Beijing, Nov 16 (IANS): China is set to issue urban residence permits to migrant workers which will allow them to move to cities and towns with their families, the media reported on Monday.

With these permits, migrant workers could be urban residents with legal status under the nation's 13th Five-Year Plan, the People's Daily reported.

Xiao Jincheng, director of the Institute of Spatial Planning and Regional Economy of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that the reform of household registration system is the biggest highlight of China's new form of urbanisation.

The policy will transform 100 million farmers into real urban citizens.

Statistics showed that urban resident population of China was 749 million in 2014, representing an urbanisation rate of 54.77 percent. However, if the migrant workers were deducted, the rate of registered urban resident population was only 36.3 percent.

In June 2014, the State Council issued a reform plan on household registration system, which proposes that by the year 2020, 100 million relocated populations, including migrant workers, will get urban residence permits.