China Tax Alert - Issue 21, August 2019
On 17 July 2019, the National Immigration Administration (NIA) announced a policy containing 12 new administrative measures in relation to entry and exit matters for foreigners and their accompanying family, aiming at attracting and retaining foreign talents.
The new measures came into effect on 1 August 2019.
The new measures have ramifications on the following:
Work and Residence Permit with extended validity period
Prior to 1 August 2019, foreigners are generally eligible for PRC work permit and residence permit with up to two year validity. The new meaures allow foreigners who qualifty for one of with the following characteristics to apply for residence permit with validity of up to 5 years:
PRC Permanent Residence (PR) applications
Acording to new PRC immigraiton policy, foreigners working in China can apply for permanet residence permit if they meet one of the following criteria:
Qualifying foreigners’ accompanying spouse and children under the age of 18 are also eligible for PR applications.
Easy student residence permit applications policy
Foreign students who graduate from major Chinese higher education institutions or internationally renowned universities with bachelor degree or above are eligible to apply for 2-5 years residence permit.
Foreign students graduated from overseas universities who are invited by well-known enterprises in China or public institutions to take up internship can apply for an 1-year internship visa. Those from countries that have concluded internship agreement with China can apply for work-type residence permit directly.
In order to enhance China’s business environment to encourage innovation and entreprenuership, the new measures will undoubtedly act as a stimulus to attract and retain foreign talents.
Companies that are planning to hire and retain foreign talents in China should proactively re-assess candidate’s eligility for the above preferential policy, and adjust their internal policy on application process and timeframeaccordinly.
Individuals, including high-level foreign talents, overseas Chinese who intend to apply for PRC PR should also review their eligibility based on the new measures and seek assistance from professionals where required. In the meanwhile, foreign individuals working in China shall also review and seek professional advice on the relevant PRC inividual income tax implications of obtaining a work permit or PR status.
KPMG will provide updates as detailed implementation rules on the new measures are released, and assist with implementation where required.
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