China introduces strict travel restrictions, limits citizens' overseas trips
What's the story
China has introduced stringent new travel restrictions, giving the government more control over its citizens. The law prohibits citizens who have "harmed" China's national security or interests abroad from leaving the country for up to three years. It also applies to anyone considered a threat to China's industrial or technological security. This move comes amid increasing scrutiny on sectors like semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI).
Travel advisory
Border officials now mandated to advise Chinese nationals
Under the new regulations, border officials are now mandated to advise Chinese nationals against traveling to "high-risk" countries and regions.
Before these rules were officially announced, certain individuals were already restricted from visiting specific nations.
Civil servants were among the first groups subjected to these controls, which later extended to employees of state-owned enterprises and ordinary citizens.
Travel restrictions
Passport surrender mandatory for overseas travel
A retired grassroots civil servant from Anhui revealed to the BBC that his workplace required employees to surrender their passports around 2018.
Despite retiring last year, his passport remains with his former employer.
He said overseas travel requests were subject to approval, with trips for visiting relatives more likely to be approved than tourism trips.
Travel restrictions
More state employees subjected to travel restrictions
Xiao Wang, a pseudonym for an employee of a state-owned financial institution in Beijing, reportedly said his colleagues have to surrender their passports and seek approval for overseas travel.
Managers have warned staff that "sensitive countries such as Japan are definitely off-limits."
Professor Tom Kellogg, of the Center for Asian Law at Georgetown University, reportedly called the expanding travel restrictions "deeply concerning," likening them to ideological control under Chinese leader Xi Jinping similar to Mao Zedong's era.
Travel restrictions
New rules issued to prevent illegal activities abroad
Piyao, a Chinese government "rumour-refuting" platform, said the new rules are preventive measures against high-risk destinations and individuals with unusual travel patterns.
The regulations were issued to address issues like people being deceived into leaving China or engaging in illegal gambling and scam activities abroad.
However, Chinese citizens cannot currently check if they are subject to exit controls on their own.
Exit bans
Exit bans on Chinese citizens have drastically increased
Data from rights group Safeguard Defenders shows a drastic increase in exit bans on Chinese citizens.
The number of records mentioning exit bans rose from 89 in 2016 to 188,760 last year.
The percentage of civil verdicts dealing with exit bans also increased over 30 times between 2019 and 2025.
"This is another tool designed to control what Chinese citizens do and say overseas," Professor Kellogg was quoted as saying.