Service window opens for foreigners' work, residence permits

Top foreign talent who work in Fengxian District can apply for a work permit and a residence permit via a single service window from Tuesday.

The Single Window for Foreigners' Work Permit and Residence Permit was launched at Fengxian’s administrative service center (1529 Wangyuan Road S.). It issued its first two work permits for Category-A foreign talent, or "high-end foreign talent," on Tuesday.

Previously, foreign professionals had to apply for a work permit from the Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs and then apply for a residence permit at the Exit-Entry Administration Bureau with their approved work permit.

The first city-level single window for foreigners' work and residence permits was opened in December 2019 at the Shanghai Exit-Entry Administration Bureau (1500 Minsheng Road, Pudong).

Whereas the previous process took at least 17 workdays, the new procedure takes seven workdays at most.

Many district-level single service windows have been opened since then in districts like Fengxian and Xuhui for the convenience of foreign workers.

Meanwhile, the Science and Technology Committee of Fengxian District signed cooperative agreements with the liaison offices in Hanover, San Francisco and Sydney of Shanghai Association of International Exchange of Personnel on Tuesday. They will jointly attract foreign talent mainly for small and medium-sized enterprises in Fengxian.

According to the agreement, the liaison offices will help to attract professionals mainly in biological medicine, cosmetics research and design as well as intelligent manufacturing. These are key sectors of the Oriental Beauty Valley, a business zone in Fengxian focusing on the cosmetics and health industries.

The beauty industry area has attracted some 100 companies, including American brand Nu Skin and South Korea’s Cosmax, as well as many local brands. It accounts for more than 40 percent of the total value of the city's cosmetics industry.

Ti Gong