China to provide more convenient immigration services
January 29, 2019 Category China News Round-up, Weekly
China plans to provide more convenient immigration services, especially after a record number of foreigners entered and exited the country in 2018. Foreigners entered and exited the country more than 95 million times in 2018, up 11.6% year-on-year, according to the National Immigration Administration. China has become a popular destination, particularly for visitors from South Korea, Japan, the United States and Russia, the Administration said. Foreigners entered China more than 100,000 times via 72-hour and 144-hour visa-free stopovers in 2018, an increase of 23.9% year-on-year, it added. The visa-free policy has been introduced in many Chinese cities to attract more foreign visitors.
To provide more convenient immigration services for foreigners, Beijing opened two new centers last week, offering visa, residence permit and permanent residency services. The center in Shijingshan district will better accommodate the needs of foreign talent recruited for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing as its Organizing Committee is based in the district, while the center in Tongzhou district will aid with the development of the area where much of the municipal government has been relocated. The capital has already set up four such centers since March 2016. They require foreigners to fill in online applications before making appointments to save time verifying documents.
China also stipulated harsher punishments for foreigners who illegally enter, live or work in China after the new Exit and Entry Administration Law took effect in July 2013. In 2018, China deported 69,000 foreigners, the China Daily reports.
In Shanghai, new policies require fewer documents from foreigners. The policies exempt those applying for certain visas from providing documents concerning their Chinese hosts if the hosts remain the same from previously granted visas, including in the categories short-term family visits (Q2 visa), short-term private matters (S2 visa), short-term studies (X2 visa), business trips (M or F visa) and talent visas (R visa). As for those applying for permanent residence permits, the new policies have loosened requirements for some of the supporting materials. Shanghai has the largest employed expatriate population – some 215,000 people – among all Chinese cities, accounting for 23.7% of the nation’s total.
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