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Haohao

New visa laws to make life harder for illegal expats, easier for highly skilled ones

Posted: 07/3/2013 7:00 am

With its proximity to Hong Kong, Guangdong is a fairly easy place in which to work illegally. One can for example, hold a full-time job while on a business visa and do a visa turnaround at the border once a month. But under new exit and entry laws, foreigners caught working illegally are set to receive tougher punishments, Shenzhen Daily reports.

For the first time, foreigners can be detained for five to 15 days if they’re caught illegally living or working in China.

Illegal migrants can now be fined 5,000 yuan (US$794) to 20,000 yuan and face deportation under the new law. Their employers could be fined up to 100,000 yuan per individual illegal employee.

The new laws also include the creation of a “talent visa.” Overseas candidates with management experience at leading multinationals and top specialists in education and science are eligible to apply.

“Urgently needed” professionals, as stated in the law, will be able to apply for the new talent visa, which grants residency for up to five years, or multiple entries and stays of up to 180 days at a time.

Some 47,100 foreigners were caught violating the immigration law last year. You can increase your chances of avoiding this fate by following the advice in this extremely helpful article.

Haohao
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