• Area of Law： Foreign Affairs
• Level of Authority： Group Provisions
• Date issued：02-18-2016
• Effective Date：02-18-2016
• Status： Effective
• Issuing Authority： General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (General Office, CCCPC) General Office of the State Council

General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State CouncilIssuing the Opinions on Strengthening the Administration of Permanent Residence Services for Foreign Nationals
(February 18, 2016)
In order to serve the overall situation of China's economic and social development, according to the overall requirements for comprehensively deepening reform, the following opinions on strengthening the administration of permanent residence services for foreign nationals are hereby offered.
I. Significance, Overall Requirements and Basic Principles
1. Significance. Currently, China has entered into a decisive stage for accomplishing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects. With the enhancement of national comprehensive strength and intensification of internal talent competition, it is urgently needed to create a more favorable opening-up environment with a more active, open, confident, flexible and pragmatic attitude. The permanent resident system for foreign nationals is an important means of attracting and serving foreign nationals who start up businesses, invest, work and live in China. Since the implementation of the permanent resident system for foreign nationals in China, it has played an important role in serving the national talent strategy, attracting overseas investments and cultivating overseas Chinese resources and other aspects. However, there are still problems such as unreasonable setting of application requirements, relatively narrow scope of foreign nationals to whom residence permits are issued and inefficientfulfillment of treatment, among others. The further intensification and improvement of the administration of permanent residence services for foreign nationals is of great significance to implementing the strategy of prospering the country by relying on talents, promoting economic and social development, enhancing the attractiveness of the country and building a harmonious society under new situations.
2. Overall requirements. All relevant parties shall comprehensively implement the spirit of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (“CPC”) and the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Plenary Sessions of the 18th CPC Central Committee, be guided by the Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thoughts of “Three Represents” and the Scientific Outlook on Development, implement in depth the spirit of a series of important speeches delivered by the General Secretary Xi Jinping, firmly establish the concept of innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development, adhere to the strategic objective of gathering and hiring talents around the world, implement more active and effective policies on the administration of permanent residence services for foreign nationals, further rationalize the institutional mechanisms, improve policies and regulations, optimize application requirements, streamline workflow, fulfill qualification treatment, strengthen routine administration, and form a more scientific, reasonable, open and pragmatic pattern for the administration of permanent residence services for foreign nationals.
3. Basic principles
- Adhering to the integration of enlarging opening-up and basing on national conditions. All relevant parties shall, with international perspectives, forward-looking thinking and all-embracing mindset, and be based on China's national conditions, fully utilize the good practices of all countries, implement more open and confident permanent residence policies, and serve and promote opening-up within a wider range and in broader areas.
- Adhering to the integration of planning and market. All relevant parties shall focus on the talent strategy of the state, highlight “high-levels, elites, top leaders, and urgently-needed people,” and, on the basis of actively serving key talent introduction plans, establish a talent determination mechanism, relax the requirements for foreign talents to apply for permanent residence, and attract and gather more outstanding talents.
- Adhering to the integration of services and management. All relevant parties shall accelerate the improvement of relevant laws and regulations and supporting provisions, form a management system for permanent residence services for foreign nationals featured byunityofrightsandobligations, equal importance to services and management, and integration of entry and exit, strengthen system implementation, keep improving service levels, and effectively safeguard national security.
- Adhering to integration of national needs and social needs. All relevant parties shall be oriented by demands and fully reflect the needs of national and social development so as to provide more convenience for foreign talents, investors and prominent contributors' applications for permanent residence, reasonably satisfy the needs of family reunion personnel for permanent residence, and effectively fulfill the qualification treatment for foreign nationals residing permanently in China.
II. Improving theSystem and Mechanisms for the Administration of Permanent Residence Services
4. Integrating administration system. All relevant parties shall adhere to unified administration and consistency between powers and responsibilities, adjust and rationalize the division of functions of the relevant government departments, strengthen the integration of the administration functions for permanent residence services for foreign nationals, further improve the institutional setup and duty configuration of the migrant administrative department of thestate, and uniformly assume the functions of developing permanent residence polices, conducting acceptance and approval, and conducting routine service administration, among others.
5. Establishing an overall planning and coordination mechanism. All relevant parties shall establish a coordination mechanism for the administration of permanent residence services led by the administrative department for the approval of permanent residence of foreign nationals, strengthen policy connection, resolve the major problems through consultation, and coordinate in effectively ensuring work implementation; and establish an expert consultation mechanism for permanent residence policies, and conduct investigation and research by relying on various think-tank resources.
