CHINA’S immigration policy was never designed to handle a huge influx of foreigners looking to stay for long periods of time — but that’s the new reality facing the country.

    The number of foreigners entering and leaving China has increased at an average rate of 10 percent annually since 2000 and reached 54.3 million last year, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

    By the end of 2011, 4,752 foreigners had been granted permanent residency. More than 1,700 of those green card holders were overseas professionals working in China, and the rest were family members who had come to be reunited with them.

    A new visa law that was enacted July 1 and new visa regulations that took effect Sunday are the first new border control policies since 1986, reflecting policymakers’ growing scrutiny of the increase in immigrants. The measures also hint at Beijing’s efforts to make regulating the movement of foreigners in the country more transparent.

    “The new law is a welcome thing,” said Stacy Kwok, a partner at the Shanghai office of consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers. “China is starting to look like other developed countries” in terms of trying to normalize immigration procedures.

    The new rules create an S visa for family members of professionals from overseas.

    Spouses, young children, parents and parents-in-law all qualify for that visa, authorities said. S1 visas will allow a stay of more than six months, while S2 visas will be for shorter visits.

    No details about S2 visa applications were announced, but experts said having a new category for foreign expatriates’ relatives will make applications more convenient and easier.

    Additionally, the number of ordinary visa classifications has expanded from eight to 12 to create a more focused categorization of immigrants.

    Some are practical distinctions. For example, long-term and short-term stays will be recognized separately, as will foreigners engaging in commercial and noncommercial activities.

    However, the changes also stand to affect legitimate foreign employment in China, adding to the already difficult process that companies must go through to hire foreign workers. Processing times for permits have been expanded to 15 working days from five.

    In the case of Harry Spencer, a British restaurateur with operations in Shanghai, complications arising from the paperwork process delayed his Scottish head chef’s arrival in China by several weeks.

    Crystal, a Chinese lawyer who works with foreign entrepreneurs in Shanghai, said it’s becoming more difficult and more inconvenient for foreigners to navigate the visa and residence permit application system. She asked that her surname not be published.

    Illegal employment — defined as working without authorization or beyond a permitted scope — has always been a legal gray area. These new regulations should provide more clarity for both workers and firms, authorities said.

    What is clear is that violations won’t go unpunished. Foreigners found to be working without the correct papers face fines of 5,000-20,000 yuan (US$816-$3,265), or detention of five to 15 days in serious cases. Companies face losing income earned through illegal employment in addition to fines ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 yuan.

    Whatever hurdles legal grayness and bureaucratic opaqueness have created for foreigners, though, they have done little to stymie the influx of expats.

    As long as Western economies continue to stagnate and China maintains its growth trajectory, many more will come. Nearly half of the foreign workers who move to China do so with the expectation that they will earn more, according to HSBC’s 2012 annual expat survey .

    The Chinese Government is keen to welcome experts with sought-after science and technology skills. So much so that a new R visa category has been created to lure talents that are deemed “urgently needed.” However, like with other parts of the new regulations, there is confusion about unclarified details. What counts as “specialized talents,” for example, is not stated at the moment.

    Meanwhile, the minimum stay for foreigners holding work certificates has been shortened to 90 days, while the period of validity for residence certificates will now range from 180 days to five years.

    (SD-Agencies)

    A new visa law that was enacted July 1 and new visa regulations that took effect Sunday are the first new border control policies since 1986, reflecting policymakers’ growing scrutiny of the increase in immigrants.

    Editor’s note:

    The Chinese Government adopted a new exit-and-entry regulation July 22 that is intended to standardize the issuance of visas for foreigners and improve related services and management.

    The 39-article regulation took effect Sunday, replacing the previous regulation that was adopted in December 1986.

    Under the new rule, the increased number of visa categories is expected to help deepen China’s opening-up, boost tourism and attract more overseas talent.

    Changes

    Streamlined procedures for overseas Chinese:

    A Q visa will be introduced in response to calls by overseas Chinese for improved exit and entry procedures. It will mainly be issued to people who apply to visit their families, and will allow a relatively long stay.

    Personal information verification:

    Financial, educational, medical and telecommunications institutions can verify a foreigner’s personal details through public security bureaus. Police can only issue notifications that state whether information is true or false. They cannot provide specific information about a person, to protect privacy.

    Foreign interns and part-time work:

    To curb illegal employment, foreign students must have an academic institution’s approval and footnote on their visas — added by a public security bureau — to take up part-time work or an internship.

    Categories

    Visa categories have been increased from eight to 12.

    New or revised

    categories:

    F — For travelers who arrive for exchanges or visits (previously included business visitors).

    M — For travelers on trade and business missions.

    Q — For overseas Chinese traveling for family reunions, including Q1 and Q2.

    R — For foreign workers whose skills are urgently needed by China.

    S — For foreigners who come to be with family members, including S1 and S2.

    L — For general visitors (previously included the functions of the new S visa).

    Unchanged categories:

    C — For international flight crews.

    D — For permanent residents.

    G — For transit passengers.

    J — For journalists, including J1 and J2.

    X — For students, including X1 and X2.

    Z — For foreign workers.