In accordance with the provisions of Article 8 of the Regulations on the Permission and Administration of the Employment of Foreign Workers, the employer must submit an application within four months prior to the expiration of the original employment permit (the employers shall control the time needed to apply and issue the employment permits on their own to avoid illegal employment caused by not having enough time to extend employment). However, for those whose employment permit period is less than six months, over two-thirds of the employment permit period must have passed before being able to apply.