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RULES FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE THE CONTROL OF THE EXIT AND ENTRY OF CITIZENS

Category  PUBLIC SECURITY Organ of Promulgation  The State Council Status of Effect  In Force
Date of Promulgation  1994-07-15 Effective Date  1994-07-15  

Rules for Implementation of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Control of the Exit and Entry of Citizens



Chapter I  General Provisions
Chapter II  Exit from the Country
Chapter III  Entry into the Country
Chapter IV  Exit and Entry Inspection
Chapter V  Administration of Certificates
Chapter VI  Penalties
Chapter VII  Supplementary Provisions

(Approved by the State Council on December 3, 1986, promulgated by the

Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry
of Communications on December 26, 1986, amended with the approval of the State
Council on July 13, 1994 and promulgated by the Ministry of Public Security,
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Communications on July 15,
1994)
Chapter I  General Provisions

    Article 1  These Implementation Rules are formulated in accordance with
the stipulations in Article 19 of the "Law of the People's Republic of China
on the Control of the Exit and Entry of Citizens".

    Article 2  These Implementation Rules shall apply to Chinese citizens
entry into and exit from China on private business. The term "private
business" means residing, visiting relatives, visiting friends, inheriting
properties, studying abroad, obtaining employment, making a tour, and other
non-official business.
Chapter II  Exit from the Country

    Article 3  Citizens residing in China that wish to leave the country on
private business shall apply to the entry-exit control department of the
municipal or county public security bureau in which their residence is
registered, answer relevant questions, and go through the following procedures:

    (1) to present, for examination, their residence booklets or other
certificates of residence registration;

    (2) to fill in the exit application form;

    (3) to submit the written comments of the applicant's work unit on the
applicant's exit from the country; and

    (4) to present relevant certificates supporting the applicant's reasons
for exit from the country.

    Article 4  The relevant certificates mentioned in Item (4) of Article 3 of
these Implementation Rules mean:

    (1) for leaving the country to reside permanently in a foreign country,
the certification of consent of the applicant's relative(s) or friend(s) in
the country where the applicant is to reside or the residence permit issued by
the country of destination;

    (2) for leaving the country to visit relative(s) or friend(s), the
certification of written invitation sent by the applicant's relative(s) or
friend(s);

    (3) for leaving the country to inherit properties, the certification of
the legitimate right of the applicant's inheritance;

    (4) for leaving the country to study abroad, the certification of
admittance by the educational institution and also the necessary financial
affidavit;

    (5) for leaving the country to obtain employment, the certification of
engagement or employment by the host/hiring organization or employer; or

    (6) for leaving the country to make a tour, the certification indicating
that the applicant has the foreign exchange needed for the tour.

    Article 5  The municipal or county public security bureau shall decide to
approve or disapprove the exit application and notify the applicant within 30
days, or within 60 days for out-of-the-way and difficult-of-access areas,
after receiving the exit application.

    In the event that the applicant does not receive the notification about
the decision on the exit application within the prescribed time limits, the
applicant shall have the right to make an inquiry, and the department handling
the application shall give a reply; in the event that the applicant holds that
the decision about the disapproval of the exit application does not accord
with the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Control of the Exit and
Entry of Citizens", the applicant shall have the right to appeal to the public
security organ at a higher level, and the latter shall make a decision and
give a reply.

    Article 6  Citizens residing in China whose exit applications have been
approved shall obtain from the entry-exit department of the public security
organ the passport of the People's Republic of China, together with the exit
registration card.

    Article 7  Citizens residing in China who have obtained the visa or the
entry permit for the country of destination shall go through the residence
registration procedure before leaving the country. Those who are leaving to
reside permanently in a foreign country shall go to the local police station
or the residence registration office to cancel their residence registration.
Those who are leaving the country only for a short period of time shall go
through the procedure of residence registration for a short-term absence from
the country and, after returning to China, resume their regular residence
registration at the place of their original residence by presenting their
passports.

    Article 8  Chinese citizens who have returned to China may leave the
country again by producing their valid passport of the People's Republic of
China or valid travel permit or other valid entry-exit certificates.
Chapter III  Entry into the Country

    Article 9  Chinese citizens residing in foreign country who wish to return
to China to stay for a short period of time may enter the country by producing
their valid passport of the People's Republic of China or valid travel permit
of the People's Republic of China or other valid entry-exit certificates.

