ORDER
OF THE PRESIDENT OFTHE
PEOPLE'S
REPUBLIC OF CHINA
(NO.
31)
The
Law of the People's Republic of China on Entry
and
Exit of Aliens,
adopted
by the Standing Committee of the Sixth National
People's
Congress
of
the People's Republic of China at its Thirteenth
Session
on 22 November
1985,
is hereby promulgated with effect from 1 February
1986.
Li
Xiannian ,President of the
People's
Republic of China
22
November
1985
LAW
OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ON ENTRY AND
EXIT
OF ALIENS
(Adopted
by the Standing Committee of the Sixth
National
People's
Congress
at its Thirteenth Session on 22 November 1985)
Chapter
I GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article
1 The present Law is enacted for the purpose
of
safeguarding the
sovereignty
and maintaining the security and public
order
of the People's
Republic
of China and facilitating international
exchanges.
The
present Law shall apply t aliens
entering,leaving
or passing through
the
territory of the People's Republic of China and
aliens
residing or travel-
ling
in China.
Article
2 Permission must be obtained from the
competent
authorities of
the
Chiness Government by aliens for their
entry,transit
and residence in China.
Article
3 For entry , exit and transit , aliens shall
pass
through th ports
open
to aliens or other designated ports and shall be
subject
to inspection and
supervision
at border checkposts.
For
entry , exit and transit , aliens' means of
transport
shall pass
through
the ports open to aliens or other designated
ports
and shall be subject
to
inspection and supervision at border checkposts.
Article
4 The chinese Government protects the
legitimate
rights and interests
of
aliens within Chinese territory.
The
personal freedom of aliens shall be inviolable.
Aliens
shall not be liable to arrest unless a
warrant
or decision is made by
a
people's procuratorate or a decision is made by a
people's
court and such a
warrant
or decision is executed by a public security
organ
or state security organ.
Article
5 Aliens in China shall abide by Chinese law
and
shall not endanger
the
national security of China ,harm its public
interests
or disturb its public
order.
Chapter
II ENTRY
Article
6 For entry into China, aliens shall apply
for
visas to the Chinese
diplomatic
missions or consular posts or other agencies
abroad
authorized by the
Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of the P.R.C. In specific
situations
and in compliance
with
the stipulations of the State Council, aliens may
also
apply for visas to
visa
offices at the ports designated by the competent
authorities
of the Chinese
Government.
The
entry of nationals of a country having visa
agreement
with the Chinese
Government
shall be dealt with in accordance with the
said
agreement.
In
cases where a country has special regulations
regarding
the entry and
transit
of Chinese citizens,the competent authorities
of
the Chinese Government
may
take corresponding measures contingent on the
circumstances.
Visas
are not required for aliens in immediate
transit
on continued interna-
tional
flights,who stay not more than 24 hours within
the
airport in China. Per-
mission
may be obtained from the border checkposts for
aliens
wishing to leave
the
airport temporarily.
Article
7 In applying for visas,aliens shall
present
valid passports and, if
necessary,provide
pertinent certificates.
Article
8 Aliens invited or employed to work in
China
shall , in applying for
visas,
produce lettere of invitation or employment.
Article
9 Aliens wishing to reside in China
permanently
shall, in applying for
visas
, present residence confir mation forms, which may
be
obtained upon applica-
tion.
from the public security organs at the intended
places
of residence.
Article
10 The competent authortties of the Chinese
Government
shall issue
appropriate
visas to aliens wishing to enter China in
the
light of each case of
application.
Article
11 When an aircraft or a vessel operating
international
services
arrives
at a Chinese port,the captain or his agent must
submit
a passenger list
to
the border checkpost , and, in the case of a foreign
aircraft
or vessel , must
provide
a list of crew members as well.
Article
12 An alien considered a potential threat
to
China's sational security
and
public order shall not be permitted to enter China.
Chapter
III RESIDENCE
Article
13 Aliens residing in China shall possess
identity
cards or residence
certificates
issued by the competent authorities of the
Chinese
Government.
The
term of validity of an identity card or
residence
certificate shall be
decided
in the light of each case of entry.
Aliens
residing in China shall submit certificates
for
examination to the local
public
security organs within the prescribed period of
time.
Article
14 Aliens who, in compliance with Chinese
law,
wish to have long-term
residence
in China for the purpose of investing in China
or
engaging in cooperative
projects
with Chinese enterprises or institutions in
the
economic, scientific-
technological
and cultural fields or for other purposes
may
be granted the status
of
long-term or permanent residence upon approval by the
competent
authorities of
the
Chinese Government.
Article
15 An alien who seeks asylum for political
reasons
shall be permitted
to
reside in China upon approval by the competent
authorities
of the Chinese
Government.
Article
16 In the case of an alien who fails io abide
by
Chinese law, his period
of
stay in China may be shortened or his status of
residence
in China annulled by
the
competent authorities of the Chinese government.
