China has Tightened Passport Approvals

[Randy W]

China has tightened passport approvals in the wake of COVID-19 outbreaks in several parts of the country. Only individuals with needs for oversees travel to study, work, or business purposes can apply for new passports or renewals.

from the Sixth Tone on Facebook 
https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/posts/3010402935945213

China Tightens Passport Approvals Amid Surge in COVID-19 Cases
Only citizens with “urgent” purposes can apply for a new travel document.

Quote

 

“It is strongly advised that applicants cancel or postpone their plans to go overseas if they don’t have urgent and necessary reasons to do so,” Chen said at the press conference Friday.

The immigration authority only issued 335,000 passports to Chinese mainland citizens in the first half of 2021, accounting for merely 2% of the total travel documents approved during the same period in 2019, according to official figures. Passports that were approved this year were mostly for students and people with work or businesses abroad.

 . . .

A man surnamed Lu from the eastern Zhejiang province told Sixth Tone that his passport renewal application was initially denied, even though he had a Canadian permanent residency. He then applied for a community college in Canada and secured an admission letter, which cleared his path to get a new passport.

“It was an easy process,” Lu said. “Just find a major and a university, and you can get it done in less than a month.”

Difficulties in passport approvals have also led to some arguments with local officials in recent months.

 

The article doesn't specifically say. but I would think that overseas passport renewals would still be processed - those people "with work or businesses abroad", which I guess would include anyone with a green card.

Edited August 4, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Allon]

This news is not good for us. I think the student idea might work. She is taking English classes at the local CC.

[Randy W]

6 hours ago, Allon said:

This news is not good for us. I think the student idea might work. She is taking English classes at the local CC.

She has a green card, so I wouldn't think she'd have any trouble getting the passport renewed at the consulate. The article doesn't say anything about how they're handling overseas applications, but I expect it wouldn't apply there.

The article seems anecdotal, instead of being about an actual policy, but you never know what's behind the scenes.

A refusal to renew passports overseas would potentially force people to return to China - not necessarily a desirable outcome for the policy.

 

Edited August 8, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Allon]

If COVID Delta will let us alone, she plans to go to China for New Year. Getting back was the original concern. The US and CHina are going round and round with letting each other's people in and out.

[Randy W]

4 hours ago, Allon said:

If COVID Delta will let us alone, she plans to go to China for New Year. Getting back was the original concern. The US and CHina are going round and round with letting each other's people in and out.

With a green card, I don't think she'll have a problem getting back in the US.

She'll be facing at least two weeks of quarantine upon entering China, however.

[loveatfirstsite42]

Can my fiance's father get a passport to come see our wedding?   Is family reunion a valid purpose?  Especially considering she hasn't left yet.

[Randy W]

2 hours ago, loveatfirstsite42 said:

Can my fiance's father get a passport to come see our wedding?   Is family reunion a valid purpose?  Especially considering she hasn't left yet.

Hopefully. He will need to ask at the PSB.

[Allon]

We have unfortunately concluded that she cannot go to China for New Year celebration. I think you all are going through similar problems. For Chinese people, the New Year is family, family, family.

Maybe we should have a thread on how to keep our spouses happy after two years of cave management and facing at least one more being away?

I am running out of ideas. Shopping, as much as it is a renewal of a friendship, is getting boring. And Netflix is too. I think I am going to stir up the local Chinese Cultural Center (really run down now) and see what we can come up with.

 

[Martin B]

8 hours ago, Allon said:

We have unfortunately concluded that she cannot go to China for New Year celebration. I think you all are going through similar problems. For Chinese people, the New Year is family, family, family.

Maybe we should have a thread on how to keep our spouses happy after two years of cave management and facing at least one more being away?

I am running out of ideas. Shopping, as much as it is a renewal of a friendship, is getting boring. And Netflix is too. I think I am going to stir up the local Chinese Cultural Center (really run down now) and see what we can come up with.

 

My wife's sister is in LA right now and will fly back to China today (hopefully). Even for Chinese citizens it is a huge hassle to go back and an enormous cost. She's paying $5000 all-in for a one way ticket. At least 3 weeks of quarantine.

My wife is not thrilled about being away this long, and has pretty much given up on 2022. On top of that, my wife's mom just got turned away for a passport renewal. She has a B2 visa and we figured she could visit us next summer if China is still locked down. That's no longer an option which is really disappointing. We're possibly considering other international travel for next year depending on Covid and what countries are open (e.g. Thailand).

We have a 3-year-old that keeps us busy, and my 12-year-old stepdaughter is in middle school which also takes a lot of time. My wife started a job at a bilingual English/Chinese school a few months ago which has really lifted her spirits since she now feels productive again and gets to be around a ton of other Chinese/Taiwanese ladies that work there. It kind of reminds her of working in China lol. 

The biggest downer right now is the impending midwest winter... 

