On Dec. 12, Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department issued several measures, including
■ Making it easier to apply for permanent residence in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area(大湾区).
■ Extension to the time window for Visa-Free Transit
Where Is This Area?
According to Deputy Director-General of Guangdong’s Provincial Public Security Department, the 18-measures aim at facilitating construction of Guangdong - Hong Kong - Macao Greater Bay Area and attracting more high-level talent to settle down in the Greater Bay Area.
The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area consists of 9 cities and 2 SARs, including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, Dongguan, Huizhou (excluding Longmen) Zhongshan, Zhuhai, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing (city center and Sihui), Hong Kong and Macao.
Permanent Residence
in Greater Bay Area
The 18 measures also gives attention to improving the quality of life for highly qualified individuals in 9 cities in Greater Bay Area mentioned above or Jieyang Sino-German Metal Eco-city.
Who Can Apply For?
■ According to these measures such individuals, as recommended by governments of the 9 cities in the Greater Bay Area and Jieyang, can apply for permanent residence in China. This right will be extended to their spouse and any children.
■ For expats who work in start up businesses or work as technicians in enterprises, they can also apply for permanent residency approval in the future and will be evaluated under a point base scheme encompassing education level, annual income, work duration in China and whether the job belongs to one of the so called ‘innovation industries’.
■ For foreigners who have a doctor degree or above, or who have worked continuously for 9 years in enterprises in Greater Bay Area and live in China for a total of not less than 6 months each year, they can apply for permanent residence in China.
■ Furthermore, expats who invest more than 1 million USD for 3 years in a row can apply for permanent residence.
5-year Residence Permit
For foreign Chinese(not bound by age of 60) starting business, can apply for a valid 5-year work visa directly with a work permit and an employer's letter of guarantee.
They can also apply for a 5-year valid residence permit for private affairs directly with entrepreneurial plan (adding "Entrepreneurship").
To know more about Entrepreneurship visa 
Easiest Way For Overseas Students to Get Resident Permit!
Internship Visa
Foreign students who come to China for an internship in the companies (recorded by Exit-Entry Administration of Guangdong Public Security Bureau), can apply for a short-term visa(adding "internship") at a port visa institution.
If you come to China with other types of visa, you can also change it into a short-term internship visa.
Implementation Time Dec 2017
TWOV from 72h to 144h
We have introduced Guangdong will double the Visa-Free Transit duration from 72 hours to 144 in our previous articles.
Enter China Without Visa: 24, 72 & 144 Hour Options!
And now, you can choose more ports to enter or exit China. Foreign transit passengers can enjoy this policy when entering China from
■ Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport,
■ Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport
■ Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport
Exit Ports
All 32 air, land and sea ports of exit in Guangdong province
According to Guangdong’s Provincial Public Security Department, the 144-Hour Visa-Free Transit Policy is available to the passengers with following nationalities:
| Continent | Country |
Asian (6) |
Republic of Korea, Japan, Singapore, Brunei, United Arab Emirates and Qatar. |
Schengen countries in Europe (24) |
Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovak, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. |
Other European countries (13) |
Russia, Great Britain, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania. |
American countries (6) |
The United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Chile. |
Oceanian (2) |
Australia and New Zealand. |
Implementation Time 1st quarter of 2018.
Guangdong’s Provincial Public Security Department will continue to issue more facilitation measures in the future, being both beneficial to the development of the Greater Bay Area, as well as attracting more talent to the region.
Ref: NewsGD, 平安南粤
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