Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang province has seen a total of 114 expats obtaining permanent residence permits in China to date (by June 22), according to official data from the Ningbo Municipal Public Security Bureau.
China's State Immigration Administration, officially set up in April, has granted around 1,881 "green cards" to eligible expats over the past two months, almost the same as the total number in 2017.
The 114 expats who received the "green cards" in Ningbo are highly-skilled workers from the national Thousand Talents Program and their families.
The permanent residence policy, a move implemented by the government to draw more global talents, is a seen as a significant step in China's attempts to further reform and open up, with this year marking 40 years since its implementation.
In recent years, the Ningbo Municipal Public Security Bureau has taken active measures to streamline the application procedures for permanent residence permits to provide more convenience for expats, in the hope of building the city into a magnet for overseas professionals.
Officials from Ningbo Municipal Public Security Bureau communicates with one of the foreign expats. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]