Shanghai relaxes residency policies for migrants

Authorities in Shanghai announced on Wednesday that they will ease controls over residency permit applications for non-locals starting from July.

The new regulation makes Shanghai the first Chinese metropolis to give nearly equal urban status to non-locals.

According to a new residency permit regulation issued on Wednesday, non-Shanghai residents can apply for a residence permit evaluation by accumulating 120 "points," which are calculated using numbers of factors including an applicants' age, education background, profession and work performance.

Sun Changmin, head of the Shanghai Population Association, said the regulation is a milestone in the reform of the existing population management system, which is based on household registration rather than one's actual place of residence.

As China's largest city, Shanghai has 25 million permanent residents, among which nearly 10 million are migrants.

Chinese authorities underlined the need to help rural migrant workers become urban residents, calling it an important task for the country's urbanization, according to its first policy document for 2013 released earlier this year.

To promote urbanization, especially concerning migrant workers, China will put forward reforms of its household registration system, loosening requirements for obtaining residency permits in small and medium-sized cities and small townships, the document said.

Yet it is a different story in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai.

The Chinese government insisted that migrant workers should enjoy equal rights and benefits in subsidies, education of their children, public health, housing and cultural services. However, under current household registration, people are entitled to different welfare levels including education and endowment insurance, with urban residents in major cities enjoying the higher level of welfare.