People's Republic Of China Passport

The People's Republic of China passport (commonly referred to as the Chinese passport) is a passport issued to citizens of the People's Republic of China for the purpose of international travel, and entitles its bearer to the protection of China's consular officials overseas.

On 1 July 2011, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched a trial issuance of e-passports for individuals conducting public affairs work overseas on behalf of the Chinese government. The face, fingerprints, and other biometric features of the passport holder are digitized and stored in pre-installed contactless smart chip, along with "the passport owner's name, sex and personal photo as well as the passport's term of validity and hedigital certificate of the chip". Ordinary biometric passports were introduced by the Ministry of Public Security on 15 May 2012. As of January 2015, all new passports issued by China are biometric e-passports, and non-biometric passports are no longer issued.

In 2012, over 38 million Chinese citizens held ordinary passports, comprising only 2.86 percent of the total population at the time. In 2014, China issued 16 million passports, ranking first in the world, surpassing the United States (14 million) and India (10 million). The number of ordinary passports in circulation rose to 120 million by October 2016, which was approximately 8.7 percent of the population. As of April 2017 to date, China had issued over 100 million biometric ordinary passports.

Overview and contents

Types

Articles 3, 4, 5 and 8 of the ''Passport Law of the People's Republic of China'', which went into effect in 2007, declares three types of passports issued in China:
* Ordinary passports () are issued to citizens who intend to go abroad for non-official purposes, such as taking up residence in other countries, visiting relatives, studying, working, travelling or engaging in business activities. They are issued by the Exit & Entry Administration of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), the foreign missions of the People's Republic of China, or other missions overseas authorized to do so by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
* Diplomatic passports () are issued to diplomats, consuls and their spouses or children who are minor, as well as to diplomatic couriers. They are issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).
* Service passports () are issued to employees who are dispatched by the Chinese government to work for Chinese foreign missions, the United Nations or its special commissions, or other international organizations, as well as their spouses or minor children. They are issued by the MFA, foreign missions of the People's Republic of China, other missions overseas authorized by the MFA, or the Foreign Affairs Offices under the governments of provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government and cities divided into districts authorized by the MFA.
** A special variation of the service passport, called the Passport for Public Affairs (), is issued to public servants who "lead divisions or equivalents" of county or state-owned companies, and employees of state-controlled companies.

Article 9 of the ''Law'' states that the "issuing scope of diplomatic passports and service passports, the measures for issue of such passports, their terms of validity and the specific categories of service passports shall be prescribed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs".

The ordinary passport is considered a passport "for private affairs" (), while service (including for public affairs passports) and diplomatic passports are passports "for public affairs" ().

The passports for Macau and Hong Kong SARs are issued and regulated by the governments of these regions, and are therefore not covered by this law.

In July 2011 the Chinese government began to issue biometric diplomatic passports, service passports and passports for public affairs. The launch date of biometric ordinary passports was May 15, 2012.

File:PRC passport (Diplomatic).png, Diplomatic e-passport
File:PRC passport (Service).png, Service e-passport
File:PRC passport (for Public Affairs).png, Public Affairs e-passport
File:People's Republic of China Biometric passport.jpg, Ordinary e-passport

Passport for public affairs

A different passport for public affairs () was issued until 2006. Unlike the current version, it was classified as a variation of ordinary passport. The abuse of the use of document resulted in its subsequent cancellation. Unlike other passports, it was issued by the provincial or municipal Foreign Affairs Offices, rather than the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Ministry of Public Security. Chinese ordinary passport for public affairs was used at the end of the 1980s and the 1990s. The passport information was written by hand, and these ordinary passports were usually valid for 2 or 5 years.

In 1996, 77% of persons exiting China held a passport for public affairs. The rate had dropped to 39% by 2002. The reason for the high rate of usage was because the passport for public affairs offered more visa-free countries, such as Russia, than the ordinary passport. Chinese regulations require public affairs passports to be kept in the possession of the holder's work unit, and they must be surrendered by the individual within one month of returning to China.

