'Green card' process may get easier

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Foreigners who live in China for 10 consecutive years may be eligible for a "green card", according to a proposed draft regulation.

The draft, and other amendments to ease requirements for permanent residency, is being considered by the Ministry of Public Security.

Liu Guofu, an immigration law expert at the Beijing Institute of Technology, revealed that the ministry proposed lowering the threshold for applicants at a symposium in August, and is gauging feedback from experts.

Liu said the draft mostly targets immigrants in the field of technology who will be able to apply for permanent residency after living in China for 10 consecutive years, provided they have spent at least nine months each year in the country. They must be employed, have accommodation and a good tax record. The success of their application will no longer be dependent on the position they hold.

Current regulations require applicants, in the technological sector, to hold a position of deputy general manager or associate professor (or higher) for at least four successive years.

If the draft is approved, more foreigners will be eligible to apply for a green card.

China started to grant permanent residency permits to foreigners in 2004. Since then more than 4,700 foreigners have received permits.

Beijing police said that out of about 850 foreigners who had applied for the permits, more than 780 applications had been approved by mid-October.

China approved about 248 applications in the technological sector annually from 2004 to 2011, a rather low rate for a country eager for expertise, Liu said.

The stringent requirements are part of the reason for the low numbers, Liu said.

"The current method of evaluating a foreigner's contribution to China by the rank of his post is one-sided and also deters overseas expertise from coming," he said.

Other than assessing the rank of applicants, he suggested the government classify foreigners by sectors and list the most required skills needed for potential immigrants.

As for investment immigration, where applicants set up a commercial enterprise, Liu said the draft also proposes reducing the investment criteria.

China's first legislation covering the exit and entry of Chinese citizens and foreigners, the Law on the Exit and Entry Administration, was passed in June and will take effect in July 2013. It allows for an increase in the number of green cards.

Wang Huiyao, deputy director of China Talent Research, an institute affiliated to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said the government is also planning to broaden the use of green cards.

He said the human resources authority will soon release a document that allows green cardholders to enjoy equal rights as Chinese citizens, except for the right to elect and be elected.

He said the document was signed this month and will be introduced possibly as early as December.

Under the new document, green card holders will be able to use the card as a travel certificate, such as checking in at hotels, he said.

Questions:

1. According to the proposed draft, how many consecutives years do foreigners have to live in China to be eligible for a green card?

2. When did China start to grant permanent residency permits?

3. What is another use for the green card?

Answers:

1. 10.

2. In 2004.

3. It can be used as a travel certificate.

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Emily Cheng is an editor at China Daily. She was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in Media, English Literature and Politics. She has worked in the media industry since starting university and this is the third time she has settled abroad - she interned with a magazine in Hong Kong 2007 and studied at the University of Leeds in 2009.