(Yicai Global) Dec. 2 -- Shanghai will make it easier to employ top foreign professionals in the city by merging the application procedures for their work and residence permits from today, the Shanghai Observer reported.

The Single Window for Foreigners' Work and Residence Permits allows top overseas talent to apply for both permits at the same counter, cutting the turnaround time to seven working days from 17, the report said. The so-called Type-A group includes scientists, entrepreneurs and people with skills regarded as urgently needed in China.

The new streamlined process will greatly facilitate the hiring of foreign experts, the report cited Li Yahui, director of the International Affairs Division at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, as saying.

Foreign experts generally had a tight window of just 30 days on arriving in China to complete both applications with two different departments. The work permit first needed to be approved by the Shanghai Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs before an application for a residence permit could be lodged with the Shanghai Exit-Entry Administration Bureau.