The Chinese employment-stream migration law regime recently underwent fundamental reformation. The introduction of a unified work permit for foreign nationals issued by the local bureaus of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs constitutes a significant institutional and procedural change that trims procedures and clarifies competences. Further, the new classification scheme divides foreign nationals into three categories according to their academic qualifications, professional experience, and income, and is supplemented by a points system. The main objective of the scheme is to establish a modern migration law and policy system that will attract highly skilled global talent. Applying a doctrinal approach, this study analyzes the most recent policies and legal reform measures pertaining to the employment-related migration system. It discusses changes to that system against the backdrop of other factors affecting the legal status of foreign nationals in China such as the resident permit system, naturalization, labor standards, social insurance, legal remedies, the legalization of illegal labor migration, and the legal framework for integrating foreign employees into society.

I. Introduction
 II. Basic Facts of Employment-streamImmigration to China
 III. Legal Framework for Employment-streamImmigrants
  A. Legal Preconditions for the Employment and Residence ofForeign Nationals
  B. Highly-skilled (Category-A) Foreign Talent
  C. Regular (Category-B) Foreign Talent
  D. Low-skilled (Category-C) Foreign Employees
  E. Illegal Employment of Foreign Nationals
 IV. Legal Framework Gove rning the Rightsand Protections of Employment-streamImmigrants
  A. Procedural Protections with regard to Applications for Work andResidence Permits
  B. Labor Contract, Minimum Wage, and Working Hours
  C. Social Insurance
  D. Individual Income Tax
  E. Freedom of Movement
  F. Protection of Property Rights
  G. Legal Remedies
 V. Legal Framework for the Integration ofForei gn Employee s
  A. Improving the Environment for Highly Skilled Foreign Experts
  B. Permanent Residence System
  C. Naturalization
  D. Experiments with Legalization of Irregular Foreign Nationals
 VI. Conclusion
 Refe rences

• Guofu Liu(Professor of Law at Beijing Institute of Technology Faculty of Law. LL.B. (Zhengzhou U.), LL.M. (CUPL), Ph.D. (Univ. of Technology Sydney))
• Björn Ahl(Professor of Chinese Legal Culture, Institute of East Asian Studies at the University of Cologne)