Validity

The passport previously had an across-the-board 5-year period of validity. Since 2007, ordinary passports are valid for 10 years for bearers above 16 years of age, and for 5 years for bearers below 16 years of age, and diplomatic or service passports are valid for 4 years. According to the 2006 ''Passport Law of the People's Republic of China,'' renewal of previously issued passports ended on January 1, 2007. However, passports renewed before 2007 remained valid until expiry.

Format

The newest version of the regular Chinese passport is the biometric version, which replaced its predecessors "Form 92", "Form 97-1" and "Form 97-2", but Form "97-2" passport is still being issued for single group tourism to Russia in some Sino-Russia broder cities and valid for only 3 months or after returning to China. It was released to the general public in May 2012. The passport contains 48 pages.

Ordinary Passport - Inside

= Version "1982"

=
The Form "1982" ordinary Chinese passport is a hand-written passport and issued in 1982. Chinese, French and English are used in all pages.

File:82版普通中国护照关照语及护照名称页.jpg
File:82版普通中国护照个人信息页.jpg
File:82版普通中国护照声明页.jpg
File:82版普通中国护照延期和备注页.jpg

= Version "1992"

=
The Form "1992" ordinary Chinese passport is not a machine-readable passport, and issued in 1992.

File:YXumbnail2B.jpg

= Version "1997-1"

=

= Version "1997-2"

=

File:Informatin Page of PRC Ordinary Passport (97-2 Version).jpg, Biodata page of the Form "97-2" PRC Ordinary Passport
File:People's Republic of China Passport (97-2 version for Single Exit and Entry).png, The note page and biodata page of the version "97-2" passport for single travel since 2019

The Form "97-2" ordinary Chinese passport is a machine-readable passport, and issued in February 1997.
In "97-2", personal data is on the inside front cover along with a coloured photo printed with inkjet printer, with a protective film covering most of the data page. Details include:
* Passport code (P)
* Country Code (CHN)
* Passport number (G########) - consists of one letter indicating passport type (G = ordinary), followed by eight digits
* Surname
* Given Names
* Sex (M/F)
* Date of birth (DD.MMM.YYYY)
* Date of issue (DD.MMM.YYYY)
* Place of birth (Province, or city/province/state if born abroad)
* Place of issue (Province, or city/province/state of diplomatic/consular authority if issued abroad)
* Date of expiry (DD.MMM.YYYY)
* Authority ("National Immigration Administration, PRC" for single travel or "Exit & Entry Administration, Ministry of Public Security" or the Chinese diplomatic and consular mission)
* Machine Readable Code

=Biometric passport

=

In the biometric Passport, the personal data page was moved to a separate sheet of paper, and the design of personal data page has been amended significantly, adding the full name of PRC in Simplified Chinese and English on top along with an e-passport symbol printed with optically variable ink. New security features include a second ghost image of the holder and additional holographic graphs including the PRC emblem and the laser-printed world map. The details included are as follows:
* Passport code (P)
* Country Code (CHN)
* Passport number (E########) - consists of one letter indicating passport type (E = e-passport), followed by eight digits. As of April 2017, over 100 million ordinary biometric passports had been issued and old E+8 digits type passport numbers had been used up. So the number format has been extended by using the second digit and replacing it with the English letters in order (except I, O) the third digit is still Arabic numerals, and the total number of digits is still 9. New passport numbers started with EA0000001 (two letters with seven digits).
* Name (Chinese characters on top, Pinyin transcription on bottom, a comma separates surname and given names in Pinyin only)
* Sex (M/F)
* Nationality (Chinese)
* Date of birth (DD.MMM.YYYY)
* Place of birth (Province with romanized transcription, or the country code if born abroad, along with Chinese abbreviation of the country)
* Date of issue (DD.MMM.YYYY, month is transcribed into Arabic numerals)
* Place of issue (Province, or city of diplomatic/consular authority if issued abroad)
* Date of expiry (DD.MMM.YYYY, month is transcribed into Arabic numerals)
* Authority ("National Immigration Administration, PRC" or the full name of the Chinese diplomatic/consular authority, if issuing in mainland China before June 2019 it may be "MPS Exit & Entry Administration")
* Bearer's signature
* Machine Readable Code

Languages

All information is printed in Simplified Chinese and English, except for the "Attentions" page, which is only printed in Simplified Chinese.

