Posted on 01/13/2019 6:28:35 PM PST by SeekAndFind
If you’re reading this and happen to be Elon Musk, skip to step two. If you're not, read on.
Beijing is so happy with Tesla's new factory in China that it has offered Elon Musk a green card.
During a meeting at Communist Party headquarters in Beijing on Wednesday, Chinese premier Li Keqiang said Musk may well qualify for Chinese permanent residency, according to a Chinese government report of their meeting.
Musk was visiting China for the ground-breaking of Tesla’s Shanghai plant, the electric carmaker’s first production base outside the United States. (He was also spotted having hotpot at a popular Beijing restaurant.)
“I love China and want to come here more often," Musk was quoted as saying in the report.
“If you do, we can issue you a Chinese green card,” the premier replied.
Musk is exactly the sort of person China is seeking to bring into the country with an accelerated residency program – one which is aimed at attracting foreign talents and investments to boost its slowing economy.
Could Musk become a permanent resident in China — and how could you become one? Here's what you need to know.
STEP ONE: be one of these
* Skilled foreigners in high-level positions in government departments or laboratories involved in “key national projects,” who have worked in the post for at least four years in China.
* Foreigners who have invested at least $500,000 in western China or poor regions, $1 million in central China or $2 million in other areas, and who have been investing for at least three consecutive years.
* Foreigners who have made significant contributions to China.
* Spouses (married for at least five years) or dependents of Chinese citizens.
These requirements are notoriously hard to meet.
Up until 2017, only about 10,000 foreigners had been granted permanent residency since the program was introduced in 2004, even though there are an estimated 1 million foreigners living in China.
Musk has no doubt invested enough money in China, but since he only signed the $5 billion Shanghai deal in mid-2018, he may have to wait another two years to pass the requirement for foreign investors.
But given that the Chinese government has hailed the factory, China’s first solely foreign-owned auto subsidiary, as a landmark in China's opening up, Musk could probably make the cut as someone who has made significant contributions.
Unlike most other people, Musk could even list the Chinese premier as a reference.
STEP TWO: use that green card
What could Elon Musk actually do with a permanent residency card?
The main benefit is that Musk wouldn’t need a visa to visit his Shanghai factory.
In theory, he could also use the card to buy property, book train tickets, or open bank accounts – all things that are far harder to do on tourist or even work visas.
But since few people actually have permanent residency, many government branches and companies still don’t know what to do with the card. Beijing has pledged to make it more widely recognized.
Would Musk actually want to live in China? Hotpots are nice, but smog and the Great Firewall are often considered huge obstacles for foreigners.
In a survey of foreigners in China conducted last year by expatriate forum eChinacities, more than half of the 1,049 respondents ranked lack of internet freedom as their top complaint about living in the country.
China blocks most international news and social media sites including Google, Facebook and – in what may well be a deal-breaker for Elon – Twitter.
Technology to circumvent China’s censorship, such as virtual private networks, is sometimes subject to crackdowns.
The second biggest headache is pollution. Cities like Beijing and Shanghai are regularly covered by choking smog, which can lead to serious heart and lung diseases.
They could take it away in a flash:
Starting from last year or so, it’s a totally new ball-game for expats in China.
Sure, there will still be Engrish teachers on a year kick or so.
But it’s much, much harder for the Chinese-speaking foreigners there, now.
A LOT of them are leaving.
Almost every country allows people to buy their way in including the United States.
being married for 5 years to, or being a dependent of, a chinese national is a ‘notoriously hard’ requirement?
Are Chinese made Tesla eligible for US tax credits?
Elon is a commie
Let’s see... Musk sells out to China. Fine, cancel all US government contracts and tax subsidies and so forth. Make
him divest in US companies, especially those that have US content restricted from export to communist China. Maybe put him on a watch list.
I had a green card for in China, what’s the big deal?
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