applicant.
  • The school decides the admission of international students.
  • A school may not enrol an applicant who does not meet the admission requirements.

Article 12 names no age.

Questions people ask

Is there an age limit for international medical students in China?

Article 38 of Order No. 42 sets no minimum or maximum age for admission. It applies to international students under eighteen whose parents do not live permanently in China. Article 20 of the 2007 standard requires high school graduation or above and names no age.

Who may act as guardian under Article 38?

Article 38 requires the parents to formally entrust a foreigner or a Chinese citizen who lives permanently in China as the student's guardian, and to provide supporting documents. Article 38 names no other qualification for the guardian.

Is the guardian under Article 38 the same as the guarantor for affairs in China under Article 21?

The two provisions use different terms and apply to different situations. Article 38 uses the word guardian (监护人) for an international student under eighteen whose parents do not live permanently in China. Article 21 uses the term guarantor for affairs in China (在华事务担保人) for applicants to study in China. This page does not treat the two as the same role.

Sources

Checked 11 October 2026.

This page is an unofficial summary. It is not legal, medical or professional-licensing advice, it is not published by the bodies named, and it promises no admission, examination or registration outcome. The official text and the regulator's own instructions prevail if they differ.

MBBS Register Desk