Laxer rules sought to retain foreign workers

China should relax its "green-card" policies to make it easier for talented professionals to remain in the country.

That was the conclusion reached in the 2012 Annual Report on Chinese International Migration, which was released by the Social Sciences Academic Press on Monday.

This year marked the first time the report paid special attention to immigration, said Wang Huiyao, director of the Center for China and Globalization and editor-in-chief of the report.

"On one hand, the number of expatriates is very large," he said. "On the other, current legal protections are insufficient to protect their rights."

According to the report, 1.02 million foreigners were living in China at the end of 2010. However, fewer than 5,000 of them were qualified as permanent residents.

The Regulation on Examination and Approval of Permanent Residence of Aliens sets a high bar for expatriates who want to have a green card. It states only those who hold a post equal to or above that of a deputy general manager, deputy factory director or associate professor at a top government agency or prominent university can apply for one.

On Dec 11, a regulation issued by 25 government departments gave green-card holders the same pension, employment and property rights as Chinese citizens.

"Yet, even with the new regulation, very few foreigners can actually get permanent residency," Wang said.

Liu Guofu, a professor specializing in immigration law at the Beijing Institute of Technology, agreed.

"The regulation won't help attract talented workers from abroad if the green card policy still sets such a high standard," he said. "Those who meet the requirements tend to belong to the upper class and probably don't need assistance from social welfare, and those who need the welfare benefits aren't qualified to apply."

He used international students as an example, saying that 292,611 foreigners came to study in China last year. 

"Yet, when they graduate, they won't be given working visas in China if they don't have at least two years of working experience elsewhere. Their only option is to leave the country."

Unlike in the United States, where students can extend their visa by a year to search for a job in the country, China does not issue work visas to fresh graduates.

Liu said the US system has proved successful at attracting talented workers from abroad.

"If the Chinese government wants to attract foreign workers, it should start with students, extend the visa period and set lower requirements for those who are applying for green cards," he added.