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Comment by seanmcdirmid | Hacker News Reader

China doesn't even have a real immigration plan in place, you are more likely to win the lottery than get permanent residency even after working there for 10 years. Simply put, they don't really want foreigners like the USA (currently) does.

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Guangzhou now has a fast track permanent residence setup for foreigners investing or working. Shenzhen is about to echo it. Sounds like Fuzhou has as well. I have friends with Chinese green cards in Yunnan and Beijing, too.

Sounds like Beijing is finally taking the back foot to provincial and local authorities on visa policy.

I've long considered myself a vanguard economic migrant of the grandparent's brain drain. It's just impossible to have an independent career in R&D in much of the west and have any sort of economic security, much less start multiple businesses. My native Sydney is a particularly bad case.

Beijing and Shanghai also have it. But even as "fast track" these are still completely opaque and random. Also, temporary.

They say that every year, that immigration will be better now. And every year it isn't.

Hi, Just want to give a different perspective here. It's definitely hard (japan was as well till recently)

It's possible to get it on the right track. Tech jobs (especially depending on the province) provide incentives for a better path to something like this.

I'm directly involved with the fuzhou government deal. My cofounder chris is quoted in the article.

We are actually getting incentives and visas for foreign talent to move to southern china. We have a proper incorporation in china and everything setup.

Their goal is to build a large scale tech hub.

More of the news in mandarin from the launch:

http://www.mnw.cn/news/fz/1759144.html

http://fz.fjsen.com/2017-06/27/content_19717392.htm

http://news.fznews.com.cn/shehui/20170627/5951957fec4fc.shtm...

http://www.chinadevelopment.com.cn/news/cy/2017/06/1154087.s...

http://www.fjcl.gov.cn/xzdt/1709724.jhtml

http://health.gmw.cn/2017-06/26/content_24892813.htm

http://fj.people.com.cn/GB/n2/2017/0627/c181466-30385585.htm...

http://fj.people.com.cn/BIG5/n2/2017/0627/c181466-30385585.h...

http://news.fznews.com.cn/shehui/20170627/5951ab08e5189.shtm...

http://fz.fjsen.com/2017-06/27/content_19716514.htm

This actually made a large scale splash in china.

We will be the primary AI vendor for the implementation.

We are helping them build their own on prem infrastructure.

We are hiring in china for those interested in learning more! Email in profile.

Edit: updated to clarify about perm residency.

That's not permanent residentship though, is it?

TBH I do not think there is any "permanent relationship" in any organization in China. They can shut down your business without reason, or giving you some unreasonable reason.

You would be able to work towards it with a proper visa. It would certainly be easier than a simple teaching job. China tends to look more favorably upon high skilled labor (especially AI). I will update my comment to clarify.

Of note here, it is possible:

https://www.travelchinaguide.com/embassy/visa/refusal.htm

It would come down to having a stable working job in china for an extended period.

Nope. Many of the rules to obtain one and the implications of having "Chinese green card" are opaque or undefined. And It expires in 10 years; IF you manage to get one. Regulations for work visas also change very very frequently. Source: Living in China for 5+ years and going through these.

Thanks for clarifying! I've only done the process in japan. We are dealing with locals for the visa process and sponsoring foreigners but will concede ignorance on permanent residence. Thanks!

That being said, your reply seems a bit "binary": https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15016955

I don't seem to be completely wrong according to your comment here? The green card doesn't seem impossible, but I won't exactly claim to be an immigration lawyer.

It used to be basically impossible to get one, but that has changed recently with these fast track processes. However, each location has different rules and durations for the process and it's common for rules to change during application; or for the process to take years longer than the official length. Not to mention processes that "freeze" and there is no feedback on why it happened. All of which end up making the whole process extremely hard. Moreover, the exact implications of getting PR are not clear in regards to rights, taxation, or other obligations. It will probably take a non-trivial amount of time for things to stabilise and be clearer.

Ya the green cards don't function as Chinese IDs, and many governmental organizations don't even know they exist. It still won't let you easily get a credit card, for example.

I had no problem getting my work visa renewed for 9 years, but was never offered even a chance at permanent residency. In the USA, they would have forced the issue after 6.

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