City to issue work visas for top talent

Shanghai is to issue visas on arrival to high-level foreign workers and those bringing entrepreneurial skills to the city to attract top talent for its mission to become a global center of scientific and technological innovation.

Foreigners with either an invitation from a licensed high-tech enterprise, a talent certificate awarded by the Shanghai human resources authority, or an endorsement from a high-tech business incubator will no longer need to leave the country to obtain a work visa.

Sheng Xiaobo, a visa management official from the Shanghai Entry-Exit Administration Bureau, said at a news conference on Thursday that instead, they will be allowed to apply for work visas at Shanghai's ports of entry as long as they have a work permit or their business plan.