Migrant Workers in China Will Be Less Second Class Than Before

Millions of Chinese citizens will be given a kind of grudging reprieve from the disabling lack of legal status they have suffered under the “hukou” or household registration system.

Migrant workers arrive at the Beijing Railway Station with their luggage on January 31, 2013 in Beijing, China. The Ministry of Public Security, an agency with the State Council, announced a plan to scrap the “temporary” residence permit in China. Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

Millions of Chinese citizens will be given a kind of grudging reprieve from the disabling lack of legal status they have suffered under the “hukou” or household registration system. The current household registration system will be replaced, according to a plan announced on Feb. 15 by the Ministry of Public Security.

The temporary residence permits granted migrant workers will be scrapped in favor of permanent resident permits, which will allow immigrants from outside a particular city to receive benefits on a pro-rated basis. The longer an immigrant has lived in the city, the more social services the immigrant would be entitled to.

The resident permit itself is illegal.

— Cheng Hai, lawyer in China