Passport Note

* In Chinese

* In English

* In French (1982 version only)

If the passport is for single travel, a valid notice will printed in Simplified Chinese and English on this page.

On version "97-1" and "97-2", the note is on page 1. On the biometric version, it is moved to page 3.

Inner pages

In the biometric version, selected nature hotspots and famous sights of mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are printed in the inner pages, each page also contains a transparent watermark of another nature hotspots and famous sights in the same area.

Last page

The last page has the notes for the passport. For e-passport, inside the backcover, a caution for the biometric chip is written in both Chinese and English:

This passport contains sensitive electronics. For best performance, please do not bend, perforate or expose to extreme temperatures or excess moisture.
DO NOT STAMP HERE

Fee and processing time

The fee for a Chinese passport is CNY 120. When applying for a passport overseas, the fee is US$25 or €20. No extra fees are charged for expedited processing if approved.

Normal processing time is 10 business days when applying from mainland China, and 15 business days from Chinese diplomatic missions outside mainland China (including Hong Kong and Macau). In some Regions, processing time is 7 business days such as Shanghai City if application was submitted electronically (online or by cell phone APPs such as WeChat). Expedited processing is available for 5 business days, but is only available if the applicants have genuine emergencies, such as they have deceased relatives abroad, their first day of school is near, or they have unused visas in old passports that are expiring soon.

Special administrative region passports

Permanent residents of Hong Kong or Macau who hold Chinese nationality Special Administrative Regions of China are issued Hong Kong or Macau SAR passports by the respective passport issuing authorities in the SARs. In Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Immigration Department is the issuing authority of HKSAR passports. In Macau, the Identification Services Bureau issues MSAR passports. The SAR passports and travel documents are issued solely by the government of the SARs, and the designs differ from that of the ordinary Chinese passport, albeit all three passports bear the same country and nationality code, CHN, and the nationality listed is Chinese. However, Chinese nationals of Hong Kong or Macau who hold SAR passports are often considered distinctly as Hong Kong citizens or Macau citizens by the authority of other countries/territories.

Chinese nationals who are non-permanent residents of Hong Kong or Macau ''AND'' are without household registration in mainland China are issued Hong Kong Document of Identity for Visa Purposes or Macao Special Administrative Region Travel Permit, respectively.

While the SAR passports and travel documents are endorsed by China, mainland ports of entry controlled by the Ministry of Public Security do not accept those documents for entry into mainland China. MPS requires SAR residents of Chinese nationality to use a Home Return Permit or Chinese Travel Document for SAR residents travelling directly from overseas.

Non-passport travel documents

The following travel documents are also issued by mainland China to Chinese citizens who may or may not qualify for a Chinese passport for various reasons:

Chinese Travel Document

The People's Republic of China Travel Document () is a type of travel document issued by Chinese embassies, consulates, and other foreign offices to Chinese citizens for their international travel to China and other countries. The bearer of the Travel Document is legally defined a Chinese citizen in accordance with the Nationality Law.

The Travel Document is issued to Chinese nationals in situations when it is inconvenient or unnecessary to be issued a People's Republic of China passport. For example,

* if a Chinese citizen abroad does not possess a valid Chinese passport and is too late to apply for a valid Chinese passport due to urgent travel plans, Chinese diplomatic missions abroad can issue Chinese Travel Document (often within a few days of application) as an emergency travel document to travel to China and other countries;
* if a Chinese citizen resident of Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwan is abroad and does not have valid permits to enter mainland China, he or she can be issued a Chinese Travel Document to travel to mainland China.

