Foreigners seeking to make Shanghai their permanent home will find it easier to do so from today due to the introduction of new rules on the issuance of green cards, police said yesterday.

The revised terms will make permanent residency more accessible to two groups: foreign experts and high earners.

The first encompasses foreigners employed by any of the 3,500 firms listed on the official website of the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission.

From today, these workers can apply for a new five-year work permit. Once that document is secured, they can then apply for a green card after working in Shanghai for a further three years.

The second group is defined by earnings rather than profession.

Foreigners who have worked in Shanghai for more than four consecutive years — and spent at least six months of each of those years in the country — and earned a gross salary of at least 600,000 yuan (US$97,000) and paid tax of more than 120,000 yuan in each of those years can also apply for a green card.

In the past, the option to apply for permanent residency was open only to foreigners employed as senior executives in high-tech industries or professors at academic institutions.

A further change will allow holders of permanent residence permits and foreign experts in possession of five-year work permits to apply for work permits for foreign housekeepers. The profession was previously open only to Chinese citizens.

A number of other rule changes came into effect today, police said.

First, foreigners planning to set up a business in Shanghai are no longer required to get a work permit before entering the country. Instead they can get a 30-day private affairs visa for business starters at either Pudong or Hongqiao airport and "upgrade" it later.

Applicants are, however, required to present a formal business plan and evidence of their relationship with a local business partner or "incubator."

Similarly, foreigners who find a job in Shanghai after entering the country on a non-work visa no longer need to leave the country to upgrade their visa status. That process can now be completed at either of the city's airports on presentation of the appropriate documents, such as a work permit and job offer.

Police also said yesterday that to help speed up the process of applying for green cards and other visa-related documents, more windows will be opened at exit-entry administration offices within the Shanghai Free Trade Zone and at public security bureaus in the Pudong New Area.

Officials said they are also planning to open a further "12 or 13" foreigner service centers in business hubs such as Lujiazui, Zhangjiang, Huamu and Jinqiao by the end of the year. A total of 33 such facilities are already in operation.

More details of all the visa rule changes will be made available in both Chinese and English on the website of the Shanghai Exit-Entry Administration Bureau by the end of today.

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