How many ways can foreigners apply for patents?

With regard to foreigners applying for patents, China divides foreigners into two categories: foreigners with habitual residence or business office in China, foreigners with foreign enterprises or other foreign organizations, and foreigners without habitual residence or business office in China, and treats them separately according to different situations. Two different ways of handling cases: For foreigners, foreign enterprises or other foreign organizations that have no habitual residence or business office in China and wish to obtain a patent right in China, according to Article 18 of the Patent Law, the following three different cases can be handled (1). If the country where the foreigner is located signs a bilateral agreement with China, it shall be handled according to the provisions of the agreement. (2) If both the foreigner's country and China are parties to international treaties, it shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of international treaties. (3) According to the principle of reciprocity, there are two types. First, if the foreign patent law unconditionally allows foreigners to apply for patents in that country, China also allows citizens and legal persons of that country to enjoy the treatment of Chinese citizens and legal persons; Second, if the patent law of a foreign country stipulates that nationals of other countries are allowed to apply for patents in that country on the condition that they are given national treatment by other countries, China's patent law can give national treatment to that foreign national. Foreigners, foreign enterprises or other foreign organizations that do not meet the above three conditions and have no habitual residence or business office in China cannot apply for a patent in China. According to the Patent Law, foreigners, foreign enterprises or other foreign organizations who have their habitual residence or business offices in China must submit legal documents to China National Intellectual Property Administration to protect their inventions, just like China people. These documents are the basis for China National Intellectual Property Administration to examine and decide whether to grant the patent right, and also the basis for the scope of rights protected by the patent law after the applicant obtains the patent right. The Patent Law and its implementing rules have uniform provisions on the form of patent application documents. All application documents submitted by the applicant shall be in the uniform format formulated by China National Intellectual Property Administration, and Chinese shall be used uniformly. If there is no uniform Chinese translation of a foreigner's name, place name or technical term, the original text shall be indicated in brackets after the Chinese translation. All kinds of certificates and supporting documents submitted by foreign applicants in accordance with regulations are in foreign languages, and China National Intellectual Property Administration may, when necessary, require the applicants to attach a Chinese translation within the prescribed time limit. When applying for a patent for invention and utility model, a foreign applicant shall submit a request, specification, drawings, claims, abstract and other documents. Where an applicant applies for a patent for design, he shall submit a written request, pictures or photographs related to the design and other documents, and specify the product name and product category in which the design is used. After submitting the application, China National Intellectual Property Administration will examine and approve the patent application.