New regulations for foreigners to take effect in Sept

BEIJING - A series of new regulations and judicial interpretations, including new visa rules affecting foreigners in China, will take effect on Sunday.

According to the Regulation on Control of the Entry and Exit of Foreign Nationals, which comes into effect on Sunday, visa types for foreign nationals entering China will increase from the current eight to 12 types.

Additional visa types can indicate more precisely a foreign national's reasons for entering China, giving authorities more detailed information and providing more detailed services to foreigners.

The regulation stipulates that police entry-exit administration divisions should reply to foreigners' applications within seven days.

The regulation also stresses coordination between different departments to address the illegal entry, illegal residence and illegal employment of foreign nationals.

A judicial interpretation made by the Supreme People's Court on state compensation will also take effect on Sunday.