Doors not Wide Open: China’s Reluctance in Issuing Green Cards

Doors not Wide Open: China’s Reluctance in Issuing Green Cards
Sep 10, 2013 By eChinacities.com

Editor’s note: the following article was translated from wenxuecity.com, a Chinese-language website for Chinese expats abroad. The article explores the so-called Chinese “green card” and China’s immigration policy towards non-Chinese nationals moving to China. Through a number of facts and figures related to visas and population counts, we can see just how stingy the country has been in its issuance of long-term residence permits. Marred by the lack of one central ministry to handle all immigration matters and the fact that green card requirements are so restrictive, it seems that China is a long way off from becoming a truly international country like the United States or Britain.

Since 2004, when the “Measures for the Administration of Examination and Approval of Foreigners' Permanent Residence in China” were approved, a mere 1000 people have obtained the Chinese “green card”. Meanwhile, by 2002 the number of foreign residents and first-generation immigrants born in the United States had already reached 56 million, one fifth of the overall population. So how difficult is it to obtain a green card in China? And why do non-citizens want to stay in China anyway?

There are how many foreigners in China?

At present there are 180,000 foreign residents living in Beijing, of whom 100,000 come from South Korea. Recently published results from the Sixth National Population Census show that non-Chinese residents including those from Hong Kong and Macau amount to 1.2 million people in China. Most of these people are concentrated in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Jiangsu and other provinces along China’s seaboard. Koreans form the majority, followed by the United States, Japan and South East Asian countries.

How international is China?

Compared to other countries and regions, the ratio between foreign residents in China and citizens is quite low, with some very clear disparities compared to other countries. According to the International Organization for Migration, in 2010 people from other countries born in China accounted for 0.1% of the total population. That number is not only lower than such developed countries as the United States (13.5%), Japan (1.7%), Germany (13/1%) and Korea (1.1%), it’s also lower than developing countries like India (0.4%), Brazil (0.4%), Russia (8.7%) and Thailand (1.7%).

According to data from the International Organization for Migration, from 2005-2010 the net migration rate (the difference of immigrants and emigrants of a country) was -0.3% from 2005-2010, a figure that’s not only lower than the US (3.3%), Japan (0.2%), German (1.3%) and France (1.6%), but also lower than India (-0.2%), Brazil (0.2%), Russia (0.4%), Thailand (0.9%) etc. China’s net migration rate is however slightly higher than such developing countries as Indonesia (-0.6%), Vietnam (-0.5%) and Pakistan (-1.6%).

Why are expats staying?

Pollution is suffocating, traffic is gridlocked and there’s a frightening list of food scares, from poisonous bean sprouts to gutter oil. So why are so many foreigners still willing to live in China? The answer is “money”. Recently, HSBC’s 2012 Expat Explorer Survey showed that China’s position has risen from the 19th spot to number seven in just one year. The survey covered immigration in four continents and measured economics, the expat experience and the challenges of raising children overseas (there was no China-related data for this category). About half of the people who took part in the survey thought that one can earn more money in China. And they’re not wrong. 64% of those interviewed claimed that their family financial situation improved after moving to China.

Among the 1 million+ expats who reside in China, there are not only high-earning European managerial level workers and talents who moved her following the economic downturn in the West. China also attracts a large number of business people from Africa who primarily move to Guangzhou and many Russians who move to the northeast for work. Since 2000, the number of foreigners moving to China has increased by 10% per annum, according to official sources.

Today, pollution in China has already reached “dangerous” levels. Grey smog blankets cities’ skies and it’s often difficult to see the other side of the street. According to some old China hands, the numerous restrictions and health scares have prompted many to move back home. However, there are also those who choose to stay because of the availability of work.

The management of foreign nationals in China?

China has introduced reforms related to entry-exit management and border control since 1979. In 1985, the implementation of the “Law of the People's Republic of China on Control of the Entry and Exit of Aliens” marked the first time the management of foreigners was legalized.

There are currently three ministries that manage foreigners in China: the Exit-Entry Administration of the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs. What’s more, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Development & Reform Commission, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science &Technology, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Finance all have a role in the management of foreigners in China. This dispersion of ministries has resulted in inefficient and poor management of foreign nationals.

How many people have obtained Chinese “green cards”?

Since 1985 when China began allowing foreigners to take up long-term and even permanent residence in China, only a very small number of people have actually been granted permission to stay for the long haul. According to a report that was issued when the 2004 “Measures for the Management and Approval of Foreigners' Permanent Residence in China” came into effect, 649 people were granted permanent residence between Aug 15, 2004 and Sep 30, 2005. Before this regulation was implemented, China granted a total of 3000 permanent residence cards. Seven years after the measures were implemented only around 1700 foreign nationals have obtained the Chinese “green card”. In other words, in the 26 years from 1985-2011, less than 5000 foreign nationals have been given the right to reside in China permanently. That number is miniscule considering China’s 1.3 billion population and the hundreds of millions who have emigrated overseas.

The “Measures for the Management and Approval of Foreigners' Permanent Residence in China” stipulates that “Those who have worked in China consecutively for four years and who have accumulated good tax records for at least three years, can apply for permanent residence”. However, applicants must be “executive managers, deputy heads or higher, or have senior positions as professors or researchers.” As a result, many people are saying that Chinese green cards are the most difficult to apply for.

If obtaining a Chinese green card is difficult, immigrating to China is even more cumbersome. The current laws even “weed out” immigrants to a certain extent. The reality is that to date, China still doesn’t have an effective system in place to process applications for Chinese citizenship, nor is there a proper legal system for dealing with the integration of immigrants in China.

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Keywords: Chinese green cards foreigners in China

5 Comments

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seansarto

This essentially means that China's "rise" can be and is most likely attributed to racism being socially engineered...and America's competitiveness declining due to a more porous governed body..How does the world want to respond to that?..I would say it is a call to alarms.

Sep 13, 2013 18:12 Report Abuse

instantkarma

What is truly galling is how Chinese officials brag about how foreigners can now get a green card so much easier than in the past. So if this article is accurate, only 1,000 green cards since 2004; it must have been impossible in the past. Such face-saving deception and double-tongued spin from the various convoluted departments.

Sep 11, 2013 18:40 Report Abuse

Englteachted

China has a unique problem and therefore a legit reason to restrict residency. China is over populated. That requires farmland, clean water and a host of other resources. I am not going to go negative about the problems with these resources, but we should all be fully aware. So over-population is another and possibly more important reason, not just to remain closed off to outside ideas.

Sep 11, 2013 15:20 Report Abuse

Red_Fox

Why am I not surprised? For every mainland Chinese national who immigrates to the United States - with or without absconded money - and ultimately gains the right to reside in the U.S. on a permanent basis (whether on a green card or full-blown citizenship with passport), why is there no reciprocity? The answer is simple: China does not want foreigners. I am holding my tongue...

Sep 10, 2013 21:00 Report Abuse

carlstar

china doesn't want outside thoughts and people then demanding things.

Sep 10, 2013 22:16 Report Abuse