Key facts
- New Chinese regulations allow citizens to be banned from leaving the country for up to three years for endangering national security.
- Scientific and technical personnel are among those brought under tighter controls.
- Authorities state the rules are to 'safeguard national sovereignty and security' and deny restricting ordinary citizens.
- Critics argue the rules enhance Beijing's control over citizens' activities abroad and suppress dissent.
- A 26-year-old citizen reported his passport application was rejected due to attending Hong Kong pro-democracy protests in 2019.
- Some state-owned enterprise employees and civil servants already face restrictions and must surrender passports.
New regulations in China have tightened travel restrictions for its citizens, with potential bans of up to three years for activities deemed to endanger national security. The rules, which came into effect on Tuesday, also apply to citizens who have 'harmed' China's national security or interests while overseas, barring them from leaving for up to three years after their return. Scientific and technical personnel are specifically mentioned as being under tighter controls.
Chinese authorities maintain that the regulations are intended to "safeguard national sovereignty and security" and are not aimed at restricting the travel of "ordinary citizens." They stated the rules are a preventative measure against high-risk destinations and individuals with unusual travel patterns, citing issues like people being deceived into leaving the country or engaging in illegal gambling and scam activities abroad.
However, critics, including Professor Tom Kellogg, Executive Director of the Center for Asian Law at Georgetown University, view the measures as another tool for Beijing to control what Chinese citizens do and say overseas, potentially suppressing dissent and rights advocacy. Kellogg noted that state security authorities sometimes refuse to issue passports to prevent criticism of the government.
Some Chinese nationals have reported facing travel restrictions for years. One 26-year-old citizen, identified as Pipi, told BBC Chinese that his passport application was rejected in 2023, believing it was due to his participation in the 2019 Hong Kong pro-democracy protests. He recounted being questioned by state security police upon his return to China and being told by an immigration official that he could not get a passport because of the "Hong Kong issue," without receiving written confirmation.
Currently, Chinese citizens cannot independently check if they are subject to exit controls and often only discover restrictions when applying for documents or attempting to depart. While China's Administrative Licensing Law requires written explanations for denied administrative licenses, some individuals report this is not enforced. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and immigration authorities did not respond to inquiries.
Under the new rules, border officials must advise nationals against travelling to "high-risk" countries and regions. Previously, some individuals, including civil servants and state-owned enterprise employees, already faced restrictions. A 32-year-old employee at a state-owned financial institution, using the pseudonym Xiao Wang, stated that his colleagues are required to surrender their passports and seek approval for overseas travel, with certain "sensitive countries" like Japan being off-limits. His civil servant friends also find international travel difficult due to their jobs.
Kellogg described the expanding travel restrictions as "deeply concerning" and indicative of "growing ideological control under Chinese leader Xi Jinping," drawing parallels to the era of Mao Zedong when China was largely isolated.