The new residence permit regulations promise easier access to Chinese green cards and reflect an important change in the capital's stance toward foreigners, experts said. Photo: CFP

John Long, a 65-year-old American, has a Chinese "green card," or a foreigner's permanent residence card.

He broadcasts this information to all his friends and shows his card to everyone he knows, both in China and in the US. "I am the ninth American in Beijing to get this card," Long often tells people with pride. 

It's well known among the expats that a green card is difficult to get and rare to have.

The Ministry of Public Security announced on January 12 that the rules for foreign talent to enter and exit Beijing will be eased, and favorable terms will be especially provided for those working in Zhongguancun who apply for a Chinese green card, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The new regulations, scheduled to take effect on March 1, follow the favorable terms released last year in Shanghai to attract foreign science and innovation elites, and aim to promote Beijing's environment for innovation and start-ups, according to the Ministry.

Experts say it's a good sign for expats who have been eyeing the green card for a while.

More than a 'golden ticket'

Living in China for almost 11 years, Long has had his green card for almost three years. He said he had wanted a Chinese green card for a long time.

Long lives alone in China. His family is back in the US. He leads an energetic life and travels to two or three different cities almost every week. 

Traveling around China is a cinch for Long. With his residence permit, he doesn't have to use his passport when he travels locally nor does he have to fill out an entry card at the airport every time he returns to China.

The green card expires in 10 years. It works, in part, like a 10-year visa and saves one the trouble of applying for work visas every one to two years.

"Now they have 10-year visa programs so it's the same," Long said.

In November 2014, China issued the first 10-year visas to American citizens, implementing a new agreement between the two countries to boost exchange, Xinhua reported.

But he said the card is more than just a "golden ticket" that saves visa runs and works as an identification card.

With the green card, Long enjoys the same social security and medical care as a Chinese person.

"It does make things easier, but the biggest benefit is making you feel part of the country. You want to be Chinese when you live here. It just makes you feel like this can be your home," Long said.

Foreigners at the Exit and Entry Administration under the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau. Photo: Li Hao/GT

Hard to get 

Still, the upcoming ease on restrictions does not mean it will be a cakewalk for applicants.

"Everybody knows the card is hard to get," Long said.

The bar for application seems high in many expats' eyes. For instance, investors who invest more than $500,000 in China with good tax records can apply. Among technical personnel, only elites with senior management titles can apply.

A Chinese spouse-sponsored green card is usually considered one of the easier ways. But it also requires the foreigner to be married to a Chinese citizen for more than five years, be living in China continuously for five years, staying in China for no less than nine months every year, and provide evidence of life insurance and a stable living space.  

Long got his card for being a senior technical personnel in the food safety technology sector. He founded Jarvis Machinery Manufacture (Beijing) Co., Ltd in Shunyi district in 2006, which now has more than 50 employees and covers about 2,500 square meters. The company, headquartered in Connecticut in the US, has been producing high-precision meat and poultry processing machinery since 1902.

"It's a 'technical' green card," he said. "What we do is we set up a new green plant here, and we provide international food safety standards."

A foreigner who falls into this category is required to have senior management status and work for organizations under State Council departments or provincial-level government, prominent universities, companies that carry out national projects or other important technology enterprises, or high-tech and foreign-invested companies in State-encouraged industries.

Chinese Basketball Association star Stephon Marbury was granted a Chinese green card for his outstanding achievements in Chinese basketball, which makes him the first player in the league's history to earn the status, the China Youth Daily reported in December 2015.

However, not every expat has contributed to the country like Marbury and getting a Chinese green card is known to be very difficult among the expats. The application process is very complicated, too.

According to Long, there is a lot of paperwork involved.

"It took about a year to get. There were lot of background checks and paperwork."

Long thinks the fact that people in his community know him well helped with his application.

"I have been living in Shunyi for a while, and I'm pretty well known here," he said. "I think that also helped."

For those who are eyeing the green card, Long said, they just have to go through the work.

Dominic Johnson-Hill, a Briton, who founded local fashion brand Plastered T-Shirts in Beijing in 2006, has just started the application process.

"I have lived in China for 22 years. My four daughters are all born here. It would be nice to have more of a sense of belonging. It would mean a lot to my children and wife, too," he said. Among other things, he hopes the card would save him from having to get work visas every two years.

Although the rules are strict, Johnson-Hill thinks his chances are looking good. He hopes his community involvement and business ties will provide a strong enough case for his success.

"I am a business owner with a great history of working with local government to promote and develop the Nanluoguxiang area, where I founded the first creative store," he said.

"The green card would make life easier for us in Beijing, the place that my family calls home."  

Easier access

Only 6,000 foreigners currently have a green card in China, with most of them living in Beijing and Shanghai, said Liu Guofu, an immigration law professor at the Beijing Institute of Technology. He said the new policy is a historic change for Beijing and means a lot to the local expat community.

"Favorable policies are specially offered to foreigners of Chinese descent. Those who have a doctorate or have worked in an enterprise for more than four years can apply for the green card directly," he said.

The application process will be shortened too, with an expected turnaround of 50 days.

Compared to the original requirement of being a deputy manager and upward at an enterprise, the new requirement of a minimum of four years of work experience at all levels in Zhongguancun is a big step.

Another significant change is that there will be a points-based evaluation system, Liu said. "This means the evaluation system is going from subjective to objective."

Liu estimates that there are around 7,000 to 8,000 expats in Zhongguancun alone, who will benefit from the policy.

But Liu doesn't think there will be a large number of applications pouring in, since many people, although qualified, especially according to the new policies, are not planning to apply.

"There are collateral obligations. For example, having a green card means living in China for more than six months every year to make it valid," he said.

Corresponding services are lacking too, as the number of green card holders is so small, he said.

Green card holders might not be able to enjoy due services, as a result of either a lack of knowledge or the absence of corresponding regulations. For example, Long said in the first two years after getting the card, hotel staff seldom knew about the card and often refused to use it for check-ins, and even now, refunding a train ticket with a green card is still very complicated, according to Liu.

"The cost of developing a new system of services and regulations just for them, in the railway ticket services or bank services for example, would be difficult," Liu said.

Despite the lack of supported services for the card, Liu is still optimistic about the benefits it will bring to the expat community. For one, he said, the card is now less honorary and more skill-based which means skilled workers who contribute to society may have a greater chance of a successful application.

It used to be more like an honorary certificate for only a very limited number of elites, he said. They usually don't care much about the benefits brought about by the card, as their employers and the local government are already providing high-level insurance and other favorable terms, according to Liu, while it's the non-elite expats who are more in need of the convenience and benefits of the card.

"It's the non-elite people that the policy should really help," he said. "And from how the policies are changing, it will."