Article
17 Aliens wishing to make temporary
overnight
stay in China shall
complete
registration procedures pursuant to the
relevant
stipulations.
Article
18 Aliens holding residenee certificates
who
wish to change places of
residence
in China shall complete removal formalities
pursuant
to the relevant
stipulations.
Article
19 Aliens who have no residence
certificates
or are on a study programme
in
China shall not be employed in China without
pormission
of the competent an
thorities
of the Chinese Government.
Chapter
IV TRAVEL
Article
20 Aliens who hold valid visas or residence
certificates
may travel
to
places declared open to aliens by the Chinese
Government.
Article
21 Aliens wishing to travel to places not
open
to aliens shall apply
to
the local public security organs for travel permits.
Chapter
V EXIT
Article
22 For exit from China, aliens shall present
their
valid passports or
any
other valid certificates.
Article
23 Aliens shall not be allowed to leave
China
if they come under any
of
the following categories:
(1)
a defendent in a criminal procedure or a criminal
suspect
lisied by a public
security
organ or people's procuratorate or people's
court.
(2)
a person under notice by a people's court to be
denied
exit for an unsettled
civil
procedure.
(3)
a person awaiting decision for any other
violation
of Chinese law, whose case,
in
the opinion oi the competent authorities, calls for
investigation.
Article
24 Border checkposts have the power to
withhold
exit of aliens coming
under
any of the following categories and to subject
them
to rules of the law:
(1)
a holder of invalid exit certificates;
(2)
a holder of an exit certificate other than his
own;
(3)
a holder of a forged or altered exit certificate.
Chapter
VI ADMINlSTRATlVE
ORGANS
Article
25 China's diplomatic missions and
consular
posts and other agencies
abroad
authorized by the Minisiry of Foreign Affairs are
the
agencies of the
Chinese
Government abroad to handle aliens'
applications
for entry and transit.
The
Ministry of Public Security, its authorized
local
public security organs,
he
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its anthorized local
foreign
affairs offices
are
the agencies of the Chinese Government at home to
handle
aliens' applications
for
entry, transit, residence and travel.
Article
26 The authorities handling aliens'
applications
for entry,transit,
residence
and travel have the power to decline issuing
visas
and certificates or
to
cancle or annul visas and certificates already
issued.
The
Minisiry of Public Security and the Ministry of
Foreign
Affairs may. if
necessary,
alter decisions made by their respectively
authorized
organs.
Article
27 An alien illegally entering or residing
in
China may be detained
for
investigation or subjected to residence supervision
or
deportation by public
security
organs at and above county level.
Article
28 Police in charge of aliens' affairs in
the
public security organs
at
and above county level have, in performing their
duties
, the power to examine
aliens'passports
and other certificates.When
conducting
such examinations, the
said
police shall produce their own service cards, and
the
organizations or indi-
viduals
concerned are obliged to assist.
Chapter
VII PENALTIES
Article
29 Whoever illegally enters, leaves,
resides
or stops over in China,
or
travels to places not open to aliens without valid
travel
permit or forges,
alters,misuses
or negotiates entry or exit certificate
in
contravention of the
provisions
of the present Law may be subjected to such
penalties
as warning, fine
or
detention for not more than ten days , by the public
security
organs at and
above
county level. Offenders whose violations are
serious
enough to constitute
crimes
shall be prosecuted in accordance with law.
If
an alien being fined or detained by a public
security
organ refuses to
accept
a penalty, he may, within fifteen days of
receiving
notification, appeal
to
the next higher public security organ, which shall
make
the final judgement,
and/or
may file a suit directly in a local people's
Court.
Article
30 The Ministry of public Security may order
serious
offenders as
listed
in Article 29 of the present Law to leave the
country
within a time limit
or
may expel them.
Chapter
VIII ANCILLARY
PROVISIONS
Article
31 The term 'alien' used in this Law refers
to
any person not having
Chinese
nationality under the Nationality Law of the
People's
Republic of China.
Article
32 Transitory entry into and exit from China
by
aliens who are nation-
als
of countries adjacent to China and reside in
contiguous
areas between the two
countries
shall be handled pursuant to agreements
between
the two countries ; in
absence
of such agreement, transitory entry and exit
shall
be handled in accordance
with
the relevant stipulations of the Chinese
Government.
Article
33 Rules for implementation of the present
Law
shall be formulated
according
to the Law by the Ministry of Public Security
and
the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs
and shall come into force upon approval by the
State
Council.
Article
34 Matters concerning the members of
foreign
diplomatic missions and
consular
posts in the People's Republic of China and
other
aliens who enjoy
privil
eges and immunities , after their entry into
China
, shall be dealt with in
accordance
with the relevant stipulations of the State
Council
and its competent
authorities.
Article
35 This Law shall come into force as from
1
February 1986.