Offical Q&A as to New Permanent Residence ID Card

The Foreign Permanent Resident ID card is a legal identity document issued by the National Immigration Administration for eligible foreigners after they have been authorized to reside permanently in China.

With the development of China's economy and society and the advancement of information technology, in order to further enhance the social recognition of the permanent resident card and the level of information technology of foreigner management services, the National Immigration Administration, based on the considerations of safer, more beautiful and more practical, has comprehensively improved and upgraded the machine-readable and visually-readable areas of the current version of the permanent resident card in an all-round way.

Additionally, improved and adjusted the technical specifications, optimized and beautified the layout, and enhanced the anti-counterfeiting performance, and developed and launched the new version of the permanent resident card, which not only facilitates identification and visual reading, but also makes it easier for the holder to use in more offline application scenarios, such as machine reading and online use.

The new version of the card has been upgraded in terms of layout pattern and technical design, mainly in the following three aspects:

1.The chip storage technology has been adjusted, the certificate information storage method has been optimized, and more advanced anti-counterfeiting technology has been adopted to enhance personal information protection and data security.

2. The ID number has been adjusted from 15 digits to 18 digits, which includes the information code such as the foreigner identification code, nationality code, and place of application code. Each person has one ID and it remains the same for life.

3.The layout has been optimized, the relevant registration items have been improved, a new pattern of the Great Wall has been used, and new five-starred elements reflecting the national logo have been added, so as to better convey China's image and concepts to the world.

In the process of promoting the revision of the card, some experts involved in the study proposed that the new version of the Permanent Resident Card can be commonly known as the "five-star card", which we think is very appropriate.

The new version of the Permanent Resident Card has standardized and optimized the information content, format and storage structure stored in the chip, and the application capacity of the card has been further optimized and improved:

1. The machine reading ability of ID cards is stronger. The new version of the card has undergone information recognition upgrades for identity document readers widely used in various industries.The standard identity document readers commonly used in society can quickly and accurately read the personal identity information stored in the new version of the card.

3. Verification of the holder's identity is more accurate. In addition to providing identity verification services for the holders and application units of the new version of the card, the National Immigration Administration will provide verification services related to the Permanent Resident ID Card and the foreign passport held by the holder, so as to meet the needs of the holder and the application unit for identity-related authentication in specific application scenarios.

The Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card is a legal identity document for the holder to reside in China. It can be used separately when it is necessary to prove personal identity in matters such as finance, education, medical care, transportation, accommodation, communication, work, tax and social insurance, property registration, and litigation. It mainly includes the following aspects:

1.The holder can enter and exit China multiple times with the Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card and a valid passport without applying for a visa and other procedures;

2.When taking airplanes, trains, ships and other means of transportation in China, the holder can use the Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card to buy tickets or travel by cars or planes;

3.For accommodation in domestic hotels, the holder can handle the relevant check-in procedures with the Foreign Permanent Residence ID Card;

4. The Foreign Permanent Residence ID Card can be used as a legal identity certificate when dealing with financial business such as banking, insurance, securities and futures, and social affairs such as communication, taxation, property registration and litigation;

5.Based on the full implementation of offline applications,major Internet platform applications and public and government service applications such as "National Government Service Platform", "Railway 12306", "Traffic Management 12123", and "Personal Income Tax" have included Foreign Permanent Resident ID Cards as recognized document types for use.

It should be noted that in China, a Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card and a valid foreign passport have the same identity proofing effect,and when the holder goes to various public service industry branches and relevant units to handle affairs, all units should accept the current and new versions of the Permanent Resident ID Card as identity documents. The National Immigration Administration will strengthen coordination and communication with various public service industry units, and continue to promote the smooth application of Foreign Permanent Resident ID cards in various related industries.

The new version of the Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card of the People’s Republic of China will be officially issued and put into use from Dec 1 2023, and foreigners who are approved to obtain permanent resident status after Dec 1 will be issued a new version of the Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card.The current version of the Permanent Resident ID Card can still be used within the validity period and can normally handle related social affairs.

The current Permanent Resident Card holders may also apply for a new version of the Permanent Resident Card according to their personal needs. The new version of the Permanent Residence Card will be marked with the number of the current version of the Permanent Resident Card to ensure a smooth connection between the new version and the current version of the card.

If the holders need to renew the ID card, they can apply for the new version of the Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card at the municipal public security organs or the entry and exit management agencies of the municipal public security branches and county bureaus in their place of permanent residence.

Source: 国家移民管理局NIA

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