Foreigners in China to Be Classified Under New Nationwide Work Permit System

The Chinese government is set to classify foreigners into three categories, starting Nov. 1, as part of a new nationwide work permit system geared towards building an innovation-driven economy by "encouraging the top, controlling the middle and limiting the bottom" of foreigners in the country, the state news media reported.

"It aims to better serve overseas talent coming to work in China," Zhang Jianguo, head of the State Administration of Foreign Experts, said. The agency will run the system that is set to be implemented nationwide on April 1. It will be tested first in nine cities or provinces, including Beijing and Shanghai.

Based on the 2010 census, there were about 200,000 foreigners working legally in China, with an additional 400,000 as family dependents.

However, Eric Liu, a consultant at Foreign HR, a human resources company based in Beijing, told the New York Times that the number is low as there are about two million in total foreigners in China in 2015, with up to 300,000 more working illegally, using tourist visas.

Liu said that although China needs many more foreign workers, it is often hard for them to obtain visas.

"Companies of every type need foreign workers for economic development, whether big state-owned enterprises or private companies," Liu said.

To some foreigners, the classification is disturbing, the report said. Under the new system, foreigners will be classified into three categories: A, B and C.

"They haven't released how the scoring system is going to work," James, a former high school instructor in Wyoming who teaches kindergarten in Beijing, said in an interview. "That's a worry to me. I'd like to know how I can become an asset to China, and exactly where I stand."

Unlike in the old system, which was mostly paper-based, the new system is computerized and each worker will be linked to a photo ID and number.

"If it's going to create more transparency and accountability, I think it's going to be a good thing," James said.

The China Organization Personnel Newspaper, a publication under the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Services, provided details about the classification. Under the new system, Class A will include top professional, innovative and creative talent, the newspaper said. Those in the Class B will include other professionals who are suited for the country's economic development plans and occupy short-term positions, especially in management and technical areas. Limits will be imposed in international trade, sports, culture and education. Class C foreigners will include the unskilled or service industry workers and they will be "strictly limited," the paper said.

The paper added that there will be points to be assigned, which will be based on salary, education level, age and Chinese-language skills, among others. To qualify into a class A, a foreigner must have at least 85 points while a B worker must have 60 and lower than 60 for C.

An official at the State Administration of Foreign Experts information section who asked not to be identified told the New York Times over the phone that further details are still being worked out and would be released gradually as the policy evolved.