Chinese Permanent Resident ID Card Benefits and How to Apply?

Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card

With the changes and development of the times, nowadays, the ties between countries are getting closer. Many foreign friends even move their hukou to China because they like China. However, in China, it is not that simple to have a permanent residence ID card.

To apply for a “Chinese Green Card”, according to the latest policy issued in 2020, there are four types of foreign nationals who can apply: visiting relatives, working, investing, and investors specifically targeting the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Benefits enjoyed by foreigners holding the card

• Free entry and exit to China
• If foreigners meet the requirements for applying for a Chinese permanent residence permit, their family members can also apply for a Chinese permanent residence permit in accordance with relevant regulations;
• Enjoy the same rights, obligations and statistical ownership of Chinese citizens when handling financial services in China;
• Domestic shopping, purchase of various tickets, cultural, entertainment, business travel and other consumer activities have the same treatment and the same price as Chinese citizens; you can board the plane, buy train tickets and stay in hotels with your green card;
• Enjoy the same treatment as Chinese citizens in applying for a motor vehicle driving license and handling motor vehicle registration.
• In principle, the validity period of China’s permanent residence permit is 10 years, and it can be replaced when it expires;
• Can participate in social insurance or urban residents’ basic medical insurance and social pension insurance, and enjoy social insurance benefits;
• Can use the housing provident fund and handle the withdrawal or transfer of the housing provident fund according to the regulations;
• The purchase of self-use and self-occupied commercial houses is not subject to the restrictions on the number of years that foreigners buy houses in China
• Foreign investment can be made in China to reduce investment tax and exchange costs;
• Their children can receive compulsory education in their place of residence;
• Naturalize or restore Chinese nationality, simplify procedures and speed up processing;
• Employment in China can be exempted for foreigners working in China.

Many people may be curious that native Chinese people have a nationality as well as their own ethnicity at birth, so what ethnicity should a foreigner add to Chinese nationality?

01

First of all, there are ethnic distinctions in other countries. Foreigners who have joined Chinese nationality can also keep their ethnic names.

Because a foreigner has become a Chinese citizen, it does not necessarily mean that he is Chinese, but he has obtained long-term residency rights. Therefore, foreigners who join China can also choose to fill in the foreign nationality in the ID column.

02

You can fill in your original nationality or ancestry in the ID column. For example, if you are originally British, you can fill in the nationality column in the ID column. This approach is to make it easier to distinguish which country the foreigner who has acquired Chinese nationality originally belonged to, which is equivalent to a proof of his country of origin.

03

The third category is to fill in the Han nationality. We know that the Han nationality accounts for the largest population in China and is also the most common. If a foreigner who has become a Chinese national does not want to fill in his original ethnicity or original nationality on his ID card, there is still another major option to choose from, that is, joining the Han nationality.

Application conditions

The “Administrative Measures for the Approval and Approval of Foreigners’ Permanent Residence in my country” stipulates: For high-level foreign talents who work in relevant units in China, foreign investors who have a relatively high amount of direct investment in my country, have made major outstanding contributions to China or have special needs in the country Persons and family reunion persons such as husband and wife reunion, minors relying on their parents, elderly relying on relatives, etc., can be granted permanent residence permits for foreigners

• Direct investment in China, with stable investment for three consecutive years and a good tax record;
• Serving as deputy general manager, deputy factory director and other senior management positions in China, or have senior titles such as associate professor, associate researcher, and enjoy the same treatment, have served for four consecutive years, and have stayed in China for at least three years within four years And have a good tax record;
• Those who have made significant and outstanding contributions to China and have special needs of the country;
• The spouse and unmarried children under the age of 18 of the persons mentioned in the above three items of this paragraph;
• Chinese citizens or spouses of foreigners who have obtained permanent residency qualifications in China, have been married for five years, have resided in China continuously for five years, have resided in China for not less than 9 months each year, and have stable living security and domicile ；
• Unmarried children under the age of 18 go to their parents;
• Those who have no immediate family members abroad, and seek immediate family members in China, and have reached 60 years of age, have continuously resided in China for 5 years, have resided in China for not less than 9 months each year, and have stable living security and residence.

China’s right to permanent residence is also called “China green card” by Chinese people. For foreigners, it’s not as easy for Chinese people to get green cards from European and American countries. Even if a foreigner has been working and living in China for more than ten years, there is a high probability that he does not have a Chinese green card, because according to statistics, the annual circulation of Chinese green cards is only a few hundred or several thousand.