Li Qiang | State Council Regulations on Exit and Entry Administration

Free Archives Review: The new immigration and emigration regulations, effective September 2026, are a tightening net, legally discouraging emigration under the guise of “security,” heavily penalizing and strictly controlling immigration agencies, and explicitly requiring agencies to proactively report public officials applying for overseas green cards. The thresholds for emigration and border control are being invisibly tightened.

Article 1: These regulations are formulated to standardize exit and entry management, protect the legitimate rights and interests of persons exiting and entering the country, and safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests, in accordance with the Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China and other laws.

Article 2: The state shall establish and improve a system for preventing safety risks for Chinese citizens exiting the country.

The competent departments of foreign affairs and culture and tourism of the State Council, as well as diplomatic missions abroad, shall, based on the security situation in relevant countries and regions such as war or armed conflict, social order, natural disasters, accidents, and epidemics, promptly issue public safety alerts and travel destination risk warnings.

Chinese citizens shall pay attention to overseas safety alerts and travel destination risk warnings, and avoid traveling to and staying in high-risk countries or regions.

When handling and approving applications for exit and entry documents for Chinese citizens and implementing exit border control, immigration management agencies shall, in accordance with the notices from relevant departments of the State Council, remind Chinese citizens preparing to travel to high-risk countries or regions to proceed with caution or closely monitor the local security situation, remain vigilant, strengthen precautions, and ensure safety. Among them, for Chinese citizens preparing to travel to countries or regions with the highest risk level or where sudden outbreaks of incidents seriously endangering personal safety are frequent, they shall be advised against traveling if necessary.

Article 3: The reasons for applying to exit, enter, stay, or reside shall be true and lawful.

When verifying the identity and application reasons of persons exiting and entering the country, immigration management agencies and visa authorities may inquire about relevant circumstances and request the presentation or provision of relevant documents, materials, electronic data, and other information. Persons exiting and entering the country shall cooperate.

Units or individuals issuing invitation letters or other application materials for persons exiting and entering the country shall be responsible for the truthfulness of the invitation content and supporting documents, and shall cooperate with immigration management agencies and visa authorities in verifying relevant information.

If persons exiting and entering the country provide false materials or make false statements, immigration management agencies and visa authorities have the right to decide not to issue exit and entry documents or not to allow them to exit or enter the country.

Article 4: Chinese citizens who have been administratively detained for fraud in obtaining exit and entry documents or for illegal exit and entry may be prohibited from exiting the country by immigration management agencies for a period of 6 months to 3 years from the date of completion of the penalty, depending on the circumstances of the violation and the need to prevent illegal and criminal activities.

Chinese citizens engaged in illegal and criminal activities abroad that endanger national security and interests may be prohibited from exiting the country by the relevant departments of the State Council, or by the provincial-level people’s government of their place of residence after verification by diplomatic missions abroad, for a period of 6 months to 3 years from the date of their return to China.

If Chinese citizens violate export control, technology import and export management, or other regulations, potentially endangering national industrial security or technological security, the relevant departments of the State Council, such as the Ministry of Commerce, may decide to prohibit them from exiting the country.

Article 5: Foreigners who provide false materials or make false statements when applying for Chinese visas abroad or entering the country at ports may be prohibited from entering the country by immigration management agencies and visa authorities for a period of 1 to 5 years.

Foreigners who have been criminally punished for obstructing border management, or administratively punished for fraud in obtaining exit and entry documents or for illegal exit and entry, may be prohibited from entering the country by immigration management agencies for a period of 1 to 5 years from the date of completion of the penalty, depending on the circumstances of the violation and the need to prevent illegal and criminal activities. If otherwise provided by law, such provisions shall prevail.

Foreigners listed on counter-sanction lists, unreliable entity lists, malicious entity lists, or subject to counter-sanctions and restrictive measures, for whom measures such as refusal to issue exit and entry documents or refusal of entry are to be taken in accordance with the law, shall be implemented by immigration management agencies and visa authorities in accordance with their respective duties.

Article 6: For individuals who are legally prohibited from exiting the country, the deciding authority shall promptly notify the immigration management agency to enforce the decision in accordance with regulations and shall inform the individual in writing of the facts, reasons, basis, and avenues for remedy; if it may affect national security, criminal investigation, or other circumstances, the individual may not be informed.

When enforcing the decision to prohibit exit, the immigration management agency shall inform the individual in accordance with the notification from the deciding authority.

Article 7: The state shall implement a filing management system for agencies and personnel entrusted to provide policy consultation, document agency services, and procedural handling for persons exiting and entering the country.

Agencies engaged in exit and entry intermediary services shall file with the immigration management agency in their locality within 15 days of their establishment. Personnel engaged in exit and entry intermediary services shall have their filing procedures handled by their respective agencies. Those already engaged in exit and entry intermediary services before the implementation of these regulations shall complete the filing procedures within 90 days from the date of implementation of these regulations.

The specific measures for the filing management of agencies and personnel engaged in exit and entry intermediary services shall be formulated by the National Immigration Administration in conjunction with relevant departments of the State Council, such as the market regulation administration.

