It is said that Chinese green card  is extremely difficult to be granted.  Let’s see if you have a chance to get it.

1. Category of applicants

(1) Have made direct investment in China with stable operation and a good tax paying record for three successive years;

(2) Have been holding the post of deputy general manager, deputy factory director or above or of associate professor, associate research fellow and other associate senior titles of professional post or above or enjoying an equal treatment, for at least four successive years, with a minimum period of residence in China for three cumulative years within four years and with a good tax paying record;

(3) Have made a great and outstanding contribution to and being specially needed by China; (you may visit our post to know more：What’s the Points-based System?)

(4) Being the spouse of a Chinese citizen or of a foreigner with permanent residence status in China, in a marriage relationship for at least five years, with at least five successive years of residence in China and at least nine months of residence in China each year, and having stable source of subsistence and a dwelling place;

(5) Being an unmarried person under 18 years old turning to his parent; or

(6) Being a person who is or above 60 years old, who has no direct relative abroad and is to turn to any directive relative in China, and has stayed in China for at least five successive years with at least nine- month residence in China each year, and has stable source of subsistence and a dwelling place.

2. Documents required

To apply for the green card, the following documents are required to be submitted together with the application:

(1) Copy of his/her valid passport;

(2) Health certificate;

(3) Certificate of no criminal record in the country concerned;

(4) Four recent full-face color photos; and

(5) Other materials (elaborated as below).

3. Family reunion green card

Generally speaking, there are three kinds of family reunion green cards, that is spouse, minor children and dependent. Except for the above mentioned documents listed in #2, applicant should provide the following documents:

1) Spouse

1. His/her Chinese spouse’s registered permanent residence certificate or foreign spouse’s Foreigner’s Permanent Residence Card;
2. Marriage certificate;
3. Evidence of stable income and housing.

2) Minor children

1. His/her Chinese parent’s registered permanent residence certificate or foreign parent’s Foreigner’s Permanent Resident Card;
2. Birth certificate or parentage certificate.

3) Dependent

1. The Chinese citizen’s registered permanent residence certificate or the Foreigner’s Permanent Residence Card to whom he/she is to turn;
2. Certificate of kindred;
3. Certificate certifying that he/she has no direct relative abroad;
4. Evidence of stable income and housing for he/she or the person to whom he/she is to turn.

4. Cancellation of green card

However, the government may cancel the green card if the holder has stayed in China without approval for a period less than three cumulative months a year or less than a cumulative year in five years, or has threatened the national security and interests of China, or has been expelled from China by the people’s court, etc.

5. Application for Couples Reunion

Since most of our readers are intended to apply for their green cards under this “Couples Reunion” category, we are going to mainly discuss here how to prepare the documents as required and other issues people feel concerned about:

1) Preparation of application

I. Spouse’s identity

ID card and Household Register (户口簿, hukou bu) in local city for spouse with Chinese nationality, or valid passport and Permanent Resident ID Card for spouse with foreign nationality. Marriage status in the spouse’s Household Register should note married or indicate the same English name as the applicant’s valid passport.

II. Marriage certificate

If this certificate was issued abroad, a verification from the Embassy/Consulate General of China will be needed, which has a validity of up to 6 months.

III. Evidence of stable income and housing

Evidence of stable income, under most situations, such evidence can be applicants’ or their spouse’s Certification of Deposit in domestic banks of certain amount of RMB (The freezing period must be more than 6 months after the application date), and this should be verified by a notary office. If the deposit is under the name of applicant’s spouse, the declaration that the spouse is willing to guarantee security should be notarized and submitted as well.

As to how much money need to be deposited, it varies from city to city. For example, in Qun Ming of Yunnan Province, it’s explained that the evidence of stable income refers to disposable property as the applicant’s living security, the amount of which is equivalent to more than 10 years of deposit, based on the local monthly minimum living security, or any certificate of stable monthly income source no less than the local monthly minimum living security for up to five years starting from the acceptance of the application. But no specific amount is specified.

However, we can check other cities for reference. For most cities, such as Guangzhou, Beijing (both are the first-tier cities of China) or some remote city in the Northwest of China, for example Xi’an, 100,000RMB will be good. However, the deposit needs to be no less than 200,000RMB in Shanghai.

