Analysis on the Management System of Permanent Residence of Foreigners in China Based on the Regulations on the Administration of Permanent Residence of Foreigners (Draft for Comments)

Summary: At the end of February 2020, the Ministry of Justice website released the "Regulations on the Administration of Permanent Residence of Foreigners" to solicit public opinions and aroused heated discussion in the society. With the continuous deepening of China's social development, international migration, talent flow and other issues have become increasingly prominent, becoming China's urgent economic and social problems to be solved and improved. Based on the specific content of the draft and the public's opinions on the draft, this paper tries to explain that China should formulate relevant laws and regulations as soon as possible to improve the permanent residence system of foreigners. Starting from the controversial focus of this draft, combined with the current actual situation and the prediction of China's future development, this paper gives some suggestions on the permanent residence management system of foreigners.

Keywords: regulations on the administration of permanent residence of foreigners, permanent residence of foreigners, immigration law, international migration

At the end of February 2020, the Ministry of Justice published the Regulations on the Administration of Permanent Residence of Foreigners on its website for public consultation. The heated discussion, the wide scope of public participation and the deep social impact caused by this public opinion draft are rare in previous legislative amendments. With the continuous deepening of China's social development, international migration, talent flow and other issues have become increasingly prominent, becoming China's urgent economic and social problems to be solved and improved. The legislative work specifically for the permanent residence system of foreigners can be said to be the right time. The reason why the public has been widely discussing this legislative work precisely reflects the existence of laws on the issue of foreigners' residence management in my country before this. lack. This paper attempts to explain that China should formulate relevant laws and regulations as soon as possible to improve the permanent residence system of foreigners, and from the controversial focus of this draft, combined with the current actual situation and the prediction of China's future development of the permanent residence management system of foreigners to give suggestions.

1. the Urgent Need of Formulating the Management System of Foreigners' Permanent Residence in China

On April 10, 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized in the keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia 2018 Annual Conference that China's open door will not be closed, but will only open wider and wider. The development of China's economy in the past 40 years has been achieved under open conditions. In the future, China's high-quality economic development must also be carried out under more open conditions. This is a strategic choice made by China based on development needs, and it is also taking practical actions to promote Economic globalization benefits people all over the world. The globalization of the economy and my country's opening to the outside world are irreversible trends. It is time to regulate the management of permanent residence of foreigners. The main reasons are as follows.

National strategic needs

Talents are the foundation of rejuvenating the country, the foundation of enriching the people, and the source of development. The essence of international competition in modern society is the contest of comprehensive national strength based on economic and scientific and technological strength, and the contest of comprehensive national strength is, in the final analysis, the competition of talents. The result of global talent competition will determine a country's comprehensive national strength in the future. The vigorous development of high and new technologies such as artificial intelligence, 5G and virtual reality will soon deeply change people's production and lifestyle. With the further development of economic globalization, the transnational flow of scientific and technological talents is more frequent, and the competition for scientific and technological talents among countries is more intense. Under the background that innovative talents have become the core resources of global competition, China should seize the opportunity of immigration policy adjustment in some western developed countries, create equal, stable and favorable working and living conditions for all kinds of outstanding talents, and recruit talents from all over the world. gather and use innovative resources on a global scale. It has to be said that with the development of economic globalization to the present level, the strict single nationality policy can no longer meet the trend of the era of globalization, resulting in our disadvantageous position in the international competition for talents. Therefore, at the level of national strategic development, China needs a permanent residence system for foreigners that can serve to attract high-end talents.

2. There is an urgent need to attract outstanding foreigners in China's economic and social development.

China's social development has entered the "fast lane" of high-quality development ". In order to achieve sustained and stable high-quality development, more talents need to be appointed and give full play to their talents. At the same time, the development bottlenecks such as autonomous chips triggered by the Sino-US trade war always remind us how bumpy the road to independence and self-improvement is. The talent problem is one of the core issues that affect China's independent development. Taking independent chips as an example, according to the statistical analysis of the White Paper on Talents in China's Integrated Circuit Industry (2017-2018), "by 2020, the demand for talents in China's integrated circuit industry will be about 720000. By the end of 2017, the existing talent stock in China's integrated circuit industry will be about 400000, the talent gap will be 320000, and the average annual talent demand will be about 100000. In 2017, among the graduates in the field of integrated circuits in 200000 universities, only less than 30000 entered the industry for employment." Relying solely on universities cannot meet the requirements of talent supply.

