Several Provisions of Zhejiang Province on Promoting the Convenience of Daily Life for Foreign-related Business and Travel Personnel

Article 1 These Provisions are formulated in accordance with the Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China, the Regulations on the Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners of the People's Republic of China, other laws and administrative regulations, and relevant provisions of the State Council, in light of the actual conditions of this Province, for the purpose of improving the convenience measures for the life of personnel engaged in foreign-related business and tourism activities, enhancing the level of foreign-related services, building a first-class international business environment, and promoting high-level opening-up.

Article 2 These Provisions apply to the work related to living conveniences such as residence, medical care and payment for foreign nationals who enter and exit the country in accordance with the law for purposes of investment, commerce, tourism, study, talent introduction, etc. within the administrative region of this Province.

Article 3 The provincial people's government shall establish a coordinated working mechanism, give full play to the functional roles of departments including education, public security, finance, human resources and social security, commerce, culture, radio, television and tourism, health, and foreign affairs, and strengthen work coordination with the border inspection authorities, as well as the Zhejiang-based administrative offices of relevant national departments such as the People's Bank of China, financial regulatory authorities, and communication administration authorities in terms of information notification, consultation and judgment, service linkage and risk assessment.

People's governments at or above the county level shall strengthen the organizational leadership of promoting the work of improving living conveniences for foreign-related business and tourism personnel, build an intensive and efficient government service system, improve work efficiency and service quality, and promote the realization of "entering only one gate" for offline foreign-related government services and "one-network handling" for online government services.

In areas where foreign nationals are relatively concentrated, people's governments at or above the county level shall promote the construction of immigration service centers (stations), centrally provide social integration services such as policy consultation, residence and travel, legal services, language and culture, and carry out publicity on opening-up policies.

Article 4 The provincial foreign affairs department shall take the lead in organizing relevant entities to compile multilingual guides for foreign-related services, and the provincial data management department shall take the lead in building foreign language versions of Zhejiang Government Service Network and "Zheli Ban", to provide guidance on laws, policies, economy, culture, education, medical care, tourism, travel and other aspects, so as to facilitate foreign-related business and tourism personnel to understand laws, regulations, rules, policies and living information.

Article 5 The provincial public security organs and data management departments shall, in conjunction with border inspection authorities and other relevant entities, rely on the integrated intelligent public data platform to improve the verification capability of foreign exit and entry documents.

Departments of human resources and social security, foreign affairs, commerce, transport, culture, radio, television and tourism, health, taxation, market regulation, etc., as well as the Zhejiang-based administrative offices of relevant national departments such as the People's Bank of China, financial regulatory authorities, and communication administration authorities shall, in accordance with relevant provisions of the state and this Province, provide convenient and efficient foreign-related services by sharing public data.

Relevant departments that process personal information for the performance of statutory duties shall do so in accordance with the authority and procedures specified in laws and administrative regulations, shall not exceed the scope and limit necessary for the performance of statutory duties, and shall take necessary measures to ensure the security of the processed personal information.

Article 6 The provincial public security organs and human resources and social security departments shall, in accordance with relevant provisions of the state, optimize the handling procedures for work permits and work-type residence permits, and promote the integration of work permits and social security cards.

The provincial human resources and social security department may issue social security cards to eligible foreign nationals, expand the service scope of social security cards, and explore and promote the realization of "one card for all uses" of social security cards in fields such as government services and public services.

Article 7 Departments of the provincial culture, radio, television and tourism, health, market regulation, data management, etc., as well as the Zhejiang-based administrative offices of relevant national departments such as the People's Bank of China and communication administration authorities, shall guide service institutions in tourism, medical care, finance, communication and other sectors to carry out foreign-related service adaptability transformation of their business systems, facilities and equipment, so as to improve the convenient application of documents such as foreign exit and entry documents and permanent residence identity cards, as well as the level of online services.

Article 8 Border inspection authorities shall strengthen the construction of the inspection and verification system for entry and exit personnel, optimize the customs clearance facilitation process and improve customs clearance efficiency through means such as passenger flow prediction, intelligent judgment and fast clearance, so as to realize fast entry and fast exit.

Departments of public security, foreign affairs, commerce, culture, radio, television and tourism, etc. shall, in conjunction with border inspection authorities and the Zhejiang-based administrative offices of relevant national departments such as the People's Bank of China, organize relevant entities to set up unified consultation service windows for foreign-related comprehensive affairs at entry and exit ports, providing services such as policy consultation, mobile communication, mobile payment, foreign currency exchange, tourism guidance, and accommodation declaration.

Article 9 Public security organs shall provide convenient services such as port visas, long-term residence and permanent residence in accordance with state provisions, optimize the management and service of foreign-related accommodation registration, improve the efficiency of foreign-related accommodation registration through information-based means, adhere to the principle of giving priority to education and management, exercise inclusive and prudent law enforcement, and guide and standardize the improvement of the foreign-related accommodation registration capability of accommodation business entities such as hotels, inns and homestays.

