The Shanghai government loosened visa policies in July, 2015 to attract more international talents to the city. Gao Erqiang / China Daily

To support Shanghai’s development as a science and tech hub, the local government had rolled out a slew of policies aimed at attracting top talent from around the world.

One such measure was the loosening of visa policies in July. The move was met with positive response, with the number of expats obtaining permanent residences in the past five months increasing 12-fold.

Since July 1, the Exit-Entry Administration Bureau of Shanghai’s Public Security Bureau has issued 1,708 entry visas and residence permits for qualified expats to work and live in Shanghai, with 715 of them receiving long-term residence permits.

In addition, a total of 12 beneficial policies, which includes providing permanent residence permits to high-level overseas passport holders and subsidies to high-tech professionals, have been implemented.

According to Chen Hao, the deputy director of Shanghai Municipal Organization Department, educational institutes will now also play a vital role in recruiting top talent.

“The new entry-exit policies issued earlier in 2015 has successfully attracted and retained more foreign professionals to support the transformation of the city into a scientific and technological innovation center,” said Bai Shaokang, deputy mayor and director of Public Security for Shanghai.

Another six new measures will be released by the Shanghai Public Security Bureau in 2016, and they will include a 144-hour visa-free entry policy that will provide foreign tourists and businessmen who arrive in Shanghai, Jiangsu province (Nanjing Lukou airport) and Zhejiang province (Hangzhou Xiaoshan airport) more flexibility and convenience. Foreign tourists passing through Shanghai via cruises will also benefit from a new 15-day visa-free entry policy.