Beijing launched an interim regulation on residence permits on Thursday, which said the capital will introduce a new residence permit system for non-native residents on October 1.

According to the new regulation, non-native residents who live in Beijing for more than six months and have a legal and stable job, a legal and stable place to live or who are in full-time education will be eligible to apply for a Beijing residence permit from the local public security authorities.

The new resident permit will be issued within 15 days and the first application will be free. After that the holder will have to pay to have it endorsed by local public security authorities once a year, one month before the expiration day.

Non-native residents in Beijing seldom enjoy the rights or benefits that local residents enjoy, despite the fact that they make great contributions to the city and are also taxpayers there. While permanent residents in Beijing enjoy better educational opportunities, employment support, senior citizen benefits and social welfare.

When the new residence permit takes effect in October, permit holders will be entitled to many of the benefits that permanent Beijing residents enjoy including social security and public services.

It is a significant move that the Beijing government has launched to guarantee people's legal rights and promote a new type of urbanization.

More importantly, after obtaining a Beijing residence permit non-native residents will be able to apply for a Beijing household registration based on a new point-based application system.