Wealthy Chinese people may be lining up to emigrate to abroad, but an American man named “Brent W” is heading in the opposite direction. Eight years ago, he moved to China from the Southeastern US state of Florida to take a job as a chief representative.
Wealthy Chinese people may be lining up to emigrate to abroad, but an American man named “Brent W” is heading in the opposite direction.
Eight years ago, he moved to China from the Southeastern US state of Florida to take a job as a chief representative with an online Hong Kong company.
Today, he lives happily in Dongguan, an industrial city in central Guangdong province, with his wife, whom he met in Dongguan in 2010 and married a year later, and her daughter from a previous marriage.
Last month, Brent W – he declined to disclose his full name because of his online work combating financial fraud – achieved an important milestone: he obtained the vaunted “green card” that is emblematic of his status as a permanent resident, and his right to live and work permanently in China.
Brent W and his then-new Chinese wife Tu Hui in 2011. Photo: Brent W
It also put him on track towards achieving his ultimate goal: becoming a Chinese citizen.
“Although America is a great place, different things appeal to different people,” Brent W said.
His pursuit of Chinese citizenship comes as Beijing doubles down on a policy of zero tolerance for dual passport holders – an action left unexplained by the central government.
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Brent W said he would have no problem renouncing his American citizenship if he could obtain Chinese citizenship.
“I don’t hate America or dislike America,” he said. “I just found I love China and Chinese people a lot more.
“If giving up one’s American nationality can automatically allow the person to get Chinese nationality, I would have become a Chinese citizen years ago.”
Brent W with the green card. Photo: Brent W
Brent W’s success in getting permanent residency status is noteworthy, given that a high application threshold and strict controls have made China’s green card possibly the hardest in the world to get.
In the decade following the green card’s introduction in China in 2004, just 7,356 foreigners were granted permanent residency – a minuscule 1.2% of the estimated 600,000 foreigners who lived in the country during that period.
In 2018, the Ministry of Public Security approved green card applications, saying it granted 1,881 foreigners permanent residency – a 163 percent jump on the previous year. Though getting a green card in China remains a daunting task even with some loosening of the process in recent years. But from 2018 data shows that there are more and more expats getting a chance to gain a green card.
Brent W captains a boat during the annual Dragon
