Han Ximin

    ximhan@126.com

    THE permanent foreign population in Shenzhen had increased to 26,579 by the end of 2015, up 7.2 percent over the previous year, according to an announcement at a meeting Monday.

    A foreigner is considered part of the permanent population after living in the city for six months.

    They came from 127 countries and regions, with expats from Japan, South Korea, the United States, India and Canada making up the majority of the population, according to the meeting.

    Most of them live in Nanshan and Futian districts, with 11,934 and 5,565 respectively, accounting for 65.8 percent of the city’s total foreign population.

    The number of foreigners living temporarily in Shenzhen in 2015 reached 1.152 million, an increase of 17.4 percent compared with 2014.

    As of today, there are 11,319 foreign-invested institutions in Shenzhen and more than 260 of the world’s top 500 companies have set up offices in the city.

    During the meeting, the Shenzhen Municipal Foreign Experts Affairs Administration said it is working with police and the Shenzhen Municipal Foreign Affairs Office to develop a foreign talent management system. This will enable authorities to establish a unified one-stop online work permit approval system.

    The city also has enacted policies to attract high-end overseas professionals, according to the meeting.

    Foreign experts who stay in the city for less than 90 days don’t need to apply for work permits. They can apply for multiple-entry visas (F) with an invitation letter issued by the Shenzhen Municipal Foreign Experts Affairs Administration.

    They can apply for a permit for staying in China for up to five years, with the work permit issued by the administration, according to the meeting.

    The administration said the results of a poll rating the top 10 cities in China favored by foreigners in 2015 will be released at the Conference of International Exchange of Professionals (CIEP) this weekend.

    Shenzhen retained its third position among China’s 10 most attractive cities for foreigners in 2014. To create the ranking, foreigners are polled online and the International Talent magazine and China Society for Research on International Professionals Personnel Exchange and Development are consulted.

    Shanghai and Beijing remained No. 1 and No. 2 in 2014.