Issued: November 23 2005

Effective: October 1 2005

Applicability: For the purposes of the Circular, the term "people from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao" refers to people employed in Shenzhen City who have applied for and received an Employment Certificate for People from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao (Employment Certificate) with the labour and social security department of the city and have not reached the age of retirement as stipulated by the state (Article 1).

Main contents: The Circular stipulates that people from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao who have established an employment relationship with enterprises in Shenzhen City may, based on the city's existing regulations and rules on social insurance, take part in the old-age pension insurance, medical insurance and work-related injury insurance of the city, in accordance with relevant provisions on participation in insurance by employees without registered permanent residence of the city. They shall contribute social insurance premiums and be entitled to enjoy social insurance benefits in accordance with relevant provisions (Article 2). For people from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao who are mobile employees in the mainland, if there is a social insurance institution at the locality and it is willing to accept their cases, the matters should be handled in accordance with the corresponding transfer methods for insurance participating employees without registered permanent residence in the city. For employees who leave the city without completing the transfer procedures, who later return to the city for employment and who continue to pay old-age pension insurance premiums in accordance with relevant provisions, the number of years of old-age pension insurance premium contribution made in the city may be accumulated (Article 4). If, before receiving his/her basic old-age pension insurance benefits, a person from Taiwan, Hong Kong or Macao terminates his/her employment relationship with an enterprise in the city, carries out the Employment Certificate cancellation procedures and leaves the mainland, the social insurance relationship shall be terminated and the cumulative amount in the personal account for old-age pension insurance and the actual balance in the personal account for medical insurance shall be returned to the said person. The social insurance of foreigners employed in the city shall, mutatis mutandis, be handled in accordance with the Circular. Where there is any accord on mutual exemption of social insurance between the home country of such foreigner and China, the accord shall prevail (Article 7).