Based on the actual situation, China will inevitably need to introduce relevant industry talents internationally. Considering that most of the talents urgently needed in our country at this stage are concentrated in the field of high-tech, and there is a high threshold for the selection of talents, it is inevitable that our country should make special legislation in attracting relevant talents and promote the introduction of talents in a standardized manner.

The essence of a country becoming an immigrant destination is that living in an immigrant destination country will improve the quality of life of immigrants and their families compared to the country of origin. If it is to be an ideal destination country for migrants, the standard of living and economic and social indicators of the destination country need to be very high. The current situation in our country requires the help of international talents to achieve such conditions. In order to achieve the scene that peaches and plums are self-contained, we need to obtain peaches and plums first. The number of peaches and plums determines the scale of peach and plum trees in the future and the prosperity of "kei" under the trees.

Throughout the overview of the "Regulations on the Administration of Permanent Residence of Foreigners" (draft for comments), it can be seen that the main purpose of this draft is to attract talents and attract foreign investment.

The first chapter of the general provisions of the work of permanent residence of foreigners clearly "management" and "service" two content. Among them, Article 5 also provides for the subject of responsibility for these two elements: "The national immigration administration is responsible for the administration of the permanent residence of foreigners. The relevant departments of the State Council shall, within the scope of their respective duties, do a good job in the administration of services related to permanent residence of foreigners".

In the second chapter of the application conditions, Article 11 first makes it clear that "to make outstanding contributions to China's economic and social development, the relevant competent departments of the state or the recommend of the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government may apply for permanent residence". Foreigners who have made outstanding contributions to my country's economic and social development can be granted permanent residence status without any conditions upon recommend by the provincial government. Article 12 directly stipulates that "foreigners who have made internationally recognized outstanding achievements in the fields of economy, science and technology, education, culture, health, sports and other fields may directly apply for permanent residence status." Article 13 specifically stipulates that "foreigners introduced due to the country's economic and social development need to be introduced to (I) national key development industries and regions and urgently needed talents recommend by the competent authorities; (II) national key construction institutions of higher learning and scientific research institutions Introduced and recommend assistant professors, academic researchers with the title of assistant researcher or above, and professors and researchers introduced and recommend by other universities and scientific research institutions; senior management personnel and senior professional and technical personnel introduced and recommend by (III) high-tech enterprises, innovative enterprises and well-known domestic enterprises. Those who (IV) professionals recommend foreigners who have obtained permanent residence status in accordance with Article 12 of these Regulations may apply for permanent residence status". The scope of application of Article 13 can be considered that even if a foreigner has not made contributions to our country and has not made outstanding achievements, as long as it is determined that the country actually needs or urgently needs talents, he can directly grant permanent residence status. Among them, (IV) foreigners who have achieved internationally recognized outstanding achievements can recommend professionals after obtaining permanent residence. Such an agreement is enough to see the degree of our country's thirst for talents, and it is enough to see that the ultimate goal of the draft is to attract as many talents as possible. The remaining provisions of this chapter, including the controversial Article 17 application for permanent residence status for family reunion reasons, are actually centered on core talent services. The original intention of solving the problem of family reunion can be understood as solving the worries of international talents and making them better for my country Contribute to economic and social development.

On the other hand, in terms of economic interests, international immigrants and even foreigners are actually very high-quality consumers in a city. A foreigner leaves his home country to live in a completely unfamiliar country, and everything in life needs to start over. From basic clothing, food, housing, transportation to entertainment, tourism and integration into all aspects of local life, the pulling effect of foreigners on local consumption is very significant, regardless of quantity. If we can expand the number of foreigners in our country, the positive impact on the economy is very much to be expected.

