Migrants to Shanghai hoping to qualify for a pilot scheme offering permanent residency have complained that the rules are opaque and criteria too difficult to meet, the city's official media reported yesterday.
The new mechanism - full details of which were announced last week as a three-year trial - is expected to lead to the first major shake-up of the much-criticised hukou (home registration) system in a city where more than a quarter of the inhabitants lack permanent residency status.
The municipal government's aim is to move away from a quota-based system to an 'open, fair and transparent' one founded on entitlement - but even official media admit it has run into teething troubles already.
The Xinmin Evening News and the municipal government's official news outlet, Eastday.com, carried identical reports detailing frustrations faced by potential applicants who were 'running their legs off' to put their claims together.
The rules mean applicants need to provide a confusing list of documentary evidence to support their claim - reports from authorities in their place of birth, local police in Shanghai, tax records and even approval from their 'work units'.
They need official reports to show they have paid local taxes and social security for the required period of time - simple receipts are not enough.