Jumping through visa hoops

Luc Rieu (pseudonym) sits anxiously in the Exit-Entry Administration of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, waiting for his number to be called. Because of the new Exit and Entry Administration Law, his future in China is looking uncertain - if he can't get a new visa within two weeks, he will have to pack up and go home.

A few weeks ago, French engineering designer Rieu got a job in Shanghai. Before moving there, he worked as a mobile phone designer in a Chinese company for two years in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. Upon being hired, Rieu immediately began to apply for a new working visa.

According to the new rules, foreigners who want to transfer to a new job from their original post must apply for a new working permit so they can legally be hired by the new company.

China's new Exit and Entry Administration Law came into effect in July and its detailed regulations officially kicked in on September 1.

Many changes have been made to better serve foreign exchanges as well as to solve growing immigration problems such as strengthening management on foreigners who are illegally entering, working and staying in the country.

However, many foreigners are finding they have to face a dose of trouble caused by stricter requirements and longer processing times.

New policy changes

Compared with the past, the new law has many obvious changes in different aspects with a clear goal in mind.

At a press conference held by the State Council on August 27 to introduce the changes, Zhao Hui, a senior officer from the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council, said the major concern of revising the law was to balance needed safeguards for national sovereignty and promoting foreign exchanges.

"With China's rapid economic and social development, the number for Chinese citizens and foreigners involved in international exchanges is increasing dramatically. As such, we asked for the law to be revised," Zhao said.

According to figures from the Ministry of Public Security, the total number of foreigners entering or leaving China reached 54.35 million in 2012 with nearly 600,000 foreign residents living in the country. These figures are continually growing at an annual rate of 10 percent.

With China's foreign population continually increasing over the past two decades, how to manage them properly has become a major issue for Chinese authorities.

On one hand, the new law expanded the visa types for foreign nationals (besides diplomatic, courtesy and official visa types) from eight to 12. Family reunions and personal affairs have been added to tourism visas and a new category has been created for foreign talents.

Meanwhile, the longest validity period for visas for overseas Chinese and foreign talents has been extended to up to five years, with all these moves aimed at increasing the convenience for regular international exchanges.

But on the other hand, authorities also want to solve the emerging problem for social management and local resource distribution caused by foreigners who illegally enter, stay and work in China.

In May 2012, a British man holding a tourism visa sexually assaulted a Chinese woman on the Beijing metro. He was stopped by bystanders but the attack sparked nationwide public outrage and led the government to launch a 100-day crackdown on foreigners being in Beijing illegally.

At another State Council press conference in August, officials said the new law also aimed to strengthen verification procedures on foreigners' identity and travel purposes to prevent people who are not supposed to enter from doing so, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

The new law requests that employers who hire foreign workers or interns report to the government if these leave or change their posts.

It also mentioned establishing a unified Exit and Entry information management platform which used to be managed separately by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Public Security.

In addition, it authorized the government to add biometric identification information to the visa application process.