Expats welcome new visa policy

Dutch architect Barbara Kuit, who co-designed the Canton Tower with her husband Mark Hemel, settled in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, in 2011. She now lives with her husband and three children in the city and goes back to the Netherlands to visit her parents from time to time, but she would like her parents to have the opportunity to come to China. So she is excited about the new visa policy.

“My parents have not come to China to visit us yet. It is a long journey from Holland. But I will definitely invite them to come after the new visa policy goes into effect,” Kuit said.

“The new policy is very attractive, as it will save time and will make you and your loved ones decide more easily to visit. When it is easier for families to visit, you will be more likely to want to stay and work in a foreign country.”

Joe works for a law firm in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

“I come from a very large and extended family, so I will host family members, typically three or four times per year. This is not limited to a spouse, children, parents and parents in law, but also my siblings, their children and extended family members.

“I will host my nephew during the Christmas holiday season and my sister in the summer of 2014. Further, if these policies take effect, I think it will be easier for my family to visit, but the current process hasn't been a problem.

“China is a dynamic place and will always attract expat talent. That being said, we deal with a lot of cases of experts in their field, who are placed or open their businesses in China. The process to obtain a valid work permit and visa can be tedious, but I think with these measures in place, it will encourage these people to bring their families, which in turn will contribute to their happiness and success in China.

“This policy will allow me to continue my career with the comfort that the visa process will be easier for my spouse and children to have the proper documentation in place to thrive in china. Which in turn will add to my continued contribution in my field and in China in general.”

Oscar Garschagen, from the Netherlands, has been Shanghai bureau chief for a Dutch daily newspaper for the last five years. He believes the policy will be welcomed by the expat community.

“It'll be a great chance for the extended families of expats to visit China and get reunited. Many of the spouses and children of expats visit often, and the numbers will rise when the new regulation becomes effective.”

Javier Ibanez, a 25-year-old Spaniard working at a media group in Beijing, also feels excited about the policy as his parents come to China once or twice a year and have always applied for a tourist visa. The new type of visa will grant them residency rights for a longer period, although he wishes the application procedure were simpler.

“I think currently the main problem about coming to China is the huge amount of information you have to provide to get the visa. More expats will invite their parents for visits if they don't have to go through an endless process. If the process is easier, more global talents will also be attracted to China and work in the country for more years, which seems one of the aims of the new regulation.”