Application processing for work permits in Beijing will be reduced from 30 to 20 working days, according to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Talent Work. The bureau will also be handling more applications and extend the validity period of the work permit. In addition, the power of approval for the work permit will be delegated to respective district departments where the employer is based.
These measures are the first policy release made by the bureau since its establishment in November, and also signal a major step in the implementation of the "Comprehensive Service Package" policies introduced by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Beijing Municipal Committee.
After its establishment, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Talent Work surveyed more than 30 private high-tech enterprises as well as some representatives of some colleges and universities who have left the teaching and research posts to start up businesses, and collected more than 180 human-resource-related suggestions and requirements. Based on the survey, the bureau worked out a "talent service package" and gave feedback to these employers, and established a one-to-one service mechanism for high-level talents such as scientists in strategic posts.
The bureau said that the "talent service package" is made up of two categories of measures: general service and special service. For general service measures, the bureau will mainly strengthen the efforts to make talent policies and information better known among employers, improve the talent services and enhance inter-departmental coordination to ensure that the existing relevant policies can be implemented. The special service measures are mainly aimed at the practical difficulties and problems of enterprises and talents, such as work permit and professional title evaluation so as to provide services in a timely manner.
In addition to shortening processing time for work permits and delegating approval power, the bureau will also modify the handling procedures and reform the talent evaluation methods. While retaining the academic degree granting and the professional title evaluation, the talent evaluation methods will include some new measures that encompass factors of social contribution, intellectual property achievements, as well as the amount of investment and financing.
In addition, annual inspection procedures on work permit will be cancelled. Instead, some efficiency measures will be adopted, such as checking the information online and reducing the amount of application materials. Besides, procedures for newly introduced talents, overseas returnees and recent college graduates will be streamlined, and express services will be provided for them to get the collective household registration (hukou) and leave their personnel files in the human resources and public services agencies.
For the next step, the talent work departments will rectify the practice of evaluating talents only by research papers, professional titles, academic qualifications and awards, and create a friendly and flexible talent evaluation environment. In the future, they will work out more "talent service packages" for outstanding people.
