Annual inspection certificates for foreign-registered companies can be replaced by the company's annual report.

Cai said the new policies will provide convenience for foreign students when they return to Shanghai after the upcoming Chinese New Year.

Liu Tiantian, a staff worker at the bureau, said the new policies increase workloads for frontline staff as they need to examine previous application documents. But the bureau has upgraded the system to ensure efficiency and accuracy in visa work, and applicants normally receive a response within seven business days.

James, a Briton working at a German pharmaceutical company in Shanghai who would only give his first name, said the visa application process has become easier recently. He has lived in Shanghai for seven years, and has applied for both student visas and residential permits.

Due in part to its favorable visa policies, Shanghai has for six consecutive years been voted by expatriates as the most attractive Chinese city to work in, according to the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs.

According to the administration, Shanghai has the largest employed expatriate population－some 215,000 people－among all Chinese cities, accounting for 23.7 percent of the nation's total. More than 100,000 work visas have been issued to expats in Shanghai since 2016, with more than 18 percent of them being talent visas.