Number of green card applicants in city rises after easing of rules
Print Edition
THE number of foreigners applying for permanent residence permits has gone up since July after the city government relaxed the green card rules.
Authorities said 197 foreigners and their relatives have applied for permits since July 1, six times the number of applicants in the same period of last year.
Among them, 174 foreigners were able to apply due to the new policy which allows foreigners who have lived in Shanghai for four straight years and paid taxes to apply for the Chinese green cards.
Previously only business executives, scientists or academicians were entitled to the permanent residence permits.
Under the new rules, foreigners have to work in Shanghai for more than four consecutive years and spent at least six months of each of those years in the country. Their gross salary should be at least 600,000 yuan (US$97,000) and paid more than 120,000 yuan in taxes for each of those years to qualify for green cards.
Officials say the applicants will have to wait for six months to know their fate.
It was not clear, however, how many of the 197 new applicants will be issued with the permits.
Also, applicants can now include corporate welfare in their income profile while applying for the green cards, according to the new rule.
“We found that some of the foreigners could not apply for the green cards simply because a part of their income was counted as welfare, although they met all other criteria,” said Bai Shaokang, head of Shanghai Public Security Bureau. “The new adjustment will benefit more foreigners.”
Expatriates with green cards can enjoy some of the rights enjoyed by Chinese citizens like schooling, employment, real estate purchases and driving licenses among others. There are tax advantages for investors as well.
The city government also said that it had compiled a list of 6,645 high-tech and “strategic” companies and institutes as well as multinational companies with headquarters in Shanghai whose foreign professionals can apply for green cards after working for three years.
Meanwhile, 715 foreigners have been issued residence permits of two to five years since July 1. Professionals who have extended their stay in Shanghai twice and have no legal violations will be issued residence permit for up to five years when applying for the third time, according to new visa rules.
In 2013, a total of 1,886 of the estimated 170,000 foreigners living in Shanghai held green cards.
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