Attention! China rejigs visa system for highly skilled expats
China is planning to upgrade its visa system in order to give priority to attracting more top-level expat professionals and limit the numbers of low-grade workers. At the present time expats wishing to work in China have two visa options – the foreign expert work permit available from the State Administration for Foreign Affairs or an employment license issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. The new rules will see the two visas merged into a single, unified work permit in order to reduce unnecessary paperwork, simplify the process overall and attract more highly-skilled expat professionals. However, as a part of the adjustment, the Chinese administration is planning to classify all expat workers using three separate categories. Category A will include the so-called ‘top talent’ workers, whilst the B grade is for ‘professional talent’ and the C grade will apply to unskilled workers and those in the service industry. An e...