A worker makes shoes at a workshop in Yecheng County of Kashgar, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, March 19, 2020. In a relocated area of Aktax farm, people have started production as the weather warms up. Photo:Xinhua

Residents of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region  who do not have a local hukou (household registration) in the region can apply for digital residence permits, which will allow migrants enjoy the same social welfare as the local residents. 

Experts said the move, which is also being taken in many other provinces and regions in China, would facilitate better social management.

According to the Public Security Department in Xinjiang, the region started to promote digital residence permits and digital temporary residence permits on March 21. Public security organs are responsible for processing applications and issuing the permits. 

A resident in Urumqi surnamed Li told the Global Times that since his hukou is not in the city, applying for the digital residence permit would facilitate his own life and that of his family in Urumqi, including issues related to social security, education and applying for a business license. 

Aside from Xinjiang, East China's Zhejiang and Anhui provinces and Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, are also promoting digital residence permits. 

According to an economic reform guideline issued by the State Council, China's cabinet, in 2015, residence permits are an important measure to reform the household registration system. With a residence permit, migrant workers can enjoy more public services the same as local residents in the cities. 

Digital residence permits are another way for governments to use modern information technologies to improve public management and offer services, Xu Yao, a research fellow at the Human Rights Research Center of Nankai University, told the Global Times.

Compared with paper permits, digital ones are hard to counterfeit and less likely to be abused. For residents, digital residence permits are quicker and easier to apply for and more portable, Xu said. 

Technology offers great support for better social management, he said, and pairing it with privacy protection means governments, society and individuals can all benefit. 


Newspaper headline: Xinjiang offers digital residence permits to better serve public