6. Advancing the construction of the rule of law. All relevant parties shall accelerate the development of the regulation on the administration of permanent residence services for foreign nationals, the regulation on administration of foreign nationals working in China and other administrative regulations and supporting regulatory documents, establish a unified and standardized law and regulation system featuring highlighted priorities and mutual convergence, and provide legal guarantee for the administration of permanent residence services for foreign nationals.
III. Setting Flexible and Pragmatic Permanent Residence Application Requirements
7. Actively serving governments' introduction of foreign high-level talents. All relevant parties shall implement the recordation system for key talent introduction plans, steadily expand and make dynamic adjustments to the recordation scope of key talent introduction projects, and open green channels for foreign high-level talents to apply for permanent residence; and establish the talent visa and permanent residence connection mechanism, and give priority to the handling of the applications for permanent residence in China filed by the candidates for “Thousand Talents Program” of the state and other projects subject to recordation incorporated into key talent introduction plans.
8. Promoting the establishment of market-oriented application standards for talents' permanent residence in China. All relevant parties shall, in consideration of social management needs, actively play the roles of market in foreign talent and intellectual resource allocation, link up with wages, taxes and social credit and other market evaluation factors, explore points-basedsystem and other assessment mechanisms, establish the indicator evaluation system for talents to apply for permanent residence which service national development strategies, and reflect market demands and have concise and quantitative requirements, and provide convenient channels for talents needed by and state and recognized by the market to apply for permanent residence in China.
9. Improving the mechanism for conversion of foreign nationals from work residence to permanent residence. All relevant parties shall, as needed by economic and social development, adjust the thresholds for staffers in China to apply for permanent residence, expand the scope of types of employers, lift the restrictions on job levels, relax the requirements for the time limits for residence; and, for foreign nationals who work in the industries and fields with significant state support, smooth out the mechanism for conversion from work residence to permanent residence; and relax the restrictions on outstanding foreign students working in China, and provide channels for their work and applications for permanent residence within China after their graduation.
10. Adjustingthe requirements for foreign investors in China who apply for permanent residence in China. All relevant parties shall implement active investment immigration policies, and, in consideration of the stage and regional characteristics of economic development, enrich evaluation elements, and make flexible adjustments to investment period, amount, ways and other application standards so as to attract foreign nationals to invest in China.
11. Offering facilitation to foreign nationals who make tremendous contributions in applying for permanent residence in China. All relevant parties shall further expand the scope of personnel who make tremendous contributions, enrich ways of making recommendations, simplify application procedures, shorten approval time limits, advocate and encourage foreign friends to contribute to promoting China's education, science and technology, culture, health, sports, public welfare and other undertakings, and set good examples for them in enhancing the friendship between China and foreign countries, maintaining world peace, promoting common development and carrying forward the core socialist values.
12. Actively responding to the reasonable demands of familyreunionpersonnelfor permanent residence. All relevant parties shall expand the types of permanent residence applied for by familyreunionpersonnel, relax the requirements for residence period, and provide the personnel who reside in China on a long-term basis, and had Chinese nationality before with the channels for applying for permanent residence; and, according to the economic and social development capacity, make research on introducing the quota approval system, and achieve the reasonable allocation in the number of personnel.
IV. Furthering Standardizing and Optimizing the Permanent Residence Acceptance and Approval Procedures
13. Establishing unified information release mechanisms. The administrative departments for the approval of foreign nationals' applications for permanent residence shall take charge of issuing in a unified manner the policy provisions and relevant information on foreign nationals' permanent residence, and publish in a timely and accurate manner the application requirements and handling procedures for permanent residence to facilitate public inquiry.
14. Optimizing the acceptance and approval process. All relevant parties shall further reduce the approval, certificate making and circulation links, and improve the acceptance and approval efficiency. For high-level talents and personnel with outstanding contributions who apply for permanent residence, the application materials shall be simplified, and the approval time limits shall be shortened.
15. Improving verification measures. Relevant departments shall effectively conduct the communication and connection in respect of the recordation of foreign high-level talent introduction plans and the development and adjustment of the guiding catalogues of foreign nationals' investment fields in China and of foreign nationals' work in China, etc., and accelerate information verification and feedback.
V. Clarifying and Fulfilling the Permanent Residence Qualification Treatment
16. Clarifying the functions and roles of permanent residence permits for foreign nationals. A permanent residence permit is an identity document for a foreign national to reside within China, and may be used separately. A foreign national may handle finance, education, medical, transportation, communications, employment and social insurance, property registration, litigation and other matters upon the strength of a permit. The residence period of a permit holder shall not be subject to limitation, and a permit holder may enter or leave China upon the strength of his or her own passport or permanent residence permit.
