A member of a Beijing family leaves their apartment which will be demolished to give way to an expansion plan. (Photo : Getty Images)
A new points system for migrants seeking permanent residency was introduced by Beijing's municipal government, in an effort to manage the population as well as attract skilled workers to the capital, the Global Times reported.
Experts, however, expect that only less than 10,000 people will be able to re-register based on the policy, warning that the system may also be discriminatory.
Under the points-based permit system, migrants who want to obtain household registration, or hukou, in Beijing can apply if they meet the four basic requirements. One, they must have residence permits in the city; second, they must be paying their social insurance in Beijing for seven consecutive years; third, they must have no criminal record, and lastly, they must be younger than the retirement age of 50 (for men) and 60 (for women).
Applicants who are younger than 45 years old will receive an additional 20 points in their applications while those will master's degrees will get 26 points and doctorate degrees or PhDs, 37 points.
The existing annual quota system will be canceled by the new system, which will take effect on Jan. 1, 2017. Under the existing quota system, employees of government agencies or state-owned enterprises are mainly allowed to apply for hukou in Beijing.
Many challenges are faced by people who live in the capital but have no permanent residency. Children of hukou holders in Beijing get priority in schools while migrants' children have to pay higher school fees. High school students whose hukou are registered in other cities may only take the national college entrance exams in their hometowns. They must also obtain higher scores to be able to enter the best universities in the capital.
As the final quota for the new hukou has not yet been decided, the annual population target and the total number of applicants will determine the final quota, according to an official of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform.
Li Xiaozhuang, a researcher at the market survey center of Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Beijing Times that no more than 10,000 migrants will be allowed to obtain Beijing hukou every year, according to the policy.
The policy may also discriminate against people who are not young and highly educated, Zhou Xiaozheng, a professor of sociology at Renmin University of China, noted.
Du Peng, director of the Center for Aging Studies at Renmin University of China, added that the policy may result in social welfare disparity if non-residents are given a chance to get Beijing hukou.
