US visas popular among educated Chinese
July 29 2009 by Mark Johnstone
Chinese people seek US visa
Moving to the US remains an ambition for many educated Chinese people, according to new figures from a Gallup poll.
The poll found that, despite China’s rapid growth, 20% of all university-educated Chinese people want to permanently emigrate. Some 28% said that to live and work in the US would be their first choice, with South Korea coming second with 14 per cent of votes. Some 8 per cent of those questioned said France would be their top destination.
Of the entire Chinese population, 6 per cent said they would like to move abroad permanently and these kinds of statistics are concerning for the Chinese government, which fears a ‘brain drain’ is on the horizon.
A report from the Academy of Social Sciences in 2007 found that two-thirds of Chinese students who have moved abroad on student visas since the end of the 1980s have never returned to China. Many foreign students who study in the US, the UK, Australia or Europe find they prefer to apply for work visas in that country and eventually gain citizenship.
The Chinese government needs to work harder to assure the educated population that there are sufficient employment opportunities at home, otherwise university-leavers will continue to seek employment abroad.
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