Our country is becoming more attractive to international migrants

Zhang Xiuming, deputy director of the Institute of overseas Chinese in China, pointed out in his keynote speech at the third Symposium on Global Talent Mobility and International Migration in 2019 that with China's rapid economic development and deepening opening up to the outside world, China is gradually becoming an attractive destination country for immigrants.

According to the data of "International Migration Report 2020", in 2018, the number of international students in Chinese higher education institutions reached 490000, of which South Korea students were the most, and Thailand, Pakistan, and India ranked second to fourth [1]. In 2019, the author conducted a small-scale questionnaire survey on foreigners in Jinan, Shandong. The sample size was 42, most of whom were international students, followed by foreign language teachers, and the rest were foreigners with work visas such as actors. In the questionnaire, almost all foreigners have a positive attitude towards China's future development. Takeaway and other mobile technologies (such as payment, online shopping, etc.) are the most impressive things they think. Less than 50% of people are willing to live in China for a long time, but almost all people think that their experience in China is beneficial to their life.

It can be seen that my country is gradually transforming from an international immigration destination to an international immigration destination. I believe this change process will be more significant in the future.

4. Pave the way for our country to attract foreign immigrants in the future

For individuals who have worked in my country for a certain period of time, have contributed to my country's economic and social development and are better integrated into society, granting them permanent residency is not only my country's care for such foreigners, but behind it is in line with economic theory. Its essence is to use the international to "buy" the time and services of international immigrants. The country of destination of international migrants has set up a policy that permanent residence or nationality can be obtained after meeting a certain number of years of work. The essence is to serve the economic and social development of the destination country by living or nationality in the destination country as a consideration in exchange for the time, energy, physical strength and intellectual achievements of international migrants within a certain period of time. With the continuous development of our country, one day, when our nationality or life in China itself represents a high-quality and superior life, just like some developed countries at present, we can directly select talents in the international talent market by granting the right of abode to serve our country's economic and social development. At that time, China's technological development and talent reserve will enter a virtuous circle of "gathering talents to promote scientific and technological innovation, scientific and technological innovation to improve living standards, and high-quality living standards to attract more talents to live and work in China.

2. the focus of controversy in this draft

Since the early 1990 s, China's further opening up to the outside world, the relevant debate on the residence management of foreigners in China has never stopped. This opinion draft is not the cause of the problem of the foreigner's residence management system, but the export of people's opinions and even dissatisfaction with the foreigner's residence management system. Combined with the public's opinions on the draft, the main problems lie in the following points:

1, laws and regulations have a pre-set position.

Limited by the current stage of social development in our country, the permanent residence system of foreigners in our country has always been set around the main goal of recruiting talents at this stage. Based on this, there will be "service" and "help integration" in the provisions of the draft. If we do not examine the background, purpose and significance of the whole regulation to the development of our country, it is easy to be labeled as "flirting with foreign countries" from the perspective of the provisions alone. There is no perfect system in the world. The most suitable system is the best system. The most important function of a country's immigration management is to attract the most useful people for the country. At this stage, what our country needs most is high-end technical talents, so it is understandable that there is a preset position in legislation.

2. The issue of super-national treatment

The issue of "super-national treatment" can be said to be the place where public opinions are most concentrated. In this consultation draft, it mainly focuses on Article 39 "...... Foreigners with permanent residence may, after paying taxes on their income earned in China in accordance with the law and issuing tax certificates or tax payment certificates in the tax authorities in accordance with the regulations, or after filing tax records for external payment, exchange foreign exchange for overseas remittance" and Article 40 "Foreigners with permanent residence may purchase commercial housing for their own use and occupation in China in accordance with the relevant regulations. Foreigners with permanent residence may deposit and use the housing provident fund in accordance with the relevant regulations on the management of housing provident fund. When leaving the place of deposit, they may go through the procedures for the withdrawal or transfer of housing provident fund in accordance with the regulations. Article 41" Foreigners with permanent residence who work in China shall participate in various social insurance in accordance with the provisions of social insurance laws and regulations. Those who reside in China but do not work can participate in the basic medical insurance for urban and rural residents and the basic pension insurance for urban and rural residents in accordance with the relevant regulations of the place of residence, and enjoy social insurance benefits. "Some people think that such a provision can also enjoy basic medical insurance and social insurance without a job. Contrary to China's original intention of introducing foreign talents, it will cause foreigners to come to my country to provide for the elderly. Not only that, permanent foreigners are not subject to the household registration system and the foreign exchange management system.