On the other hand, the pension of the applicant or the applicant’s spouse can be treated as “stable income” in Shanghai. If the pension is received from abroad, verification by the Embassy/Consulate General of China is required. If such proof is owned by the applicant’s spouse, the declaration that the spouse is willing to guarantee security should be notarized and submitted. The proof and the notarization should both be issued within 6 months before the application date.

IV. Evidence of stable housing

Talking about stable housing, some of our clients feel frustrated. Some of them claimed that they never have a plan to buy any real estate. Some of them regret that they haven’t bought a house before the two decades of real estate boom in China. But don’t worry, stable housing doesn’t mean you have to own the house yourself, no matter where you are. Those who are renting a house should submit the rental contract with more than one year’s renting period from the application date with notarization by a notary office.

If the house is owned by the applicant and spouse, the house property certificate should be submitted. In some cities such as Beijing even the house property certificate needs to be notarized. But there are no such requirements in Guangzhou or Shanghai.  So, it’s highly recommended to consult with local authorities for updated information before you proceed with the preparation of all documents.

V. Health certificate

The Health certificate should be issued by a domestic entry-exit inspection and quarantine agency (or by foreign medical institutions verified by the Embassy /Consulate General of China). The health certificate should be issued within the validity of the last 6 months.

VI. Certificate of no criminal record

A Criminal Record/ Background check which shows no criminal history of any kind must be verified by the Embassy/Consulate General of China. The name on the record must match that on the valid passport. In case the applicant has changed names, the former names should be noted in the record. In case the applicant has lived in a country/region outside the passport-issuing country more than/for two years consecutively after he/she is 18 years old, a criminal record from that country/region is also needed.

2) What’s the consequence of a divorce?

Despite the above mentioned provisions regarding “cancellation of Green card”, the current 《Measures for the Administration of Examination and Approval of Foreigners’ Permanent Residence in China》and the  《Regulations on Foreigners’ Permanent Residence in the People’s Republic of China 》(draft for comments) failed to mention what will happen if the green card holder based on a couple’s reunion get divorced later on. Though it should be more humanitarian to allow the green card holders to maintain their “permanent residence identity” even after their divorce, considering that the green card holder has settled here and built their life and career here. However, since all green cards for people older than 18 years old have ten-years terms and have to be renewed before the expire date, many green card applicants have such a worry: what if the local authority refuses to renew their green card if it’s found that they got divorced with their Chinese spouse?

It seems that divorcing is not one of the reasons to cancel the green card, but no explicit provisions says that once applicants obtain their green cards based upon marriage with Chinese citizens, their green card will be renewed even after couples get divorced. We expect an explanation to be given by the competent authority in the near future.

Kind reminder:

(1) The application needs to be submitted to local entry and exit administration with Public Security Bureau (PSB), where the prereview will be undertaken. However, the final decision will be made by the Ministry of Public Security of the PRC and it usually will take 6 months.

(2) The applicant can assign lawyer or other institution to help to prepare the application, but the applicant should visit the local authority in person for interview. An application form will be filled by the applicant under the instruction of the interviewer.

(3) In case the applicant has changed nationality, certificate of naturalization is required. In case the applicant was once of Chinese nationality, the former mainland Chinese citizen shall also provide their previous private passport and overseas permanent resident certificate (Chinese nationals who join another nationality when holding an official/service passport must renounce Chinese nationality first), former Taiwanese shall also provide a residence deregistration certificate; former Hong Kong/Macau people shall also provide an ID cancellation certificate. If necessary, certifications issued abroad must be verified by the Embassy/Consulate General of China.

(4) In case the applicant has changed their name, relevant certifications and 2 copies of these are required. Certifications issued in a foreign country should be verified by the Embassy/Consulate General of China.

(5) The Criminal Record/Background check, Marriage certificate, Birth certificate, relationship certificate, adoption paper, name changing proof or other relevant documents issued by overseas authorities must either be verified by the Embassy/Consulate General of China, or be certified by his/her country’s Embassy/Consulate General in China (personal statement is not acceptable).

(6) All the above-mentioned certification or verification documents should both be issued within 6 months before the application date.