Taipei - Taiwan plans to lure foreign and mainland Chinese professionals with permanent residence permits and three-year work visas, a newspaper reported Wednesday.

Cabinet councilor Chu Yun-peng said Tuesday that the measure will be introduced on August 1, according to the United Daily News.

Chu did not say what type of foreign professionals can apply for the residency and visas.

The paper quoted an unnamed Cabinet official as saying that Taiwan is mulling granting permanent residence to mainland Chinese professionals, especially those in research and development, finance and creative fields.

Taiwan has been considering offering incentives to attract foreign professionals for several years.

Under the current immigration law, only the foreign spouse of a Taiwan citizen or a foreigner who has made an outstanding contribution to Taiwan can apply for permanent residence.

For national security reasons, Taiwan restricts entry by mainland Chinese and bars them from working in Taiwan. (dpa)