Recently, SIP saw the special window for issuing work permit and residence permit for foreign high-end talents put into use in Suzhou Free Trade Zone. This is the first pilot special window for foreign high-end talents in Jiangsu Province.
From now onwards, high-end talents and their families who meet the requirements for Category-A Work Permit in the jurisdiction can apply for both the work permit and the residence permit at once. The approval time, which took 25 working days, has also been reduced to 15 working days.
By the end of June this year, the number of foreigners working in Suzhou was about 12,000, accounting for 48% of the province’s total. Among them, more than 4,600 foreign high-end talents held Category-A Work Permit, taking up the province’s 58%; over one-third of the 4,600 holders worked in Suzhou Free Trade Zone, becoming an important force to boost the innovative development of the free trade zone.
Ever since its establishment, Suzhou Free Trade Zone has released a series of facilitation measures in three aspects: foreign talents coming to China for work, innovation and entrepreneurship, and living support services.
At present, SIP has taken the lead in Jiangsu Province in realizing the whole process of the examination and approval of the work permit for foreigners at county and district levels, and the work permit processing time has been shortened from 15 working days to 5 working days.
It has also promised that for foreign high-end talents should obtain their permits within three working days, and the qualified applicants should go through the procedure and get their permits on the spot. Since the introduction of the new policy, 320 persons have literally benefited from the rapid approval practice.
According to the person in charge of the Exit-Entry Division of the SIP Public Security Bureau, before the special window was set up, foreign high-end talents had to apply for the work permit from the Science and Technology Department first, and then apply for the residence permit at the Exit-Entry Administration Department with the work permit.
Now that the special window has opened, staff members from the foreigner work permit administrative department and the exit-entry residence permit administrative department in the free trade zone are working together on a joint team behind the window.
The applicant only needs to submit the application materials for work permit and residence permit at the same time through the single window, and then the materials are processed simultaneously by the window’s joint team, which significantly saves the applicant’s trouble.
