Zhejiang removes hukou restrictions to lure talent
Zhejiang Province released a new policy to eliminate limits on hukou (household registration) in urban areas and is implementing mutual recognition of juzhuzheng (residence permit) between different cities to increase the talent pool and labor market.
On August 1, an official notice titled "Promoting the Reform of the Hukou System" was released. The hukou application was split into two categories in the notice: Hangzhou and other cities.
People can apply for a hukou in Hangzhou if they match the requirements of the point-based hukou policy and have lived in the city for a significant amount of time.
According to the local administration, the city is about to eliminate the hukou limit and scale back the point-based requirements. The majority of the points will be made up of residence and social insurance payment years.
People who have a stable and legal place to live (including a lease) will be eligible to apply for a hukou in other cities of Zhejiang. In the meantime, the criteria for the number of years of residence will be lowered, and the procedures will be simplified.
People from out of town who have lived in a Zhejiang city for more than six months and met one of the requirements for residence permit – legally employed, stable housing, or ongoing study – can apply. They qualify for subsidized housing, public benefits and an obligatory nine-year education.
Zhejiang will explore an effective mechanism between juzhuzheng and hukou to standardize the conditions for processing and streamline the application process.
In the future, holders of residence permits who have resided in a Zhejiang city (apart from Hangzhou) for a predetermined period of time can directly apply for a hukou.
Any talent can apply for a hukou directly if they match the conditions set forth by government departments. Their legal abode, the residence of their immediate family, the collective registered household, or local public employment and talent service organizations can all be used to ascertain their registered hukou address.
In the hukou application, the age restriction for parents of adult children who have a legal and stable residence in an urban region (apart from Hangzhou) will be removed. For parents who have legal habitation, the age restriction for their unmarried children will also be removed.
A hukou may be issued to a person's immediate family, spouse, spouse's immediate family members, and children's spouses if that person is the head of a household in an urban region (apart from Hangzhou).
Zhejiang will implement the mutual recognition of the social insurance payment years within the Yangtze River Delta region. The years can be accumulated in different cities within this region. This measure is also used in handling juzhuzheng.
In order to streamline the regional and cross-provincial processing of hukou in the Yangtz River Delta, a digital system called "Police Brain" will be created.
Zhejiang will take the lead in promoting the development of Internet identity authentication infrastructure and expanding electronic identification card application scenarios. The identity information will be housed under the big data system and shared by several departments.
Previously, because of a failure to share information between departments, people were required to obtain a permit from each department in order to get the hukou. They can now easily deal with the case involving all government departments.
Zhejiang Province continues to optimize the official working procedure in order to tackle difficulties. Residents only have to visit a government department once to handle matters, including transferring and applying for hukou and juzhuzheng.
Smartphone apps that combine hukou and juzhuzheng services will be launched, making the process easier than before.
