I.Categories,
Prospective Applicants and Issuing Authorities
A.
Categories
Passports of the
People‘s Republic of China are issued to Chinese
citizens as certificates to prove their nationality and
identity for the purposes of entering or exiting Chinese
border and travelling or residing in foreign
countries.
Passports of the PRC are classified
into Diplomatic Passport, Service Passport, Ordinary
Passport, Hongkong Special Administrative Region Passport
and Macao Special Administrative Region Passport. Ordinary
Passport is further composed of Ordinary Passport for Public
Affairs and Ordinary Passport for Private
Affairs.
The maximum validity of Diplomatic
Passport, Service Passports and Ordinary Passport is 5
years. All these passports can be renewed before the expiry
date. The validity period of Hongkong SAR Passport is 10
years. Hongkong SAR Passport issued to those under the age
of 16 years shall be valid for 5 years. The validity of the
Macao SAR passport is 10 years. Macao SAR passport issued to
those under the age of 18 years shall be valid for 5
years.
B. Prospective Applicants
Diplomatic Passport is principally
issued to senior officials of the Communist Party, the
government, and the People’s Liberation Army, principal
leaders of the National People’s Congress, the Chinese
Peoples’ Political Consultative Conference, and all
democratic parties, diplomats, consular officers and their
accompanying spouses, underage children, diplomatic
couriers, and etc.
Service Passport is
principally issued to officials ranked as division chief and
above of governmental offices, staff members of diplomatic
and consular missions in foreign countries, the United
Nations’ organizations and its specialized agencies,
and their accompanying spouses and underage children, and
etc.
Ordinary Passport for Public Affairs is
principally issued to staff in the governmental offices at
all levels and to employees of state-owned enterprises or
institutions.
Ordinary Passport for private
affairs is principally issued to overseas Chinese and those
who go abroad for personal affairs, such as residing,
visiting friends or relatives, inheriting properties,
studying, working, or sightseeing,
etc.
Hongkong SAR Passports are issued to
Chinese citizens who hold permanent identity cards of
Hongkong.
Macao SAR Passports are issued to
Chinese citizens who are permanent residents of the Macao
SAR.
C. Issuing
Authorities
The Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and 55 foreign affairs offices of local
people’s governments authorized by the MFA are
responsible for the issuance, renewal, page-adding or
endorsement of the Diplomatic Passports, Service Passports
and Ordinary Passports for Public Affairs.
The
Public Security Departments or Bureaus of the local
governments authorized by the Ministry of Public Security
are responsible for the issuance, renewal or endorsement of
Ordinary Passports for private affairs.
Under
the Basic Law of the Hongkong Special Administrative Region
of the PRC, the Central Government authorize the Government
of the Hongkong SAR to issue the Hongkong SAR Passport in
accordance with law. The particular authority responsible
for the issuance of the passport of the Hongkong SAR is the
Immigration Department of the Hongkong
SAR.
Under the Basic Law of the Macao Special
administrative Region of the PRC, the Central Government
authorize the Government of the Macao SAR to issue the Macao
SAR Passport in accordance with law. The particular
authority responsible for the issuance of the passport of
the Macao SAR is the Identification Department of the Macao
SAR.
Chinese diplomatic missions in foreign
countries have the authority to issue Diplomatic Passport,
Service Passport, Ordinary Passport for Public Affairs and
Ordinary Passport for private affairs and to handle
passport-concerned applications, such as, renewal or
endorsement of the above-said passports, processing the
applications of the Hongkong SAR Passport and providing
necessary assistance to the residents of the Macao SAR in
their applications for the Macao SAR Passport or Travel
Document.
Chinese consular missions in foreign
countries have the authority to issue Ordinary Passport for
Public Affairs and Ordinary Passport for private affairs and
to handle passport-concerned applications, such as, renewal
or endorsement of the various types of passports, processing
the applications of the Hongkong SAR Passport and providing
necessary assistance to the residents of the Macao SAR in
their applications for the Macao SAR Passport or Travel
Document.
Office of the Commissioner of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC in the Hongkong SAR
and Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of the PRC in the Macao SAR have the authority to
issue Diplomatic Passport, Service Passport, Ordinary
Passport for Public Affairs and Ordinary Passport for
private affairs only to replace old ones, and to handle
passport-concerned applications such as renewal and
endorsement of the above-said passports.
The
passport issuing authorities are also authorized to issue
alternative travel documents in lieu of passport, or to
cancel or withdraw the passport and alternative travel
document..
II.
Travel Documents
A. Travel
Permit
Travel Permit of the PRC is
an alternative to Chinese passport. It has two categories
under respective terms of validity. One is valid for one
year and for a single journey to and from China, the other
is valid for multiple journeys within two years. It is good
for travel to all countries and regions in the world. The
Travel Permit can not be renewed. No additional visa pages
should be added to it.
The Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Chinese diplomatic/consular missions or other
authorized institutions in foreign countries are responsible
for the issuance of Travel Permit of the PRC. The
prospective applicants of the Travel Permit
are:
----Chinese nationals who have lost their
passports while travelling abroad and urgently need to
return to China;
----Chinese nationals living
in Hongkong SAR or Macao SAR who do not have a pass issued
by the Ministry of Public Security and wish to travel to
mainland China;
----Taiwan residents of Chinese
nationality residing in foreign countries who do not have a
pass issued by the Ministry of Public Security and wish to
travel to mainland China;
----Macao residents
in foreign countries who do not have valid identity or
travel documents of Macao SAR and wish to return to Macao to
apply for the Macao SAR Passport or travel
document;
----Other Chinese nationals in need
of such a Travel Permit.
B.
Seafarer’s
Passport
Seafarer’s Passport of
the PRC is an international travel document issued by the
Harbor Administrative Authority to those seamen who work
abroad.
The validity of the Seafarer’s
Passport varies while the maximum is 5 years. It is good for
travel to all countries and regions in the world. Chinese
diplomatic/consular missions and other institutions
authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in foreign
countries are responsible for the renewal and replacement of
the Seafarer’s Passport. A Seafarer’s Passport
with a validity of 2 years and above can be renewed once,
but the renewal should not exceed 1 year. If the validity is
less than 2 years, it shall not be
renewed.
C. Hongkong Document of
Identity
Document of Identity is
issued by the Hongkong SAR government to an eligible Chinese
national who is not permanent resident of the Hongkong
SAR.
D. Hongkong Seaman’s
Identity Book
Hongkong Seaman’s
Identity Book is issued to a Hongkong resident who is the
holder of the Employment Registration Book issued by the
Hongkong SAR government.
E. Travel
Permit Of The Macao SAR
Travel Permit
of the Macao SAR is issued to a lawful resident of Macao,
namely, a non-permanent resident of Macao SAR or a permanent
resident of non-Chinese
nationality.
III.
Knowhow in the Application of Chinese Passports
A. The Nationality Law of
the PRC stipulates that, “The People’s Republic of
China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese
national.” ”Any person who applies for
naturalization as a Chinese national shall acquire Chinese
nationality upon approval of his application; a person whose
application for naturalization as a Chinese national has
been approved shall not retain foreign nationality.”
”Any Chinese national who has settled abroad and who
has been naturalized as a foreign national or has acquired
foreign nationality of his own free will shall automatically
lose Chonese nationality.” A non-Chinese national is
not eligible to apply for Chinese passport or travel
documents (except for Travel Permit of the Macao
SAR).
B. Chinese nationals
in foreign countries may go to Chinese diplomatic/consular
missions and authorized institutions for passport-concerned
applications, such as renewal, endorsement or page-adding,
etc. The applicant is required to go to the embassy or
consulate or other authorized institutions in person to
submit the application, fill out application forms,
interview with consular officers, and submit relevant
supplementary documents. The following documents are
required:
----Chinese passport or
certificates of the applicant’s Chinese nationality, in
both original and photostat copy;
----Valid
certificate of residence issued by the foreign government or
other identity certificate of the applicant’s lawful
status;
----Completed application
form;
----Other relevant supplementary
documents required by the consular
officers.
C. The Applicant Shall Be
Responsible for His Documents
Submitted
The consular officers will
reject any application in which submitted documents are
considered incomplete or false. Any passports gained through
fraudulent means will be declared withdrawn and the persons
concerned will be subject to the punishment of relevant
laws.
D. The Renewal, Page-Adding and
Endorsement of Passports
It is
suggested that passport holders for public affairs check
before leaving the country, whether the validity period of
the passport is more than 6 months and whether there are
enough visa pages. If the answer is no, relevant
applications should be done in China. Chinese embassies and
consulates in foreign countries will not accept any
applications for passport renewal, page-adding or
endorsement of those public affairs passport holders on
short-term visits abroad.
Passport holders for
public affairs on assignment abroad may apply for the
renewal, page-adding or endorsement of their passports from
relevant Chinese embassy or consulate. And such applications
will be referred to the original passport issuing
authorities in China for approval.
Private
passport holders should check the validity of their
passports and get the passports extended in time so as not
to affect their residence or travelling abroad.
Supplementary documents should be submitted when applying
for the renewal or endorsement of a passport
E. In Case of Loss
Passport is an important document of
nationality and identity and should be kept properly. Any
loss or damage to the passport should be avoided. Once the
passport is lost, the bearer should report the loss to the
nearest Chinese embassy or consulate or other authorized
institutions and apply for replacement of the passport. The
applicant should provide certificates of his nationality and
of his lawful staying status, and a detailed written report
of the loss of his passport and other materials as required
by the authority. He should also fill in application forms
and prepare three 2x2 photos. A new passport or Travel
Permit shall be issued once the applicant’s identity is
verified:
----For a private passport holder who
has lawful staying status in a foreign country, a private
passport may be issued as replacement;
----For
a passport holder for public affairs who is assigned to work
in a foreign country, relevant public affairs passport may
be issued as replacement;
----For other Chinese
passport holders travelling abroad on short-term visits, a
Travel Permit valid for one journey within one year may be
issued to facilitate their return to
China.
