Foreign workers in Beijing, who hold permits, are now allowed to buy one residential apartment - with the cancellation of  the requirement of having at least one year employment in the city, according to authorities.

Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development announced over the weekend that non-Chinese citizens in Beijing are now permitted to own a property, while satellite branches of international companies are also allowed to buy non-residential real estate to be utilized as their offices. Furthermore, citizens from Macao, Hong Kong and Taiwan as well as overseas mainlanders can purchase one apartment in the city if they plan to work, stay or study in Beijing.

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Before this new law was implemented, non-local workers needed to be employed for at least one year to be eligible to own an apartment in Beijing, one of the five cities in China that prohibits foreigners to purchase properties so as to control the increasing price of houses.

Earlier this month, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and five other departments proclaimed the new policy and changed foreigners' access to the Chinese housing market. As the city began implementing the regulation, it lifted the existing threshold.

This new policy took effect on Feb. 4. And now,  non-local citizens with a legal working permit plus a fair amount of money can own the properties they have always been eyeing. However, foreigners are still not eligible to avail for some financing, including long-term expatriates.

Meanwhile, Beijing Real Estate Research Institute researcher Liu Siwei said that the new law for is consistent with the city's goal to become a center for international trade.

Tagschina, Beijing, China Real Estate, Foreign Policy, China foreign workers