Shanghai moves to be top expat destination

Japanese Hirasawa Jun swiped his ID to check in at the high-speed rail terminal in Shanghai and got on the train swimmingly.

Having lived in Shanghai since 2014, Hirasawa was the first foreign expat in Lujiazui, part of Shanghai's CBD, to get the new-generation permanent resident permit in September, which looks and functions just like a Chinese ID card.

"I can use it for checking in at railway stations and airports through channels for Chinese residents," said the director of Marubeni (Shanghai) Corp.

To help Shanghai become an international destination for science and technology, the Ministry of Public Security has allowed Shanghai to pilot a simplified procedure for granting expats permanent residence permits.

Foreigners can apply for the permit from the Shanghai Zhangjiang National Innovation Demonstration Zone or the administration committee of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

Senior executives of multinational companies like Hirasawa can enjoy swift processing, which previously took two years, in less than two months, said Xu Dejie, an official with the Oracle Bay, an HR consultancy in Lujiazui.

In addition to the permit service for the business elite, Shanghai has over 1,000 business incubators, which provide services for some 200,000 domestic and foreign entrepreneurs.