Final draft of “Administrative Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on the Entry and Exit of Foreigners” released by Chinese government.
China Briefing reports that the Chinese government has released the final draft outlining new visa and residence permit regulations, which updates the country’s current visa system and introduces a number of changes to the application for a residence permit.
While the draft was released on 22 July, the regulations are due to come into effect from 1 September, and will see the number of visa categories increase from eight to 12, as well as several other changes being made to the current visa system.
Among the changes will be the introduction of the R visa, which aims to attract “global talents” needed by the country such as senior-level foreign talents and professionals with skills urgently required in China.
Furthermore, the F visa, which is currently applicable to foreigners visiting China for commercial and non-commercial purposes such as business activities, short-term study and internships, will be divided into a new F visa issued to foreigners visiting the country for non-commercial purposes, and an M visa for those coming for business and trade purposes.
Other changes include the introduction of two ‘family reunion’ visas, which currently fall under the L visa. The change will see the L visa being limited to tourism purposes only, while the Q visa will be introduced for overseas Chinese visiting relatives in China and the S visa for relatives of foreign residents visiting China for reunions. Students will also be affected by changes to the X visa, which will be split into the X-1 visa for foreigners coming to China for long-term study and the X-2 visa for those entering China for short-term study (less than 180 days).
In terms of changes to residence permits applications, the regulations categorise such permits into five types: working residence, study residence, journalist residence, family reunion residence and personal affair residence. The new regulations will also see the extension of the processing period for applications from five business days to 15 calendar days.
In addition, foreigners who apply for residence permits will be required to submit their passports along with photos and other supporting documents to the local exit and entry administration authority above the county level, as well as providing fingerprints and “other human biometric information”.
Illegal entry, stay, and employment is also addressed by the regulations, which have defined the “illegal stay of foreigners” as “Foreigners who stay and reside in the country beyond the duration of stay stipulated on the visa, stay or residence permit”; “Foreigners who are admitted into China without a visa and have stayed beyond the allowed stay duration without obtaining a stay or residence permit”; “Foreigners who travel and stay outside of the allowed stay or residence area”; and “Other illegal stay situations”.