Departments of cyberspace administration, commerce, culture, radio, television and tourism, etc. shall encourage relevant industry associations and e-commerce enterprises to organize and carry out foreign-related accommodation business training in accordance with the law, promote the formulation of relevant service standards, and guide accommodation business entities such as hotels, inns and homestays to operate in an honest and standardized manner.

Article 10 Departments including the provincial human resources and social security department shall establish a mechanism for the recognition of professional titles by comparing international professional qualifications, and formulate a catalogue for the comparison and recognition of overseas professional qualifications and professional titles.

Foreign talents who hold an international professional qualification certificate conforming to the comparison and recognition catalogue and are engaged in relevant professional and technical and management work within the administrative region of this Province shall be recognized with corresponding professional titles in accordance with relevant provisions of the state and this Province.

Departments of human resources and social security, etc. may, in accordance with relevant provisions of the state, refine the recognition standards for foreign talents within their respective administrative regions, and implement them after obtaining approval in accordance with the law.

People's governments at or above the county level and their relevant departments shall commend and incentivize foreign talents who have made outstanding contributions.

Article 11 Departments of human resources and social security and medical security shall guide social insurance agencies to provide eligible foreign insured persons with social insurance services including basic pension insurance, basic medical insurance and work-related injury insurance in accordance with the law, and ensure the implementation of social insurance benefits.

When high-end foreign talents (Category A) reach the retirement age stipulated by the state but do not meet the payment period for basic pension insurance stipulated by the state, they may apply to the human resources and social security department for deferred payment in accordance with relevant provisions of the state and this Province.

Article 12 Local financial regulatory departments and the Zhejiang-based administrative offices of relevant national departments such as the People's Bank of China shall guide relevant business entities to accelerate the transformation of overseas bank card acceptance equipment, strengthen interconnection with international payment platforms, increase the popularity rate of mobile payment, optimize the usage environment of RMB cash and overseas bank cards, explore the facilitation of international payments, and improve the level of payment services.

Departments of transport, culture, radio, television and tourism, health, commerce, market regulation, etc. shall guide various business entities in transport, tourism, health and other sectors to provide multi-channel payment services including RMB cash, overseas bank cards and mobile payment that meet the requirements of payment facilitation.

The Zhejiang-based administrative offices of relevant national departments such as the People's Bank of China and financial regulatory authorities, as well as local financial regulatory departments, shall guide financial institutions including banks and insurance companies to transform their internal business systems, optimize account opening procedures, realize rapid identification of various documents, and improve account opening efficiency.

Article 13 Departments of cyberspace administration, commerce, culture, radio, television and tourism, etc. shall support internet service enterprises engaged in online social networking, e-commerce and other businesses to use public data in accordance with the law, optimize service procedures, expand service modes, and provide multilingual services for online social networking, shopping, entertainment, learning and other aspects.

Article 14 The Zhejiang-based administrative office of the national communication administration department shall, according to the characteristics of foreign-related business and tourism services, guide communication service enterprises to optimize the handling procedures for services such as fixed-line telephones, mobile telephones and broadband internet, and provide convenient communication services.

Article 15 The provincial health department shall support hospitals to sign direct payment agreements for commercial medical insurance with well-known overseas commercial insurance institutions, and explore and promote the direct settlement of overseas commercial medical insurance within the territory.

In areas where foreign nationals are relatively concentrated, the health department shall guide medical service institutions to equip medical staff with foreign language communication capabilities, so as to improve the capability of international medical diagnosis and treatment services.

The Zhejiang-based administrative office of the national financial regulatory department shall guide insurance enterprises to develop commercial medical insurance products eligible for foreign nationals to apply for, and support employers to pay commercial medical insurance premiums for foreign talents.

Article 16 The provincial education department shall, in accordance with relevant provisions of the state, formulate policies on the enrollment of children of foreign nationals at the basic education stage, regularly publish the list of schools that admit children of foreign nationals, and encourage primary and secondary schools with a foundation for international exchanges to admit children of foreign nationals.

The education department shall guide schools to publicize the traditional Chinese culture, customs and other related contents to foreign students, so as to promote foreign students to get familiar with and integrate into their study and living environments.

Article 17 Departments of culture, radio, television and tourism shall guide public cultural venues, scenic spots and resorts, and tourism enterprises to strengthen the application of information technology, launch services such as online reservation for foreign-related tourism, congestion warning, multilingual tour guide, and convenient payment, so as to enhance tourism experience.

Article 18 The judicial administration department shall guide legal service institutions to provide various legal services for foreign-related business and tourism personnel; organize relevant entities to carry out publicity of the rule of law for foreign-related business and tourism personnel by compiling typical cases of common legal problems, producing legal publicity videos and other means.

Public legal service centers at the county (city, district) level may employ eligible foreign-related business and tourism personnel as special mediators to provide foreign-related mediation services.

Article 19 Relevant departments of people's governments at or above the county level shall, in accordance with state provisions, promote the full implementation of equal treatment for foreign-related business and tourism personnel holding permanent residence identity cards in terms of house purchase, handling of financial businesses, applying for driving licenses, children's enrollment, transportation, accommodation registration and other aspects.

Article 20 These Provisions shall come into force as of May 1, 2025.

Source: Zhejiang Provincial People's Government