Govt green lights easier access to 'green cards'

Kurt Wuthrich (second from right), winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and five other foreign nationals are granted permanent residence in China by the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Public Security in April. [Photo by Yin Liqin/China News Service]

Easing of the rules on permanent residence permits means more talented expats are being offered the opportunity to live and work in China.

Since arriving in 2005, Mark Levine has regularly traveled around China, delivering lectures at more than 50 universities. He is now a teacher of American culture and public speaking at Minzu University of China in Beijing.

In 2015, the Californian decided that his future lay in China, so to escape the annual round of visa applications he visited the Yonghegong Entry and Exit Office in Beijing to apply for a "green card".

The card is a permanent residence permit that gives foreign nationals basically the same legal status as Chinese citizens. Although it is called permanent residence, it only lasts 10 years, and holders must reapply after that time.

To aid his application, Levine carried a number of trophies and certificates awarded by the government, including the Friendship Award (the highest honor a foreign national can receive) for his contribution to cultural exchanges, and a copy of his book Stories from My Chinese Journey.

To qualify for the card, applicants must meet at least one of a number of requirements, including: to have invested at least $500,000 in a Chinese business for at least three consecutive years prior to application and be able to guarantee a good financial record; to be married to a Chinese citizen; to have made or be making a significant contribution to the country; or to possess skills that are especially needed.

"I want to stay in China and continue to teach and contribute. But my work was not considered to be a large contribution," Levine, 67, said.

In response, he turned to an official at the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs to see if their joint efforts would result in status as a winner of the Friendship Award being added to the list of qualifications, in accordance with a 2014 announcement by Premier Li Keqiang that the government was considering such a move.

In April 2016, after an application process that took 10 months and cost 1,500 yuan ($216), Levine became the first foreign national to be issued with a green card via the new category for winners of the Friendship Award. The onetime payment for the card was 300 yuan.