profile picture.
On February 27 this year, the Ministry of Justice announced the draft for soliciting opinions on the "Regulations on the Administration of Permanent Residence of Foreigners", which is another important measure for China to carry out legal management of foreign residents. After the draft of the opinion was released, it caused great public controversy.
The Regulations aim to attract talents
In the past decade, overseas immigrants have become the focus of news and a hot topic of discussion among the public. In the impression of many Chinese people, many social elites are traveling across the ocean and traveling to foreign lands, and China's precious human resources are facing a certain scale of loss. At the same time, the number of foreign residents in our country is also increasing rapidly.
. How do you explain this seemingly contradictory migration phenomenon? Just like the trade between the two countries, international personnel exchanges are also due to the need to communicate with each other. Developed countries welcome high-skilled talents from China, and China also hopes to recruit entrepreneurs, employees and experts from overseas to serve the rapidly growing domestic economy, especially the import and export industry that promotes international trade.
Today, China's comprehensive national strength is increasing, attracting more and more people from other countries to come to study and find employment. But even if we include Hong Kong and Macau, China, the number of foreign population in China does not exceed 1.5 million. For a big country with a population of 1.4 billion, a foreign population of one million is inconsistent with its international status and does not help to establish a friendly and open international image.
For a long time, the vast majority of foreign employees in China have been short-term immigrants. According to the 2010 national census, less than 20% of foreign residents have lived in China for more than five years. In order to facilitate the entry and exit of foreign talents in China and to attract high-end talents to settle in China, it is indeed necessary for the government to issue regulations on permanent residence. Although China announced a permanent residence talent program similar to the US "green card" policy in 2004, only a few thousand people have obtained permanent residence qualifications. The "Regulations on the Management of Permanent Residence of Foreigners" for soliciting opinions slightly loosened the previous strict regulations and generally adapted to China's current development stage.
Some thresholds for the Regulations are higher than those of the United States
The draft for soliciting opinions clearly draws on the immigration policies of developed countries, but the specific regulations are mostly higher than the standards of other countries.
For example, although the United States is a traditional immigrant country, its immigration system is not loose due to the migration of many people in the world. Compared with the country's immigration policy, we can see how strict the provisions of the Regulations are.
The U.S. green card programs based on professional abilities are divided into three categories, among which the third category only requires undergraduate degrees, and even non-skilled workers in labor shortage industries have the opportunity to obtain green cards. If the Regulations are implemented, China's selectivity for applicants is between the first and second green card programs in the United States, i.e., having a master's degree or showing exceptional ability in certain fields.
is mainly aimed at outstanding talents
From the specific content of the regulations, it is mostly directed at outstanding people and scientific research talents in various fields.
For example, Article 15 of the Regulations stipulates that if foreign employees in China want to obtain permanent residence qualifications, they need to have a doctorate degree or graduate from an internationally renowned university, or their salary income is not less than three to six times the average salary of local employees (depending on industry, region and years of work).
. In terms of the recommendation mechanism, only those who have made outstanding contributions to the development of Chinese society, or have made outstanding contributions in the fields of science and technology, education, culture, health, sports, public welfare, etc., can apply for permanent residence qualification after being recommended by the relevant state authorities or the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities directly under the Central Government.
Investment immigration conditions are relatively high
In addition, if you obtain permanent residence rights in China through investment, the applicant's investment amount should not be less than RMB 10 million.
In terms of investment immigration requirements, the investment amount of RMB 10 million does not sound high. However, before the new regulations came into effect at the end of last year, the lower limit of investment immigration projects in the United States was US$1 million (about RMB 6.94 million), and if you invest in rural or highly unemployed areas, it is only required to have US$500,000.
China is now the second largest economy, and its economy and technology are developing rapidly. Some necessary investments will have more significant benefits for domestic employment and economic development.
There may be less than 20,000 foreign residents in China who meet the requirements
In 2010, about 10% of foreign residents in China had master's or doctoral degrees. Assuming that this proportion remains unchanged, 72,000 foreign population should have a higher degree in 2019. If one quarter of them meets the requirements of the Regulations - this is a very optimistic estimate, there are less than 20,000 foreigners in China who have the conditions to apply for a "Chinese Green Card".
Compared with other countries, although the number of foreign residents in China is limited, their geographical distribution is very concentrated. Foreigners in China live in major cities in China, such as the Korean City in Beijing, the Japanese Overseas Chinese District in Shanghai, and the "Chocolate City" for Africans in Guangzhou. In these areas, foreign residents of all skin colors have become a prominent urban landscape, which is easy to leave a deep impression on the Chinese people, thinking that a large number of foreign populations have already lived in large cities in our country.
Take the African group in Guangzhou as an example. Many Chinese people think that their number has reached hundreds of thousands. The author recently met a professor from Sun Yat-sen University at an academic conference who has been investigating the African community in Guangzhou for many years. He told the participants at the meeting that there were only 50,000 Africans in Guangzhou at its peak, and only 20,000 to 30,000 recently. The data from the United Nations Population Division does not provide the population of African countries to China, but they should be classified as the larger category of "other south", which is likely to be no more than 150,000 people, of which a considerable proportion of them belong to students to China.
"Foreign Residence Regulations" has a total control mechanism
Some Chinese people are worried that foreigners who have obtained permanent residence will be qualified for their families to live in a permanent residence. In this way, they will move into China with their families, resulting in a surge in the foreign population. This kind of worry is actually unnecessary.
Article 17 of the Regulations is for immigration applications based on family reunion, which stipulates that only spouses, minor children and elderly parents can obtain permanent residence. The spouse must also live with his partner in China for five years after marriage, and the actual residence will be no less than nine months per year.
The scope of family immigration in the United States can be expanded to adult children, and there is no requirement for the spouse's length of residence. Even if a large number of foreigners try to squeeze into China through these narrow channels, Article 7 of the Regulations has set up a safety valve for total control: "The state has established a regular assessment and adjustment mechanism for the permanent residence policy of foreigners. If necessary, with the approval of the State Council, a fixed-rate approval system will be implemented for the permanent residence qualification of foreigners." The relevant supporting measures of
should also gradually improve
The immigration policy of a country has multiple goals, including scientific and educational development, mutual benefit of economy and trade, public security and international cooperation, so it is necessary to balance different interests and values.
The increase in foreign residents is a symbol and a boost to the prosperity of the country. A government has opened the door to foreign immigrants, which can not only utilize experts with superb skills, but also facilitate the absorption of nutrients from foreign cultures. In the future, the salary income of foreign talents who obtain permanent residence rights is far higher than the local average, and their contribution to China's economy will exceed the social welfare they enjoy.
Whether in order to enhance national competitiveness or out of humanitarian concern, a more open China, as an important driving force for globalization, should accept a considerable number of foreign residents. China will face many policy issues that have not been encountered before, including identity system, ethnic relations, cultural integration and social welfare, as well as education issues for the second generation of immigrant children. With the formulation of the "Regulations on the Management of Permanent Residence for Foreigners", these relevant supporting policies also need to be introduced one by one.
□Tian Fangmeng (Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Central University for Nationalities, Central University for Nationalities, )
Editor Hu Boyang Intern Zhang Xiaoyu Proofreading Zhao Lin
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-