    Article 10  Chinese citizens residing in foreign country who request to
return to and reside permanently in China shall, before entering the country,
make an application to the Chinese diplomatic mission, consular post or other
resident agencies abroad authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; they
may also make an application by themselves or through their relatives in
China, to the municipal or county public security bureau at the place of their
destination, and the certification of permission of residence shall be granted
for the applicant after examining the cases by the public security
department(bureau) of the relevant province, autonomous region or municipality
directly under the Central Government.

    Article 11  Chinese citizens residing in foreign country who request to
return to China for employment shall make an application to China's labor and
personnel department or to the host/hiring organization.

    Article 12  Chinese citizens residing in foreign country who return to
China for permanent residence or for employment shall, within 30 days after
arriving at their destination, go through the procedure for regular residence
registration at the local public security bureau by presenting the
certification of permission of residence or the certification of engagement or
employment examined and approved by China's labor and personnel department.

    Article 13  Chinese citizens residing in foreign country who return to
China to stay for a short period of time shall, in accordance with the
stipulations of residence administration, go through the registration
procedure for temporary residence. Those who lodge at such enterprises and
institutions as guesthouses, hotels, inns, hostels or schools, or at state
organs, public organizations or other institutions shall fill in temporary
lodging registration form; those who lodge at the homes of their relative
or friend shall, by themselves or through their relative or friend, go through
the registration procedure for temporary lodging at the local police station
or at the local residence registration office with 24 hours (72 hours in the
countryside).
Chapter IV  Exit and Entry Inspection

    Article 14  Chinese citizens shall enter or leave the country from the
designated ports or ports open to aliens, present to the border inspection
office their passport of the People's Republic of China or other entry-exit
certificates, fill in the entry-exit registration card, and accept the
inspection.

    Article 15  The border inspection office shall have the right to forbid
any of the following categories of persons to enter or leave the country:

    (1) those who hold no passport of the People's Republic of China or other
entry-exit certificates;

    (2) those who hold invalid passports or other invalid entry-exit
certificates;

    (3) those who hold forged or altered passports and certificates, or hold
other than their own passports and certificates; or

    (4) those who refuse to produce their certificates for examination.

    Persons who fall under the circumstances as stipulated in the preceding
Items (2) and (3) shall be additionally dealt with in accordance with the
provisions in Article 23 of these Implementation Rules.
Chapter V  Administration of Certificates

    Article 16  The passport and the travel certificate issued the People's
Republic of China, the principal certificates for Chinese citizens' entering
and leaving the country, shall be kept and used by the holder. No state agency
or public organization, no enterprise, institution or individual shall
withhold those certificates, excepting that the public security organs and the
original issuing department which have the power to revoke and take over the
certificates according to law, and that the people's procuratorate and the
people's court, which have the power to withhold the certificates according to
law.

    Article 17  Passports issued by the People's Republic of China are valid
for 5 years, they may be extended twice, each time not exceeding 5 years. The
application for extension shall be made before the passport expires.

    In places outside China, the extension of passports shall be handled by
Chinese diplomatic missions, consular posts or other resident agencies abroad
authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In China, the extension of
passports held by Chinese citizens residing abroad shall be handled by the
public security department(bureau) of the province, autonomous region or
municipality directly under the Central Government, and also by the entry-exit
control department of the public security organ authorized by the aforesaid
public security department(bureau); the extension of passports held by Chinese
citizens residing in China shall be handled, before the holders leave the
country, by the entry-exit control department of the public security organs
originally issuing the passports or by the entry-exit control department of
the public security organs in the locality where the holders have their
residence registration.

    Article 18  Travel certificates issued by the People's Republic of China
are classified into two categories: one category is valid for 1 year and one
trip only; the other category is valid for 2 years and multiple trips; these
two categories of travel certificates are issued by the Chinese diplomatic
mission, consular post or other resident agencies abroad
authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    Article 19  The entry-exit passes of the People's Republic of China are
the passes for entering or leaving the national boundary(border), which shall
be issued by the public security department(bureau) of the province,
autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government and
the public security organs authorized thereby. The entry-exit pass shall be
valid for one or multiple trips within its term of validity, and those valid
for one trip shall be taken over by the border inspection office when the
holders leave the country.

