Local governments streamline service for top foreign talent

Shanghai’s Qingpu District, Jiashan County in Zhejiang Province and Wujiang District in Jiangsu Province are making a leap toward more open talent cooperation and sharing, the executive committee of the Yangtze River Delta Ecology and Greenery Integration Demonstration Zone announced on Tuesday. 

A scheme covering foreign high-end talent work permit recognition in the zone was released on Tuesday. 

The scheme targets top professionals with A-grade classification. 

Foreign workers are classified into categories A, B and C — A for top talent, B for professional talent, C for unskilled workers or those working in the service industry.

In the demonstration zone, high-end foreign professionals can be granted work permits of a five-year duration, at the longest, based on unified standards among the two districts and county.

Foreign talent who are classified as A in any of the locales and who terminate contracts with their former working units and do not make outbound trips after the end of contract will be exempt from submission of materials such as work-experience proof and academic certificate when applying for work permits with new companies in the zone and they will maintain their top talent status. 

Their working residence should still be valid to enjoy the convenience, according to the scheme. 

One-stop service windows for the work and residence of foreigners have been set up in Qingpu, Wujiang and Jiashan under the scheme. 

The scheme aims to create a more open talent cooperation and sharing mechanism in the zone, make it a premium choice of high-end foreign talent in China, increase mobility and vitality of the zone, and promote the high-quality development of the zone, the committee said.