To attract more skilled foreigners to China, the Ministry of Public Security recently announced that the threshold for obtaining a Chinese "green card", or permanent residence permit, had been lowered.

Foreigners working in seven kinds of companies or institutions are now eligible to apply for a Chinese green card if they satisfy certain conditions. The qualified employers are government-affiliated institutions and scientific and research organizations, including national laboratories, national engineering and technology laboratories, national engineering research centers, State-accredited enterprise, technology centers and foreign-invested R&D centers.

While to be eligible, foreigners need to have worked in these companies or organizations for no less than four years and have sound tax records, and accumulatively live in China for no less than three years.

Foreigners with Chinese permanent residence enjoy the same rights as Chinese citizens in the fields of investment, education and property ownership, among other things.

For a long time China's "green card" has been called one of the most difficult to get. The new application policy aims to attract more high level professionals to live and work in China, which reflects China's new emphasis on knowledge and creativity.