[Randy W]

China has stopped issuing passports for “non-essential reasons” as part of its “COVID-zero” policy. On Chinese social media, users are swapping tips on how to secure a passport by hiring agents to forge job offers or overseas school applications.

from the Sixth Tone on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/posts/3223823214603183

Applying for a Chinese Passport? You May Need a Fake Job Offer
China has stopped issuing passports for “non-essential reasons” as part of its “COVID-zero” policy. The result: a thriving market for fake foreign documents.

Quote

 

Christina is far from alone. A travel agent, surnamed Zhou, told Sixth Tone he receives around 30 enquiries every month from people asking for help getting passports issued or renewed.

Most clients are Chinese citizens who want to visit family abroad, says Zhou, who gave only his surname due to the sensitivity of the issue. Many are parents who haven’t seen their children for years, as they have been studying overseas, he added. There are over 700,000 Chinese students studying abroad, according to official data released in late 2020.

For many applicants, there’s only one way to get around the restrictions: fake it. On Chinese social media, users are swapping tips on how to secure a passport by hiring agents to forge job offers or overseas school applications.

Li, a 37-year-old from the eastern Fujian province, is one of them. After her initial passport application was rejected, she hired an agent to provide a fake offer from a foreign kindergarten. She then told the authorities she needed to accompany her child to study abroad.

The officials were strict, Li said, asking her to provide an invoice from the kindergarten, a student certificate, and a bank statement, among other documents. But after five visits to the immigration bureau, she finally succeeded in renewing her passport. She plans to emigrate to Canada in the near future.

Lydia Lin, a 36-year-old from Beijing, managed to renew her passport on Sunday after telling officials she plans to attend a Chartered Financial Analyst exam overseas. After verifying that she has a finance degree, the authorities granted her application.

 

 

[newacct]

I have heard recent rumors of Chinese citizens with valid Chinese passports and valid reasons to go abroad (e.g. work or study) having their passports cut at the airport and denied exit when they try to leave China. I have heard rumors of this sometimes even happening with people with US green cards. Has anyone here had this happen to someone they know?

[Randy W]

13 minutes ago, newacct said:

I have heard recent rumors of Chinese citizens with valid Chinese passports and valid reasons to go abroad (e.g. work or study) having their passports cut at the airport and denied exit when they try to leave China. I have heard rumors of this sometimes even happening with people with US green cards. Has anyone here had this happen to someone they know?

http://candleforlove.com/forums/topic/48071-serpentza-and-other-vloggers/?do=findComment&comment=649302

 

Winston and C-Milk posted this to their China Fact Chasers channel yesterday.

Edited May 18, 2022 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

C-Milk (Laowhy86) has a new video on this called "No One Can Leave China" - over-baked, so I won't link to it here, but I'm sure there's some truth behind it. Maybe worth a watch.

Edited May 19, 2022 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

The Global Times responds to "rumors"

From online groups to anti-China outlets: how rumors were created about ‘China suspending or cutting up people’s passports’

By GT staff reporters
Published: May 13, 2022 09:59 PM

Quote

The origin 
A Chinese net user dubbed "Wraitheon" said through a Weibo post that the contents under the hashtag "China tightens curbs on unnecessary overseas travel" were filled with rumors, with one claiming "China cut up a citizen's passport" actually fabricated by a Reddit-user, whose original post displaying a cancelled passport had already been labeled as "photo piracy" by the platform.  

The Global Times found that the rumor was initially created in a Reddit social group called CLTV by a user dubbed "LETSGOBRANDON8888" in early May. The group is a large "China hate" organization, whose members often show hostility toward Chinese society, and make up extreme rumors to distort the Chinese government's policies, creating anxiety throughout the Chinese public.  

The group is also engaged in translating and dispersing extreme remarks on China's social networks abroad, designed to vilify Chinese society. 

The user claims to be a Canadian college student, who met "a border inspector with a bad temper," and says that his passport was cut up by the official. 

The user captioned the post with the eye-catching line "My life is over" and a picture of a "cancelled" passport. He also commented in a thread that "Now the planes are gone and I'm still at the airport, what do I do?" in a clear attempt to win sympathy, 

The disinformation on "cutting up passports" is a classic example of how the group distorts the Chinese government's border policy, and attempts to create anxiety among students studying abroad while stirring up opposition and hostility to China's counter-epidemic policies, especially when China tightened its exit and entry policy on the back of recent flare-ups.

  

[Randy W]

The new official policy as of May 12, as stated in Xinhua, was posted here on CFL

http://candleforlove.com/forums/topic/49719-current-events/?do=findComment&comment=649265

 

 

Quote

 

Xinhua Newspaper Network  >  Home  > Text

National Immigration Administration: Strictly restrict non-essential outbound activities of Chinese citizens

 

2022/05/12 17:27   China News Network  

 

　　China News Service, May 12. According to the WeChat public account of the National Immigration Administration, on the afternoon of May 10, the party group of the National Immigration Administration held a special meeting to study and strengthen epidemic prevention and control. The entry-exit policy strictly restricts the non-essential outbound activities of Chinese citizens, and strictly approves and issues entry-exit documents.

 . . .

 

 

 

Edited May 22, 2022 by Randy W (see edit history)