IN response to news that there are new rules for the admission requirements for expatriate children living in the city, the Shenzhen Municipal Education Bureau clarified that the rules have long been implemented, the Daily Sunshine reported.

The piece of news, which has been widely circulated among foreign parents recently, said that foreign children are required to provide a foreign passport with a valid Chinese visa with entry and exit stamps in order to be enrolled at a local international school.

A reporter from the Daily learned from the education bureau Wednesday that these are not new rules. The enrollment of foreign children at international schools has been implemented in accordance with the requirements of a State document, which was issued in April 1995.

According to the document, foreign children who are recruited by international schools should have residence permits in China.

However, industry insiders said that many international schools in Shenzhen only require their students to have foreign green cards or overseas passports, and do not demand a valid Chinese visa or an entry stamp.

The insiders believe that the strict enrollment requirements for foreign children will affect many families that have planned to let their children attend international schools in Shenzhen.

(Zhang Yu)