With the aim of magnetizing more foreign talents and investors, China has introduced more flexible and practical terms on acquiring a green card.

According to state-run Xinhua news agency, currently, gaining permanent residency in China is open only to a handful of foreign nationals and the standards are too high. But the new policy, which was implemented in 2004, is a bit more relaxed. Under the new policy, foreigners, who already have permanent residency, will no longer need a visa to enter the country. Furthermore, they are now entitled to drive, invest and even enroll their kids in schools without having additional approvals or extra fees to pay.

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Until June last year, only foreigners, who are under the government or those involved in key national projects, were eligible to apply. The rule was then loosened up to include researchers from more institutions and even those with international grants.

The latest directive states that the rule should also be made available for other industries, but did not clearly specify which ones. It also proposed that all government levels should make application process easier.

Premier Li Keqiang told foreigners in February 2015 that the city of Beijing would be the easiest place to apply for a green card. 

Meanwhile, some requirements have not been modified. Existing permanent residency regulations stipulate that only applicants, who have invested at a certain level or who make outstanding contributions to the country, can be approved. Moreover, applicants are also required to be healthy.

According to the directive released in June 2015, green card holders will be able to stay in the country for more than three months every year, or if with special permission, more than one year in five. All eligible applicants need to have been employed in the country for a minimum of four years and have been in China for at least three of the previous four years. 

Tagschina, China permanent residency visa, permanent residency