China tightens travel restrictions for citizens

China Expands Exit Controls Under New Travel Rules

Thebangladaily.com – China has introduced new regulations governing travel in and out of the country, widening the circumstances in which citizens may be prevented from leaving. The measures, which took effect on Tuesday, are presented by authorities as protections for national sovereignty and security, but they have raised fresh concerns over the state’s ability to control citizens beyond its borders.

Under the revised rules, Chinese nationals who are judged to have damaged national security or national interests while abroad may be blocked from travelling overseas for as long as three years after returning to China. People found to have breached rules involving the import or export of technology may also face exit restrictions.

Border officials are additionally expected to discourage Chinese travellers from visiting destinations considered high-risk. Officials have said the policy is aimed at protecting people from dangers such as overseas scams, illegal gambling and cases in which people are tricked into leaving the country.

The new regulations “do not restrict the travel of ordinary citizens, but rather serve as a preventative measure against high-risk destinations and individuals with unusual travel patterns”.

That explanation was published last week by Piyao, a Chinese government platform focused on countering rumours. The platform said the rules were intended to address problems linked to fraudulent recruitment, criminal activity and other risks outside China.

Concerns over unclear enforcement

Critics argue that the language surrounding national security and national interests could leave broad room for interpretation. They say the regulations may deepen Beijing’s influence over what Chinese citizens say, do and advocate for when they are outside the country.

Tom Kellogg, executive director of the Center for Asian Law at Georgetown University, described the expanded controls as another mechanism for overseeing citizens’ conduct overseas.

“This is another tool designed to control what Chinese citizens do and say overseas,” Kellogg said.

He said authorities have, in some situations, declined to issue passports to people in order to prevent criticism of the Chinese government abroad or to penalise rights-related advocacy.

“In some cases, in order to prevent individuals from criticising the Chinese government overseas or to punish their rights advocacy activities, state security authorities directly refuse to issue passports,” Kellogg said.

The practical impact of exit controls can be difficult for citizens to assess in advance. Publicly available information indicates that Chinese nationals generally cannot independently check whether they are subject to such restrictions. In many cases, a person learns of an obstacle only when applying for travel documents or attempting to depart from the country.

China’s Administrative Licensing Law states that authorities should provide written reasons when an administrative licence is denied. Yet people who have experienced travel restrictions have said that this requirement is not always applied in practice, leaving them without documentation that could support a challenge or request for administrative reconsideration.

A passport application rejected

A 26-year-old Chinese citizen using the name Pipi said his passport application was denied in 2023. He believes the decision was linked to his participation in Hong Kong’s large pro-democracy demonstrations in 2019.

Pipi said he spoke with Hong Kong media during the protests and was questioned by state security police after returning to mainland China. An immigration official told him he could not receive a passport because of “the Hong Kong issue,” he said, though no written explanation was provided.

“If they have given me an official document, I could apply for administrative reconsideration. But all they said was one sentence: ‘You can’t go,’” Pipi said.

He said he was afraid to pursue the matter further because he feared possible imprisonment. The uncertainty has left him unsure whether he will ever again be able to leave China.

“I’m just an ordinary person, right? I’m a young man, and I haven’t done anything bad,” he said. “I don’t know whether I’ll ever be able to leave [China].”

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and immigration authorities did not respond to enquiries on the issue.

Restrictions already affected some workers

The latest measures come after years in which some people working in sensitive or state-linked roles faced additional limitations on overseas travel. Civil servants, employees of state-owned enterprises and others have at times been required to seek approval before travelling or to hand in their passports to their employers.

Xiao Wang, a pseudonym used by a 32-year-old employee at a state-owned financial institution in Beijing, said colleagues have long had to surrender their passports and obtain permission for foreign trips. He said managers had verbally warned employees that certain destinations, including Japan, were considered sensitive and off-limits.

He also said some friends employed as civil servants, including people working in museums, had encountered serious difficulty in securing permission to travel. In some cases, he said, they were told their jobs prevented them from directly applying for passports.

For ordinary travellers, the new framework may matter less in day-to-day planning than the way it is enforced. The regulations formally identify security, technology-related compliance and travel risks as grounds for intervention, but individuals may still face uncertainty if decisions are delivered informally or without a written justification.

Broader implications

Kellogg said the broadening of travel restrictions was deeply troubling and reflected growing ideological control under Chinese leader Xi Jinping. He compared the trend to an earlier period when China was far more isolated from the outside world under Mao Zedong.

Travel rules can affect far more than holidays or business trips. Passport access may determine whether people can study overseas, visit relatives, attend conferences, accept employment or seek medical care abroad. Where decisions are difficult to verify or appeal, the consequences can extend well beyond a single cancelled journey.

Chinese authorities maintain that ordinary citizens are not the target of the new measures. The debate is likely to focus on how broadly officials define national interests, unusual travel patterns and high-risk destinations—and whether citizens receive clear, consistent reasons when their ability to travel is restricted.