苏州打造“苏式服务” 广纳高端人才

文、图/张慧

在新冠肺炎疫情暴发和中美关系胶着的大背景下，苏州市（隶属中国东部的江苏省）政府承诺将出台相关政策，吸引更多外籍人才来苏州市工作和生活。

对于那些早已在苏州谋生活的外国人来说，政府推出的这项试点计划，使他们能更容易、更快地获得工作和居留许可。

苏州市科技局副局长顾万勇表示，苏州将取消对外籍高端人才的年龄限制，并将其他符合条件的外籍专业人士的年龄限制放宽至70岁。

在周五召开的新闻发布会上，他谈道，“还有其他的一些政府措施，包括为雇用外籍人才的公司建立信用体系，这样这些公司就可以享受优惠政策从而帮助内部外籍员工提交工作许可所需的材料”。

他还表示，该市的目标是截至2022年年底吸引1万名高层次人才，其中包括2500名外籍高层次人才。

截至6月底，该市11892名外籍人才获得工作许可证。但由于新冠肺炎疫情的影响，该市今年上半年吸引的外籍人才数量与去年同期相比有所减少。

The government of Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province,pledged to attract more foreign talent to work and live in the city by rolling out policies amid the COVID-19 and tense China-US relations.

For those who have already started their career in Suzhou,the city government launched a pilot program to allow foreigners to attain work and residence permits easier and faster.

The Suzhou city government also arranged charter flights to fly back foreign employees who could not timely return to the city for work due to COVID-19.

“你应该知道，没办法能把我变美的。”我闭上双眼，静默不动。她用眼线笔的笔尖沿着我的睫毛划过，我能感到凉飕飕的。我想象穿着这身衣服出现在家人面前，胃里顿时一阵扭拧，觉得好像快要吐了。

Gu Wanyong, deputy director of Suzhou Bureau of Science and Technology, said the city would remove age restrictions for foreign high-end talents, and lift the age restrictions for other eligible foreign professionals to 70 years old.

Other measures included establishing a credit system for companies that hire foreign talents so that such companies can enjoy preferential policies to help their foreign employ-ees submit materials required for work permits.

在江苏自由贸易试验区苏州片区，两名外籍人士在为高端外籍人才办理工作居留许可的特殊窗口递交申请

自6月底以来，该市推出了一项新的试点计划，使在该市工作的外籍人员能够更快地获得工作和居留许可。

在试点项目计划中，外籍人士可在江苏自由贸易试验区苏州片区设立的为高端外籍人才办理工作居留许可的特殊窗口同时申请工作许可和居留许可，并可在15天内拿到工作居留许可。

此前，外籍人士若要申请这两份许可，必须访问两个政府机构——当地科委和公安局，且必须等待25个工作日才能拿到许可证。

苏州市工业园区公安分局出入境管理科警官徐莹表示，自6月30日该项目实施以来，共处理了112份申请。

一位名叫Arlph的德国工程师说：“我为自己和家人申请了签证延期，整个过程非常方便，我在现场花了大约一个小时，然后就可以回家了。”

而四年前，他第一次申请居住证时，花了半天时间才提交材料。

据当地外事办公室一位姓周的官员介绍，为了更好地促进外企复工，当地外事办公室协调了10架包机返回苏州，并且自3月份以来，已帮助95家企业的372名外籍员工返回苏州。

例如，苏州下属的县级市——常熟市外事办公室安排了一架包机，搭载着大约100名日本员工，经无锡苏南硕放国际机场返回苏州。

The city aims at attracting 10,000 high-level talents by the end of 2022, including 2,500 foreign high-level talents, Gu said.

As of the end of June, the city had 11,892 foreign talents with work permits. But due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of foreign talents the city attracted in the first half of this year has reduced compared with the same period last year, according to the bureau.

Since the end of June, the city launched a new pilot program allowing foreigners working in the city to enjoy quicker approval of work and residence permits.

Under the pilot program, foreigners can apply for both work and residence permits at the special window of work and residence permits for high-end foreign talents at Suzhou Area of the Jiangsu Pilot Free Trade Zone, and they can receive the two permits in about 15 days.

Previously, foreigners had to visit two government agencies- local science and technology commission and public security bureau - in applying for the two permits, and they had to wait for 25 working days to get them.

Since the implementation of the program on June 30, a total of 112 applications were handled, said Xu Ying, a police officer from the exit and entry administration of Suzhou industrial park branch of the public security bureau.

A German engineer who gave his name as Arlph said he applied for a visa extension for him and his family and the whole process was very convenient. "It took about one hour at the scene, and then I can go home," Arlph said.

But when he first applied for residence permit at the bureau four years ago, it took him half a day to submit materials,he said.

To better facilitate the work resumption of foreign companies in Suzhou, local foreign affairs office has coordinated 10 charter flights returning to the city and since March, 372 foreign employees from 95 companies have returned to the city, an official surnamed Zhou from the local foreign affairs office said.

In a latest example, the foreign affairs office of Changshu, a county-level city administrated by Suzhou arranged a charter flight carrying some 100 Japanese employees to return to Suzhou via Sunan Shuofang International Airport in nearby Wuxi city.