LI SHUPENG, a Chinese-Canadian expert who works at Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, received the first A-Grade Work Permit for Foreigners in China from Shenzhen Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs (SAFEA) on Tuesday.

    The work permit is a single unified work permit for a foreigner working in China, replacing the Alien Employment Permit and Foreign Experts Certificate issued by two different government agencies for which an expat had to spend months to obtain.

    The issuance of the permit also marked the kick-off of a pilot program to ease the burden of highly skilled expats trying to work in Shenzhen.

    Li, 40, works as team leader researching translation biology at the graduate school.

    Li, an expert in research on neurotransmitter systems, neurotransmitter receptors and how their signaling contributes to neurological and psychiatric disorders, worked at the University of Toronto for years, and came to teach in Shenzhen at the invitation of Peking University.

    “I feel honored to get the first A-Grade work permit. It takes only three days from application to issuance. It is convenient and straightforward,” said Li, after getting the permit from Deng Xiaojun, director with SAFEA.

    Shenzhen is among 10 cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu, to pilot the simplified work permit program for foreigners, which was officially initiated Nov. 1.

    Under the program, highly skilled expats won’t need to submit applications before entering China and will only need to complete an online application after being recruited to work in China.

    Expats who have successfully applied at least twice for a one-year work permit will be eligible for a five-year work permit, making the process more convenient.

    Based on the principle, “Encourage the High End, Limit the Ordinary, Restrict the Low End,” the rule adopts a point accumulation system to classify foreign workers into three distinct categories: A (top talent), B (professional talent) and C (unskilled workers or those working in the service industry).

    Expats will be given points based on their salary in China, educational background, how long they’ve worked in China, their Chinese-language proficiency, their age and where they work.

    The rule will be expanded nationwide in April next year. The permit will also be recognized by the foreign affairs, public security, customs, tax, education and human resources agencies in the future. (Han Ximin)