Exit-Entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macau

The Exit-Entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macau, also known as the Two-way Permit, is issued to Chinese citizens with hukou who only wish to visit Hong Kong and Macau.

Permit for Proceeding to Hong Kong and Macao

The Permit for Proceeding to Hong Kong and Macao, also known as the One-way Permit, is issued to Chinese citizens who are settling in Hong Kong or Macau and have relinquished their Chinese residency (hukou). After their initial entry to Hong Kong or Macau, they are considered as SAR residents and are permanently ineligible for an ordinary Chinese passport, and later they will be eligible for SAR passports if they acquire a permanent resident status in the respective SARs.

Travel Permit to and from Taiwan

The Travel Permit to and from Taiwan, colloquially known as Mainland Compatriot Permit or Mainland Resident Travel Permit, is issued to Chinese citizens with hukou in Mainland China by Ministry of Public Security, to those who wish to travel directly between mainland China and Taiwan. Holders of the permit are required to obtain exit endorsements issued by MPS and Exit and Entry Permit issued by Taiwanese authorities prior to traveling. This permit as well as a valid exit endorsement (except for Group Tourist Endorsement) is still required even if only transiting through Taiwan without leaving the sterile area of the airport when departing from airports of mainland China except for Chongqing, Nanchang, or Kunming. Exit and Entry Permit is not required, however, when not leaving the sterile area of Taoyuan Airport on transit to the third place regardless of the city of departure.

Self-Service Immigration System (e-Channel)

Holders of Chinese biometric Passports are eligible to use the Self-Service Immigration System, or e-Channel. E-Channel are located throughout numerous international airports in mainland China (including these top 10 busiest international gateways: Beijing Capital International Airport, Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and Chengdu Tianfu International Airport) as well as land border crossing checkpoints in Shenzhen and Zhuhai. e-Channel was first introduced for self-entry, i.e. for Chinese biometric passport holders return to China from Outside destinations. In order to use the e-Channel, they must hold biometric passports with their fingerprint data pre-recorded on the biometric chip. If their biometric passports do not contain fingerprint data, they must first register with China Immigration Inspection (CII) at land border checkpoints or international airports to be eligible.

Starting from August 19, 2016, passengers are able to use the e-Gates in terminal 2 of Beijing Capital International Airport to complete exit procedures from China as well.

Starting from Dec 1, 2017, Shanghai international airports including PVG and SHA both have e-Channel for exit.

Eligibility

The extended list of eligible travelers is:

Registration with CII not required:
* Holders of biometric passports that contain fingerprint data;
* Holders of the new biometric Two-way Permits with valid entry endorsements that contain fingerprint data.

Registration with CII required:
* Holders of the booklet-style Two-way Permits with multiple-entry endorsements;
* Holders of Travel Permit to and from Taiwan for Mainland Residents booklet with multiple-exit endorsements;
* Holders of Exit and Entry Permits that are valid for one year and multiple entries (only for the specific port of entry that they have registered with);
* Holders of Home Return Permits;
* Holders of Taiwan Compatriot Permits;
* Foreign nationals with their passports and Chinese Permanent Resident cards;
* Foreign nationals with their biometric passports and residence permits with a validity of more than 6 months; and
* Flight crew members serving scheduled flights who are either Chinese or visa-exempt nationals, or non-visa-exempt nationals holding crew or work visas or residence permits that are valid for at least 1 year.