    Article 20  When necessity arises for making alteration or remarks in the
entries of the passport or other entry-exit certificates as a result of the
changes in the holders' conditions, the holders of passports and other
exit-entry certificates issued by the People's Republic of China shall make an
application to the entry-exit control department of the municipal or county
public security bureau or to the Chinese diplomatic mission, consular post or
other resident agencies abroad authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
and submit to them documents certifying or explaining the alteration or
remarks.

    Article 21  In the event that the passports and other entry-exit
certificates issued by the People's Republic of China, as held by Chinese
citizens, will expire soon, or that the attached pages for visas have been
used up so that the term of validity cannot be extended, or that they have
been damaged and can no longer be used, the holders may apply for a
replacement or a reissue of the passports and the certificates, and shall at
the same time return the old ones; in the event that the holders request to
keep the old passports, the old passports may be bound up with the new ones
for use. Should a passport or an entry-exit certificate be lost, the holder
shall report the case to the Chinese competent department, and publish a
statement in a newspaper announcing its loss before applying for reissuance.
The replacement and reissuance of passports and entry-exit certificates shall
be handled, in any place outside China, by the Chinese diplomatic missions,
consular posts or other resident agencies abroad authorized by the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, and, in China, by the public security department(bureau)
of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central
Government and the entry-exit control department of the public security organ
authorized thereby.

    Article 22  Passports and other entry-exit certificates issued by the
People's Republic of China shall be revoked or declared invalid is their
holders are in any of the following circumstances:

    (1) the holder has been sent back to China because he/she entered, resided
or stayed in the country of destination illegally;

    (2) The holder has used his/her passport and other certificate for
swindling and bluffing; or

    (3) the holder is engaged in activities prejudicial to the security, the
honor and the interests of the State.

    The decision to revoke passports and other entry-exit certificates or to
declare them invalid shall be made by the original issuing department or by
its higher authorities.
Chapter VI  Penalties

    Article 23  Persons who have used forged or altered certificates or use
other person's certificates for entering or leaving the country shall, in
addition to taking over their certificates, be given a warning, or held in
detention for up to 5 days; if the case is so serious that a crime is
committed, the criminal liability shall be inflicted upon the offender in
accordance with the relevant provisions in the "Supplementary Provisions of
the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Concerning the
Punishment of the Crimes of Organizing and Transporting Others to Illegally
Cross the National Boundary(Border)".

    Article 24  Persons who have forged, altered, transferred or trafficked in
the entry-exit certificates shall be held in detention for up to 10 days; if
the case is so serious that a crime is committed, the criminal liability shall
be inflicted upon the offender in accordance with the relevant provisions in
the "Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China and in the Supplementary
Provisions of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
Concerning the Punishment of the Crimes of Organizing and Transporting Others
to Illegally Cross the National Boundary(Border)".

    Article 25  Persons who have given fabricated accounts and presented
forged certificates, or have resorted to bribery, to obtain the entry-exit
certificates, shall be given a warning, or held in detention for up to 5 days
if the case is a minor one; if the case is so serious that a crime is
committed, the criminal liability shall be inflicted upon the offender in
accordance with the relevant provisions in the "Criminal Law of the People's
Republic of China" and in the "Supplementary Provisions of the Standing
Committee of the National People's Congress Concerning the Punishment of the
Crimes of Organizing or Transporting Others to Illegally Cross the National
Boundary(border)".

    Article 26  In the event that personnel of the public security organs are
discovered to have taken advantage of their position and power, when executing
the "Law of the People's Republic of China of the Control of the Exit and
Entry of Citizens" and these Implementation Rules, to demand or accept bribes
or to commit other acts of dereliction of duty, in minor case, a disciplinary
punishment shall be imposed on them by the competent authorities at their
discretion; if the case is so serious that a crime is committed, the criminal
liability shall be inflicted upon the offender in accordance with the relevant
provisions in the "Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China" and in the
"Supplementary Provisions of the Standing Committee of the National People's
Congress Concerning the Punishment of the Crimes of Organizing or Transporting
Others to Illegally Cross the National Boundary(Border)".
Chapter VII  Supplementary Provisions

    Article 27  Procedures for the control of Chinese citizens leaving the
country on official business and of Chinese ship's crew leaving the country on
duty shall be formulated separately.

    Article 28  These Implementation Rules shall go into effect on the date of
promulgation.



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