(File photo)
Shanghai is canceling its agricultural hukou to establish a unified permanent residence system for urban and rural areas, said the city government on Monday. In doing so, Shanghai will become the first provincial region on the Chinese mainland to do so.
The government said the reform is expected to keep the city's registered population within 25 million by 2020, while simultaneously attracting new talent.
Another change to the policy is that those in Shanghai without a proper hukou will be given permanent residence permits based on a credit system that takes into account the length of their stay and contributions to the social security fund, according to the official document released on the government's website yesterday.
There have been efforts made toward urban-rural integration for some years already. Currently, urban and rural residents enjoy the same pension, unemployment and medical benefits. The next step will be education, health and family planning, employment, social security, land, housing and demographic census.
The way the system works now, residents of Shanghai who do not possess a local hukou are generally eligible to apply for one after working in the city, contributing to the social security fund and paying income tax for seven years. This is provided they have middle-level professional posts and no criminal record.
Under the new system, credit will be given to temporary residence permit holders based on various indicators, such as age, education background, professional title, chosen industry and taxes.
