Chinese graduates returning from overseas studies can now submit materials online in order to get their degrees accredited and obtain household registration on the mainland, Cheng Jiacai, director of the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange, said on Aug 29.

The new procedures will save the returning students a lot of time commuting between home and the CSCSE, Cheng said.

As China has welcomed a large influx of foreign-educated graduates in recent years, the center has shared information with databases for personal identity, entry and exit records and higher education degrees. It has also updated its online service platform for overseas returnees, he said at a news conference.

Overseas returnees used to go the center to submit materials when they wanted to get required documents for a job or permanent household registration, which means they had to come to the center several times and wait in long lines, Cheng said.

"Now that the center has recently launched online services, they can get relevant documents anytime, anywhere," Cheng said. "It's like online shopping. About 400,000 overseas returnees can enjoy the more convenient service every year."

Xu Peixiang, deputy director of the CSCSE, said all the documents issued by the center are digital and have the same legal effect as print documents.

The center accredited around 250,000 domestic and overseas degrees online last year, up 40 percent from a year earlier, Xu said. More than 90 percent of the accreditation was completed within two weeks.

Lyu Guowei, a teacher at China Agricultural University, said he received accreditation eight working days after he obtained a doctoral degree from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands in June. Lyu was glad that the amount of paperwork was minimized, as well.

"I was really surprised by the efficient, quick and environmentally-friendly services provided by the center," he said.

Last year, more than 519,000 students returned from overseas, up 8 percent from 2017, the Ministry of Education said.

The number of Chinese students studying abroad exceeded 662,000 last year, up 8.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the ministry.