17. Improving the related work and living. Foreign nationals who reside in China permanently shall be exempted from applying for work permits for foreign nationals when working within China, and may participate in examinations for qualifications for holding specialized technical posts and professional qualification examinations as required; may enjoy equal treatment as Chinese citizens in terms of house purchase, handling of financial business, application for driving licenses, enrollment of their children, transportation, accommodation registration, among others; may participate in the corresponding social insurances in accordance with the law, and deposit and use housing provident funds if they work in China; and may enjoy social insurance treatment with reference to the provisions on domestic urban and rural residents' participation in basic medical insurance at their places of residence and basic endowment insurance for urban and rural residents if they reside but do not work within China and comply with the provisions of regions under the overall planning; and may undergo the relevant formalities for the self-use articles carried according to the provisions of the Customs at the time of customs clearance.
18. Implementing qualification treatment. The relevant departments shall clarify the scopes of matters concerning the national treatment enjoyed by foreign nationals residing permanently in China within the scope of their respective functions, and announce them to the public; promote the incorporation of provisions on permanent residence qualification treatment for foreign nationals into the track of legalization, and intensify their legal force. All localities and relevant departments shall incorporate the permanent residence qualification treatment for foreign nationals into the scope of policies, and develop the corresponding supporting measures and strengthen the implementation and supervision thereof, and promote policy implementation.
VI. Strengthening Routine Service Administration
19. Promoting social integration. The local governments at all levels shall incorporate foreign nationals residing permanently in China into the permanent resident service administration system, establish the service mode for the integration of foreign nationals residing permanently in China in which the government takes the leadand departments interact with each other and which involves the participation of the general public, and provide language training, employment services, legal services and other social integration services according to the actual circumstances so as to help foreign nationals residing permanently in China better integrate into Chinese society.
20. Strengthening social services. All relevant parties shall guide and regulate the legal provision of social services by entities where foreign nationals work, social intermediaries and legal service institutions for foreign nationals who apply for residing permanently, working and living in China; and, by relying on the public service system for foreign talents, establish service windows, provide one-stop services, and coordinate in effectively determining and implementing the treatment for talents introduced by governments.
21. Improving routine administration. All relevant parties shall, in consideration of credit system construction, strengthen the administration of the work, study, tax payment, participation in social insurance and other information of foreign nationals residing permanently in China, and direct foreign nationals residing permanently in China to abide by Chinese law and respect social customs.
22. Improving the exit mechanism. All relevant parties shall improve and cancel the circumstances and procedures of permanent residence qualification, and, as for the foreign nationals who endanger the national security and interests of China, are expelled from China as sentenced, obtain permanent residence qualification by any fraudulent means, fail to reside in China for prescribed period, are terminated from being introduced by talent introduction departments and other foreign nationals inappropriate for residing permanently within China, cancel their permanent residence qualification in accordance with the law, and restrict them from reapplying for permanent residence qualification within prescribed time limits.
VII. Improving the Guarantee Level of Permanent Residence Service Administration
23. Strengthening organization and leadership. Local Party committees and governments at all levels and relevant departments shall fully understand the important significance of administration of the permanent residence services for foreign nationals, include it in the important agenda, further unify their thinking, clarify their tasks, make meticulous organization, develop specific implementation opinions according to actual local circumstances, put forward measures and requirements with strong operability, and ensure that all policies are implemented and take effect.
24. Strengthening the building of professional teams. All relevant parties shall, according to the development and changes of the situations and tasks of administration of permanent residence services for foreign nationals, strengthen the building of professional teams for the acceptance, approval and service administration of foreign nationals' permanent residence, reinforce and replenish forces, and improve quality so as to further improve the professional level of service administration.
25. Strengthening information technology guarantee. The Ministry of Public Security shall take the lead in establishing information platforms for the administration of permanent residence services for foreign nationals, achieve information interconnection and sharing with the departments of diplomacy, development and reform, comprehensive governance, education, science and technology, human resources and social security, foreign experts, housing and urban-rural development, finance, commerce, health and family planning, and taxation, among others, and provide support for the policy research and service administration fir foreign national's permanent residence; and accelerate the technical upgrading and transformation of the relevant equipment of railway, civil aviation, banking, insurance, hotel and other window departments and entities, and improve the supporting facilities for permanent residence services.
26. Strengthening publicity and guidance. All relevant departments shall effectively conduct policy interpretation and public opinion guidance, improve the social awareness and international influence of permanent residence policies for foreign nationals, enhance the compatible acceptance of foreign nationals residing permanently within China by the whole society, create a more open and compatible social atmosphere, and create a favorable environment for attracting more foreign nationals to make innovations and start up businesses in China.