China will soon amend the law on exit and entry control, an official with the Exit and Entry Administration Bureau, said.

Chen Jie, the bureau's general office director, said an amendment to the law, the 10th, had been submitted to the State Council for review.

"The 10th may be the final amendment and is subject to approval by the National People's Congress later this year," Chen said.

He was speaking at a recent conference of the exit and entry (migration) administration, the first nationwide meeting of its kind, which was held at Shantou University.

Chen said the amended law will integrate the Law on Control of the Entry and Exit of Aliens, the Law on Control of the Entry and Exit of Chinese Citizens and the Regulations on Examination and Approval of Permanent Residence of Aliens in China.

"The integrated law will simplify procedures and conditions pertaining to the entry and exit of foreigners and Chinese citizens," Chen said.

Laws on exit and entry control of aliens and Chinese citizens were introduced in 1986, and permanent residence of foreigners in 2004.

"To some degree, they are now outdated to adapt to the new environment that China is facing in the control of entry and exit of foreigners and Chinese citizens," Zhang Baoping, a professor with the Frontier Defence Department of the Chinese People's Armed Police Force Academy, said.

"We are facing a new environment, in which a rising number of foreigners have been moving to the country. They are not only seeking jobs, but also permanent stay here," Liu Guofu, an associate professor at Shantou University, said.

(China Daily October 16, 2008)