(ECNS) -- More than 81 percent of workers surveyed believe Beijing's threshold to allow nonresidents to get a household registration, or hukou, by gaining enough points is just too high.
The capital city has introduced a number of criteria for applicants to obtain a hukou such as paying social insurance in Beijing for at least seven consecutive years, having no criminal record, having a Beijing residential permit and being less than 45 years old.
A survey of 3,003 workers by China Youth Daily found that 59.1 percent of respondents think they won't be able to gain a Beijing hukou through the new policy. Some 18 percent think they can meet the standards.
The requirement to pay social insurance for at least seven years is the most daunting for 25.5 percent for those surveyed, followed by a stable residence (14.8 percent) and having a Beijing residential permit (13.8 percent).
Among the respondents, 2 percent hold a PhD degree, 9.1 percent are postgraduates and 56.9 are graduates. Some 25.1 percent were born after 1990.
Wang Changji, who has been working in Beijing since 2013 at a private company, says the credit-based system gives applicants a glimmer of hope to become a Beijing citizen, but private companies are at a disadvantage.
The hukou system ties people's access to a broad range of welfare and social services to residential status.
Beijing has stepped up measures to control the size of the population in central areas and also plans to cap the population at 23 million people.
