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Anyone here gotten a Chinese Green Card?

JanJal (1243 posts) • 0

Earlier someone in this thread mentioned that the even the permanent residence permit must be renewed every 10 years, is that a fact?

If you get permanent residence based on marriage, but end up divorcing or widowed during the 10 years, are you a goner anyway?

cloudtrapezer (756 posts) • 0

I believe the renewal is a formality. I don't think a change in circumstances would affect it. This is on the basis of the few people I know who have cards. I don't have one myself so maybe others posting here know better.

liuer2 (38 posts) • +3

@JanJal
1.
Speaking Chinese is not a requirement. I don’t speak anything near even basic Chinese.
2.
Indeed permanent is in this case 10 years. Renewal is said to be no problem.
3.
But that is probably given that circumstances didn’t change and a divorce is a change in circumstances. No idea what will be the case then. Might depend on if there are children or not. Or even if there is a solid job or something like that. Sorry can’t help you out on that one.

cloudtrapezer (756 posts) • 0

Someone asked about command of Chinese language. I know at least two people who had cards whose Chinese was poor to nonexistent. So Chinese fluency is not a prerequisite. But I guess it might help.

CromsonCromson (145 posts) • +3

It's almost funny, no chinese skills required for a green card. In Germany for example it's unthinkable. First thing you have to do are language courses and tests. I'm staying in China for almost 12 years now, working legally, married for 12 years, having kids, 8 years i did not leave China and i can speak chinese. Year after year if have to do the visa- and work-permit application and at the same time checked if i would qualify for the green card. And everytime it's clear that the most important thing is money. You can tell them that you love China so much, haha... doesn't matter. First thing that matters is, that you bring money to China, second i guess is that you're some type of expert like atom-physicist, or else you have to struggle getting the green one. I also heard there is a new type of 5-year-residence permit now which they introduced in the Trade-City of Yiwu, but not sure if it's just a publicity stunt.

Liumingke1234 (3297 posts) • -1

@Cromson
It's has always been about the money. How much of it you have to give and how much they want.

cloudtrapezer (756 posts) • 0

In 2004, the first green cards were given to the 'old foreign experts' like Joan Hinton, Isabel Crook and so on. (Just to be clear, they were not the people I mentioned above whose Chinese was poor) It was about loyalty over decades and certainly not about money. You might say these initial awards were window dressing and later awards were all about the Benjamins. Even including the latter the number of cards issued each year remains low - I suspect it's now about 2000 a year compared to around 140,000 US cards issued p.a. There's maybe around 15000 green card holders in China compared to 13 million in the US.

As Cromson says, there's still no clear path to a card for long term residents and that's frustrating. I can't see things improving much in the present international climate but we live in hope..

JanJal (1243 posts) • 0

Chinese permanent residence permit is not exactly same as "green card" in other countries.

I think Chinese authorities are slowly starting to acknowledge this too. It is still just a 10 year residence permit - not a step to become a citizen with political rights.

I'm also thinking that for Chinese authorities foreigners who can't speak any Chinese are actually safer bet than fluent Chinese speakers.

I'll refer to movie "Charlie Wilson's War" when Gust Avrakotos reminds his idiot boss how it would be good for spies to speak the same f-ing language as the people they are supposed to spy.

JanJal (1243 posts) • 0

Does anyone know if the permanent recidency comes with added tax implications?

Specifically, after latest tax reform in China, foreigners can avoid being taxed in China on their world-wide income by staying out of China for 3 consecutive months every 6 years.

But if you have permanent residency, is that option disabled?

baiyuxiang (111 posts) • 0

Not sure about any specific tax implications, but it's worth noting that the residency requirement for the Chinese greencard is now 3 months of every year, or 1 year out of 5 years. (An application is required to receive leniency/approval for meeting the latter rather than the former requirement if the 3-month requirement poses a problem.

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