Substantially dual nationality

This draft for comments is indeed on the issue of "substantial dual nationality. This draft is based on nationality as the most important applicable standard, and this standard does have loopholes. Central America and some island countries in the Pacific have "sold" passports as national economic income. Take the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu as an example. The country has specifically written immigration programs into law. You only need to donate tens of thousands of dollars to the country to obtain a Vanuatu passport and become a citizen of the country. Chinese law does not recognize dual nationality. According to Article 9 of my country's Nationality Law, if a citizen of our country becomes a foreign nationality, our nationality will automatically be lost. If a Chinese citizen "buys" a foreign passport in this way and then obtains the permanent residence qualification, then he can enjoy the treatment of articles 39 to 41 of the draft for soliciting opinions, thus realizing the treatment of having the nationality of another country and enjoying the citizen treatment of our country, except for political rights, in essence, it is not only little different from having dual nationality, moreover, some of the provisions of the draft for soliciting opinions may also do harm to China's economy and society in this case. Taking Article 39 as an example, a foreigner with permanent residence may exchange foreign exchange for the income obtained in China after tax payment. This one alone can give birth to a black industrial chain of underground banks.

3. solutions and recommendations

1. In response to the issue of "super-national treatment", it is first of all necessary to explain that "super-national treatment" is not caused by this draft opinion, but has been gradually formed since the opening up. The reason for the formation of "super national treatment" is precisely because our country is not "internationalized" at present, we have few opportunities to communicate and work with foreigners, and it is a blind emotion just because of appearance. In my opinion, the best way to eliminate the problem of "super national treatment" is to create more opportunities for more people to come into contact with foreigners. If they have more contacts and get along with each other for a long time, people will naturally pull foreigners down from the position of "super national treatment. If we want to solve the problem of "super national treatment", we need the joint efforts of the whole society and "multi pronged approach". One management regulation can not achieve such an effect. On the contrary, relaxing the working conditions of foreigners and setting up a more relaxed residence system for foreigners is one of the effective methods.

2. In view of the problem of "substantial dual nationality", the regulations on permanent residence of foreigners in China can be supplemented by the birthplace standard with nationality as the main applicable standard, so as to better realize the original intention of establishing the right of abode system.

In addition to the above-mentioned issues, the system of permanent residence for foreigners should be implemented as soon as possible. With the development of domestic economy, it can be predicted that when our living standards continue to improve, the problems we face will no longer be limited to whether the setting of laws and regulations will lead to more foreigners coming to our country, but more and more foreigners coming to our country through various reasons and channels, how can we effectively manage.

In addition, the permanent residence system of foreigners involves many dimensions of my country's economic and social development, and it is not enough to issue regulations in the name of the State Council. It is suggested that the standing Committee of the National people's Congress, as the highest organ of power, initiate the legislative process, draft the Law on the examination and approval of permanent residence of the People's Republic of China foreigners or the the People's Republic of China Immigration Law on the basis of the draft opinion, give full play to the leading and promoting function of legislation, highlight the compulsory normative role and rigid restraint role of the law in the examination and approval management of permanent residence of foreigners, and manage it in an all-round way. Attract the most suitable people for our country.

International Organization for Migration, East Asia, Key Characteristics and Developments in Asia, Chapter 3-Migration and Migration: Regional Dimensions and Development, World Migration Report 2020

References:[1] International Organization for Migration, World Migration Report 2020