Are you an ethnic Chinese? Do you aspire to live in China?

Or in the words of state media China Daily, "return home"?

Good news

Here's some good news for you.

Starting from Feb. 2, 2018, foreigners of Chinese origin will be allowed to apply for visas that permit them to stay in China for five years or enter the country multiple times, provided they meet the criteria.

According to the Ministry of Public Security, the changes are expected to attract more overseas ethnic Chinese to do business or live in China.

How to apply?

Prove your Chinese origin

As reported by South China Morning Post (SCMP), first, you need to have at least one parent, grandparent or ancestor who is or was a Chinese citizen.

China's official definition says that a foreigner of Chinese origin refers to a former Chinese citizen who has obtained foreign citizenship, or the children of present or former Chinese citizens.

No limit on the number of generations was specified.

Then, you need to produce the relevant documents that prove your Chinese origin.

These include copies of your relatives' Chinese passports or identity cards, if you don't have them yourself.

The official documents can be issued either by the Chinese government or the authorities in the country where you're applying.

According to the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office in Shanghai, certificates from overseas governments will also be accepted after these are assessed by the Chinese embassy or consulate in the applicant's country of origin.

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Easier for ethnic China to visit

The new policy makes it relatively easy for applicants as it doesn't impose any restrictions on their reasons for visiting.

Such visas can be issued to overseas ethnic Chinese people if they need to visit for a number of reasons, such as visiting their relatives, conducting business or cultural exchanges, or dealing with any personal matters in China.

Those who need to stay for longer periods due to work, study or other matters can apply for a five-year residency permit.

Overseas Chinese are still Chinese

China has been ramping up efforts to extend its influence abroad.

EJ Insight, the English website of Hong Kong Economic Journal, contends that along with China's growing nationalism, China is increasing its assertion of something akin to sovereignty over ethnic Chinese who are citizens of other countries.

The Communist Party's mouthpiece People's Daily in 2012 encouraged "more and more overseas Chinese to participate in the local political life".

Then in January 2016, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that although "missing" Hong Kong bookseller Lee Bo held a British passport, he was "first and foremost a Chinese citizen".

Also, at an annual reception for American families that had adopted Chinese babies held in December 2015, Luo Linquan, the Chinese consul general in San Francisco, reminded the young American girls and women that China was the land of their birth and that China'd never forget them.

You grow up speaking English, live in American families and have loving American parents.

Yet your black eyes, black hair and dark skin all remind you that you are Chinese.

He also encouraged them to learn Chinese and to develop a "Chinese spirit".

Top image via Ryan Seelig/YT