New immigration bureau set up to handle foreigners in China

Along with the rise of China’s power, an increasing number of foreigners have come to work and live in this country, which means better immigration services are needed,” State Councillor Wang Yong told some 3,000 lawmakers at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The plan is expected to be endorsed by the NPC later this week.

Key Figures:

There were more than 900,000 foreigners working on mainland China in 2016, according to official data, compared with only 10,000 in the 1980s.

China meanwhile granted permanent residency to 1,576 foreigners in 2016 – a 163 per cent jump from the previous year – under a “green card” scheme that began in 2004.

The number of Chinese going to live in other countries is also on the rise, going from 4.1 million in 1990 to 9.3 million in 2013, according to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

As part of its recent restructuring plan, the Chinese government has proposed creating a national bureau to formulate and implement immigration policy.

The State Immigration Administration would merge the Exit and Entry Administration and China Immigration Inspection — currently separate departments under the Ministry of Public Security. The new administration would oversee exit and entry services for Chinese nationals and visa-related issues for foreigners living and working in the country. The move is part of a comprehensive government overhaul announced Tuesday.

“Setting up a separate immigration bureau indicates that the Chinese government wants to streamline immigration policies and allow less room for local adaptations,” an expert said.

In 2013, China enacted its first comprehensive immigration law to promote foreign exchange while curbing the “three illegals” — entry, work, and stay. Since the country’s opening-up reforms of 1978, there has been a dramatic increase in foreigners living and working in China, from around 10,000 in the 1980s to over 900,000 by the end of 2016.

In 2004, China began offering 10-year green cards — a more permanent status that allows one to live and work freely without having to obtain and renew visas — to foreigners in a bid to attract more top international talent. 

However, the number of green cards actually issued is extremely low compared with countries like the United States, which has several programs, including a diversity visa lottery, for granting residency to foreigners.

In 2016, over 1,500 foreigners were given Chinese green cards — a 163 percent increase from the previous year. The same year, however, the U.S. granted nearly 1.2 million green cards to foreigners.

Edward Lehman, a senior fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the managing director of the law firm Lehman, Lee & Xu, echoed that the State Immigration Administration will consolidate all immigration-related information in a centralized database, making it more readily accessible to authorities. Imagine a Chinese version of the Department of Homeland Security in the U.S., Lehman explained, whose overarching responsibilities range from immigration and customs to counterterrorism, border security, and cybersecurity.

“It would help streamline the [whole] process, acting like a one-stop shop for immigration-related issues,” . The larger intentionis to bring in foreigners who will contribute to the country’s development. ( source: internet and Gov)

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