China plans to implement a "green card" system, a long-term
residence permit, in 2004.
Hoping to attract more senior experts and funds from abroad,
regulations for permanent residence permits for foreigners have
been mapped out by the Ministry of Public Security and related
departments and sent to the State Council for approval, said a
senior ministry official just before New Year's Day.
Under the new system, some foreigners living or working in China
will not have to apply for visas when leaving and entering the
country, as the government will allow foreigners holding senior
positions to apply for residency permits in China.
The official, who did not want to be identified, said the
regulations would apply to high-level foreign professionals, big
investors and foreigners seeking to reunite with family.
Analysts have praised the move, saying it is another crucial
step for the country to open to the outside world and attract more
foreigners to its modernization drive.
Once the new system is fully implemented, foreigners who meet
the government-determined requirements and returned overseas
Chinese who have already resided in China for at least six months
would be eligible to apply for a green card or long-term residency
permits ranging from one to five years, the official said.
The system is different from green card systems in many
countries which are residency permits and allow those who hold the
same treatment as local citizens.
Even so, the new regulations will help loosen restrictions on
foreigners working in China, said an official with the entry and
exit office from the bureau of public security in Beijing.
There is also a growing call from foreign professionals to
simplify entry and exit procedures and enjoy many of the rights
local people have.
Of particular interest to many are the significant tax breaks
and allowances permanent residents get.
For example, foreign persons holding green cards would be
charged local rates for their children's education instead of the
higher foreign rates. They would also enjoy similar citizen
treatment when purchasing housing, autos and social insurance.
As early as 2001, the Ministry of Public Security's Exit and
Entry Administration promised to implement a new green card system
by the end of 2003.
With rapid economic growth, China's demand for overseas experts
and specialists is also surging.
According to 2001 statistics more than 60,000 registered
foreigners worked in the country. The actual number could be far
higher than that.
The government has taken some measures to resolve the issues in
line with international practices, experts said.
For example, 45 foreigners in Beijing -- including senior
advisors, researchers and managers invited by the Chinese
Government as well as professionals from foreign-funded companies
-- received the country's first batch of long-term residence
permits and multi-entry visas in February 2003, Xinhua
reported.
These permits, allow three or five years' stay in China and
don't need to be renewed annually, it said.
"The permits and visas only serve as a transition toward
permanent residence permits," said Zhang Yindi, deputy-director of
the Entry-Exit Administration
Besides foreigners, the green card system is also aimed at
attracting overseas Chinese back to China, experts said.
The system will facilitate their return and allow them to retain
their citizenship or permanent residency status elsewhere while
living and working permanently in China.
Since China's reforms in 1978, approximately 300,000 people have
left China for education overseas. About one third of these people
have returned to China since then.
In the past two years, China has experienced a surge in returned
Chinese.
A recent survey showed 80 percent of overseas Chinese students
prefer to start their careers at home. Moreover 60 percent of those
students would select Beijing as their first choice for future
development, it said.
There are a total of 110,000 returned Chinese scholars in the
capital. Besides, more than 40,000 have started their careers in
Beijing.
Once fully implemented, the new system will significantly alter
the current "Hukou system -- the household registration
system by which a person's residency status determines his/her
ability to obtain work, healthcare, education and housing -- which
has governed people's residency rights since early 1950s.
(China Daily January 5, 2004)
