On February 20, the Chinese government responded to public concerns regarding foreigners with permanent residency in China being unable to apply for pension insurance.
2月20日，中国政府回应了公众对外籍永久居民无法申请养老保险的关切。
江苏省镇江市的王先生在国务院“互联网+督查”平台上反映了问题。他提到，他的妻子是一名外国籍人士，已在镇江居住20年，并于2023年获得了《外国人永久居留许可》。然而，尽管持有该许可，她仍无法申请城乡居民养老保险，原因是她没有镇江本地户籍。
Upon receiving the complaint, the State Council’s Supervision Office conducted an initial review and forwarded the matter to the Jiangsu Provincial Government for further investigation.
收到投诉后，国务院督查办进行了初步审核，并将此事转交江苏省人民政府进一步调查。
The Jiangsu Provincial Government, after receiving the case, took immediate action by assigning the issue to both the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security and the Zhenjiang City Government. An investigation confirmed that the complaint was valid. According to existing regulations, foreigners holding the Foreigners Permanent Residence Permit who reside in China without employment, and who meet the requirements of the local region, can participate in basic medical insurance and social pension insurance programs, similar to local urban residents (per Article 9 of the "Measures for the Enjoyment of Relevant Benefits by Foreigners with Permanent Residency in China," issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 2012).
江苏省人民政府在接到案件后，立即行动，将问题转交给江苏省人力资源和社会保障厅以及镇江市政府处理。经调查确认，该投诉是合理的。根据现行规定，持有《外国人永久居留许可》且在中国居住但未就业的外国人，如果符合当地要求，可以参加基本医疗保险和社会养老保险计划，与当地城镇居民享受同等待遇（依据人力资源和社会保障部2012年发布的《外国人在中国永久居留享有相关待遇的办法》第九条）。
However, since Zhenjiang’s Jingkou District had not previously dealt with such cases, there was no local policy for foreigners with permanent residency to apply for pension insurance. According to the “Implementation Measures for Urban and Rural Residents’ Basic Pension Insurance in Zhenjiang” (Zhenzhenggui Fa [2015] No. 8), only residents with local household registration were eligible. As a result, Mr. Wang’s wife could not apply for the pension insurance.
然而，由于镇江市京口区此前从未处理过此类案件，当地没有针对持有永久居留许可的外国人申请养老保险的政策。根据《镇江市城乡居民基本养老保险实施办法》（镇政规发〔2015〕8号），只有具有本地户籍的居民才有资格申请。因此，王先生的妻子无法申请养老保险。After further discussions, the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security and the Zhenjiang City Human Resources and Social Security Bureau clarified that foreign nationals with permanent residency in Zhenjiang are now eligible to apply for urban and rural pension insurance. Mr. Wang’s wife has since successfully enrolled in the program.
经过进一步讨论，江苏省人力资源和社会保障厅以及镇江市人力资源和社会保障局明确表示，持有永久居留许可的外国籍人士现在可以申请城乡居民养老保险。王先生的妻子已成功参保。
In line with the national policy of attracting global talent, Jiangsu Province is also conducting province-wide policy training and interpretation to ensure accurate implementation of the policy across all levels of government, especially frontline service departments. This aims to ensure that foreigners with permanent residency can easily access social insurance services.
为落实国家吸引全球人才的政策，江苏省还在全省范围内开展政策培训和解读，确保各级政府，特别是基层服务部门准确执行政策，以便持有永久居留许可的外国人能够更便捷地享受社会保险服务。
