As Chinese economy develops, more and more people come to China for work or settling down. The Chinese government is drafting a new plan in order to welcome more qualified people and provide them a way to become Chinese citizens. New policies have been issued so as to quicken and simplify the Chinese permanent residence application process. The Chinese Immigration Department, established in April 2, 2018, strives to improve the Chinese visa and permanent residence application system.

The Chinese permanent residence process is a complicated one, and many documents need to be prepared beforehand. Hence, a special Foreigner Permanent Residence Service Center has been recently established to provide assistance to those interested in applying for the permanent residence permit. It is mainly in charge of the application process, policy issuing, immigration integration activities, cultural exchanges and provides support for permanent residence holders with regards to their work and life in China.

The Center is China’s first Permanent Residence Service Center, located in Shanghai’s Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park (more centers are set to open in other areas), integrates all services related to application of permanent residences, creating a transparent, convenient, and highly efficiente government platform.

Immigration Integration Activities 

New Immigration integration activities will be held in the future to help recently arrived immigrants be better involved in Shanghai and China. The activities are not limited to cultural exchanges, but also focus more on aspects associated with life and work, including various types of policy support, garbage classification, and certificate processing.

Based on the current policy, there are seven main ways to apply:

1. For Workers, qualification:

1) Must have been working in Shanghai for more than 4 years, with a stay in China of more than 6 months per year

2) Must have an income of more than RMB 600,000 per year, and an individual income tax of more than RMB 120,000 per year

2. For Talents, qualification:

1) Must be a talent accredited by the Shanghai Talent Department or

2) Must have been hired by a Shanghai Technology Innovation Company and have held a talent visa for more than 3 years (There are more 8,000 companies, both foreign and Chinese, follow our official WeChat to check whether your company on the list and how to apply for a talent Visa)

3. For Investment, qualification:

1)  Must have invested more than 2 million USD in China or

2) Must have invested more than 1 million USD in Shanghai or

3) Must have invested more than 1 million USD in central China or

4) Must have invested more than 0.5 million USD in west China

4. For Important Positions, qualification:

Must have worked as Chairman, vice Chairman, General Manager, vice General Manager, or other Senior titles for more than 4 years in one of the following:

1) Research institutes of the State Council or Shanghai Municipal People's Government or public institutions with administrative management or functions

2) Key universities ("211 Project" schools and the first batch of admissions colleges)

3) Enterprises and institutions that undertake the task of national key projects or major scientific and technological projects

4) High-tech enterprises, encouraged foreign-invested enterprises, foreign-invested advanced technology enterprises orforeign-invested product export enterprises

5. Enterprises and institutions like national laboratories, national key laboratories, national engineering laboratories, national engineering research centers, national accredited enterprise technology centers, national engineering technology research centers, or foreign-funded R&D centers

5. For Marriage, qualification:

1) Must have been married to a Chinese citizen (Or people who have Chinese permanent residence) for more than 5 years

2) Must have stayed in China formore than 9 months per year

3) Must have a stable social security and accommodations in China

6. For Outstanding Graduates, qualification:

Foreign graduates from key domestic universities or well-known overseas universities who were engaged in innovative entrepreneurship in Shanghai with a residence permit for private affairs (marked "entrepreneurship") within 2 years after graduation, employedby eligible Shanghai organizations during those 2 years and worked there for 3 consecutive years, with good records of work performance, tax payment, and social credit

7. For Special People:

1) People who made significant and outstanding contributions to China

2) Well known people (artists, athletes, etc.)

3) Special talents

As a pioneer in the nation, Shanghai will develop more immigration integration activities based on the Permanent Residence Service Center, along with the city’s first 6 “Immigrant Integration Service Stations" and 12 "Foreign Social Integration Service Stations", in areas where the foreign population is heavily concentrated.

China will increase policy support to attract more overseas talents, promote the development of international communities, improve international schools, international hospitals and other supporting public services, in order to prompt the improvement of comprehensive services for international talents.

You might be interested in the below topics:

China issued new version Visa in July 2019

When need to renew your work permit? What need to prepare?

What to do with your Work Permit if you want to change a job?

How to apply 2/3/4/5 years work visa?

Edit by Bill Lucas and Jason from VisaOfChina

Proofread by Laura Garcia from WAYWARD Translations

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