Visa requirements

Visa requirements for Chinese citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of the People's Republic of China. As of 2025, Chinese citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 85 countries and territories, ranking the Chinese passport 60th in the world according to the Henley Passport Index. The latest visa exemption is granted by Kiribati Ministry of Foreign Affairs to all Chinese citizen for tourism purpose.
Chinese passport is also the highest-ranked passport among Communist states. After Covid travel restriction was lifted, the resume of free-to-travel is on high demand as well as align to government's economic boosting strategy; Passport offices are also introducing new mobile-app allow hassle-free passport application or renew, together with video-call and facial recognition techniques to enable this service 24/7. According to Henley's report, Chinese Passport is the front runner for visa-free travel ranking among all countries.
The Electronic Visa Update System (EVUS) is introduced in 2016 for Chinese passport holder who hold a valid 10-year B1, B2, or B1/B2 visa to travel to the United States.

Travel to and from Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwan

Issued to Chinese citizens with Hukou or Chinese citizens not qualified for SAR-issued travel documents, Chinese passports cannot normally be used when travelling directly to Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwan from mainland China.

In order for such Chinese citizens to travel from mainland China to Hong Kong and Macau, a Two-way Permit is required. Chinese foreign missions, however, do issue visa-like Hong Kong SAR Entry Permits for up to 14 days to Chinese citizens residing outside mainland China upon request, so PRC passport holders can travel solely between Hong Kong and Mainland with passports. Chinese passports can be used when transiting through Hong Kong or Macau to other countries and can enter Hong Kong or Macau for 7 days without a visa.

Travelling to Taiwan from mainland China requires the Travel Permit to and from Taiwan as well as Exit and Entry Permit issued by the Taiwanese government. Although Chinese passports are accepted as valid travel documents by the National Immigration Agency (NIA) and Taiwanese diplomatic missions, the NIA does not allow Chinese citizens with hukou to travel to Taiwan when departing from mainland China unless holding the Mainland Resident Travel Permit with valid exit endorsement.

Cross border travel statistics

These are the numbers of mainland Chinese visitors to various countries or territories:

Gallery

File:Passport China 1854.jpg, A passport issued by the Great Qing government in 1854.
File:QingPassport.jpg, A passport issued by the Great Qing government in 1898.
File:Passport Cn 20s.jpg, A Republic of China passport booklet issued during the Beiyang-era in the 1920s.
File:1939 ROC passport.jpg, A Republic of China passport issued in 1939.
File:Republic of China Passport 1946.jpg, A Republic of China passport issued in 1946.
File:Passport Cn 50s.JPG, 1955 (left) and 1951 (right) versions of the PRC passport.
File:Passport Cn diplomatic 55.jpg, Type "55" diplomatic passport
File:Passport Cn diplomatic 80s.jpg, Type "82" diplomatic passport
File:Chinese 1982 passport hu zhao.jpg, A Type "82" passport issued from early 80s to 1992
File:Passport Cn dip0001.JPG, 1992 version of diplomatic passport
File:Passport PRC 92 cover.jpg, Cover of Type "92" passport, issued until early 2000s
File:Passport PRC 97.jpg, Type "97-1" passport, issued from 2000 to early 2007
File:Chinese Diplomatic passport 1997 version.jpg, 1997 version of diplomatic passport
File:Chinese Public Affairs passport 1997 version.jpg, 1997 version of public affairs passport
File:Chinese Service passport 1997 version.jpg, 1997 version of service passport
File:People's Republic of China passport (97-2 version).jpg, Type "97-2" passport, issued from early 2007 to May 2012
File:PRChina Passport for Public Affairs.jpg, The old passport for public affairs, issued before 2007
File:People's Republic of China Biometric passport.jpg, Biometric passport, issued since May 2012

See also

* Chinese Travel Document
* Hong Kong SAR passport
* List of passports
* Macau SAR passport
* Nationality law of the People's Republic of China
* Taiwan passport
* Resident Identity Card, the national identification card for Chinese citizens.
* Visa requirements for Chinese citizens
* People's Republic of China Marriage Certificate

Notes

References

External links

Text of the 2006 Passport Law of the People's Republic of China

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chinese Passport

Passports by country
Passport