Article 8: Agencies engaged in exit and entry intermediary services shall meet the following conditions:

(1) Legally established;

(2) The legal representative or principal has not been subject to criminal punishment for intentional crimes;

(3) Have staff with professional knowledge of exit and entry laws, regulations, and policies, and have funds and premises commensurate with the intermediary service activities undertaken;

(4) Staff directly providing intermediary services to persons exiting and entering the country have not been subject to criminal punishment for intentional crimes endangering national security, public security, or obstructing border management;

(5) Have sound management systems, including personnel management, training, data preservation, data security, and compliance management.

Those engaged in exit intermediary services shall also have established cooperative relationships or signed effective letters of intent with relevant overseas service agencies.

Overseas enterprises and institutions shall not provide exit and entry intermediary services within China.

Article 9: Immigration management agencies, in conjunction with the foreign affairs, education, judicial administration, human resources and social security, commerce, culture and tourism, market supervision and administration, and other relevant departments at the same level, shall establish and improve a regulatory system and, in accordance with their respective responsibilities, strengthen supervision and management of agencies engaged in exit and entry intermediary services regarding their qualifications and business activities, and shall publish relevant illegal information and negative records in accordance with the law.

Relevant departments and their staff shall, in accordance with the law, maintain confidentiality of state secrets, work secrets, commercial secrets, personal privacy, and personal information learned during the performance of their duties.

Article 10: Agencies engaged in exit and entry intermediary services shall not engage in the following activities:

(1) Publishing false information, or soliciting clients through exaggerated or misleading publicity;

(2) Providing or assisting in providing false materials, or assisting others in illegally processing visas, residence permits, passports, or other exit and entry documents or procedures;

(3) Disclosing, selling, or illegally providing commercial secrets, personal privacy, or personal information learned during intermediary service activities;

(4) Engaging in exit and entry intermediary services beyond the scope of their filing;

(5) Organizing or assisting others in engaging in cross-border illegal and criminal activities;

(6) Other acts that endanger national security or interests, or disrupt exit and entry management order.

If agencies engaged in exit and entry intermediary services handle applications for foreign nationality, overseas permanent residency, overseas residence permits, or other exit and entry documents or procedures for public officials, military personnel, etc., in violation of regulations, they shall not process them and shall promptly report to supervisory authorities and other relevant bodies.

Article 11: Obtaining visas, residence permits, passports, or other exit and entry documents through fraudulent means such as providing false materials or making false statements shall be punished by immigration management agencies in accordance with the provisions of the Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Passport Law of the People’s Republic of China.

Individuals who issue false invitation letters or other application materials for others to apply for exit, entry, stay, or residence shall be fined by immigration management agencies between 5,000 and 10,000 yuan; if there is illegal income, the illegal income shall be confiscated. Units committing the aforementioned acts shall be fined between 10,000 and 50,000 yuan; if there is illegal income, the illegal income shall be confiscated; responsible persons directly in charge and other directly responsible personnel shall be fined between 5,000 and 10,000 yuan. If otherwise provided by law, such provisions shall prevail.

Article 12: Agencies engaged in exit and entry intermediary services that violate Article 7 or Article 8 of these regulations shall be ordered by immigration management agencies to make corrections within a specified period; if they refuse to make corrections, they shall be fined between 5,000 and 10,000 yuan and reported to relevant departments to suspend relevant business or order rectification; in serious cases, they shall be fined between 10,000 and 50,000 yuan and reported to relevant departments to revoke relevant business licenses or business licenses.

Individuals who violate these regulations by engaging in exit and entry intermediary services shall be ordered by immigration management agencies to cease their illegal activities; if there is illegal income, the illegal income shall be confiscated; in serious cases, a fine of not more than 5,000 yuan may also be imposed.

Article 13: Agencies engaged in exit and entry intermediary services that violate Article 10 of these regulations and disrupt exit and entry management order shall be ordered by immigration management agencies to make corrections within a specified period; if there is illegal income, the illegal income shall be confiscated; if the illegal income is 20,000 yuan or more, a fine of 1 to 5 times the illegal income shall be imposed; if there is no illegal income or the illegal income is less than 20,000 yuan, a fine of 20,000 to 50,000 yuan shall be imposed; if they refuse to make corrections or the circumstances are serious, relevant departments shall be notified to suspend relevant business, order rectification, revoke relevant business licenses or business licenses; responsible persons directly in charge and other directly responsible personnel shall be fined between 10,000 and 50,000 yuan. If otherwise provided by law, such provisions shall prevail.

Article 14: Administrative penalties exceeding 5,000 yuan in fines or confiscation of illegal income imposed by exit and entry management agencies of public security organs of local people’s governments above the county level in accordance with these regulations shall be decided by the public security organs to which they belong.

Article 15: Relevant departments of the State Council shall strengthen work coordination in the protection of legitimate rights and interests of persons exiting and entering the country, the prevention of safety risks for Chinese citizens exiting the country, and the management of exit and entry intermediary services.

Article 16: Immigration management agencies shall provide convenient channels for reporting violations of exit and entry management and shall handle relevant reports in a timely manner in accordance with the law. Reports that do not fall within the scope of their duties shall be promptly transferred to relevant units for handling in accordance with the law.

Article 17: Violations of these regulations that constitute a crime shall be investigated for criminal responsibility in accordance with the law.

Article 18: As used in these regulations, “immigration management agency” refers to the National Immigration Administration, border inspection authorities, and exit and entry management agencies of public security organs of people’s governments above the county level.

As used in these regulations, “visa authority” refers to overseas visa authorities and port visa authorities.

Article 19: These regulations shall come into force on September 15, 2026.