If you or your family recently switched from Chinese citizenship, there’s one last bureaucratic hurdle to cross before you start travelling outside China.
A government policy to be formally implemented next week will temporarily ban foreign passport holders from leaving the country if they have not cancelled their registered Chinese permanent residence.
Besides having to face undetermined penalties, violators will be forced to return to their original place of residence to cancel their household register with the relevant authorities before being allowed to leave China.
The policy will have the most impact upon families and individuals living in China making the transition away from Chinese citizenship as well as overseas Chinese with foreign passports returning to China, but had neglected to cancel their residency beforehand.
Expats living in China under temporary residence permits are not required to cancel them before leaving the country.
First introduced in February, the policy is set to be fully enforced in July.
Because China does not recognize dual citizenship, Chinese residents that have accepted foreign citizenship are no longer considered to be citizens.
According to Quanjing, some overseas Chinese have been reluctant to cancel their registered permanent residence out of convenience due to owning property or stocks in China. Meanwhile, others are said to retain a “sense of belonging to China.”
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This same policy will also authorize the collection of biometric information such as fingerprints from foreign nationals entering China, a mandatory procedure only waived for those with diplomatic passports or don’t have hands.
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