The Ministry of Public Security released a host of measures on Feb 24 to help Beijing’s Zhongguancun Science Park attract and hold overseas talent.

The measures, which will take effect on March 1, are aimed at four groups: high-end foreign professionals, overseas Chinese who start businesses in Beijing, foreign students in Beijing and foreigners who work for entrepreneurial startups in the city.

The ministry is working with the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Public Security to set up a service center to review residency and visa applications from foreign professionals working in the Zhongguancun Science Park, a high-tech hub in the capital that covers 488 square kilometers and currently has more than 20,000 companies.

The center will also provide consultation services to foreigners.

Foreign nationals can consult or submit applications starting on March 1 at the Beijing security bureau’s exit and entry administration hall in Dongcheng district or at the bureau’s administration office at Beijing Capital International Airport.

The ministry stipulated that immigration officers must respond to applications for permanent residence by high-end foreign professionals within 50 working days after an application is submitted. The current review requirement is 180 days. Those professionals’ spouses and children under the age of 18 will also be qualified to apply for permanent residence in China.

Foreign workers at startup businesses in Zhongguancun and technical professionals employed by companies in the science park will be eligible to apply for a work visa when they arrive in China.

They can also apply for permanent residence in China through an assessment system that will evaluate and accumulate their contributions to Zhongguancun, the ministry said.

Students from overseas universities who are invited by enterprises in Zhongguancun for internship programs will be allowed to apply for a short-term private visa upon arrival in China. Foreign students at universities in Beijing will also be permitted to work for enterprises in Zhongguancun or start their own businesses after obtaining approval from their school.