IV. Travel Documents for
residents of Chinese Nationality of the Hongkong SAR and the
Macao SAR
According to the Basic Law
of the Hongkong SAR of the PRC and the Basic Law of the
Macao SAR of the PRC, the SAR government may apply
immigration controls on entry into, stay in and departure
from the Region by persons from foreign states and regions.
Residents of Chinese nationality of the SAR may apply for
the Hongkong SAR passport or Macao SAR passport or other
travel documents respectively for trip abroad. For trips to
the mainland, a pass issued by the Ministry of Public
Security or a Travel Permit should be
used.
A. The Application of HKSAR
Passport
1. Who are
eligible
According to Article 154 of the Basic
Law of the Hongkong SAR of the PRC, the Hongkong SAR
passports are issued to all Chinese citizens who hold
permanent identity cards of the Region, and travel documents
of the HKSAR are issued to all other persons lawfully
residing in the Region.
2. How to apply for the
HKSAR passports overseas
An overseas applicant
may apply for the SAR passport from Chinese embassy,
consulate-general or consulate in a foreign country, or
directly contact the Immigration Department of the HKSAR.
The applicant may choose to file his
application in person, or by mail. In whatever cases, the
applicant should go to the embassy, consulate or the
Immigration Department in person at least once and submit
the original copies of all the supporting documents for
check.
3. Application
procedures
a. Fill in application forms
(obtainable at the embassy or consulate). Applicant 16 years
of age or over should complete the form ID843. Form ID844 is
for children under 16 years.
b. Prepare
photographs. Applicant should enclose 3 identical recent
color photos. For detailed requirements for the photos,
please contact the nearest Chinese embassy or
consulate.
c. Fill in the form of payment
(ID853) and pay the fees (see Table of Payment for Chinese
Passports and Travel Documents )
4. Documents
required when submitting an overseas application to the
Chinese embassy or consulate--general
a. one
photostat copy of the Hong Kong permanent identity card. If
an applicant has the right of abode in the HKSAR but has no
Hong Kong permanent identity card, he /she should also apply
for a Hong Kong permanent identity card at the same time as
he/she apply for a HKSAR passport. Further information on
permanent identity card registration is contained in the
“Notes for Guidance—Application for Hong Kong
Permanent Identity Card by a person of the age of 18 or
over/under the age of 18 Resident Overseas
(ROP143A/ROP144A)” obtainable from any Chinese embassy
/consulate-general.
b. For children between 16
to 18 years of age, photostat copies of the consenting
parent/legal guardian’s identity card/travel document
and proof of relationship between the child and parent/legal
guardian are required. If the application is made with the
consent of the father, photostat copy the parents’
marriage certificate or court order is also required to
prove that the father is the legal guardian of the
applicant.
c. For children under the 16 years
of age, the application should be made by parents /legal
guardian with the required photostat copies of the
parent/legal guardian’s identity card or travel
document and proof of the relationship between the child and
parent/legal guardian. If the application is made by the
father, photostat copy of the parents’ marriage
certificate or court order is also required to prove that
the farther is the legal guardian of the
child.
d. For children under the 11 years of
age, besides the documents mentioned above for those under
16 years of age, photostat copy of school document bearing
the name, date of birth and a photograph of the child or
completed counter signatory form will be required to confirm
the identity of the child.
e. For those who has
never held Hong Kong identity card including Hong Kong
permanent identity card and Hong Kong non-permanent identity
card, photostat copy of concerned document bearing
photograph is required to prove the identity of the
applicant.
f. If an applicant is born outside
China (or Honkong SAR), the applicant himself or his parent
or his legal guardian should complete the auxiliary
application form for the HKSAR passport (obtainable from
Chinese embassy or consulate) and submit relevant supporting
documents to the Immigration Department for
check.
g. All photostat copies submitted should
be clearly made on A4 size (210mm×297mm) paper and will
not be returned.
5. How to collect the
passport
HKSAR Immigration Department usually
takes 2 months to examine the eligibility of the applicant.
When the Chinese embassy/consulate-general receives the
passport posted by HKSAR Immigration Department, they will
inform the applicant to collect the passport personally or
post the HKSAR passport to the applicant according to the
address.
6. How to deal with the previous
travel document after receiving a HKSAR
passport
The CI should be canceled by the
Chinese embassy/consulate-general and the canceled CI may be
returned to the applicant when the HKSAR passport is being
collected. The BNO passport held by the applicant need not
be recalled or canceled.
B. The
Application for Other HKSAR Travel Documents
Applicant for other HKSAR travel
documents may obtain the relevant forms from Chinese
embassy/consulate-general. When a new DI or HKSAR
seaman’s book is being collected, the previous travel
document should be canceled by the Chinese
embassy/consulate-general and may be returned to the
applicant after the cancellation.
In case of
emergency such as lost or damage of the HKSAR passport or
other travel documents, the applicant may apply to the
Chinese embassy/consulate-general for the Declaration of
Identity for Entry Purpose so as to return to Hong Kong
timely.
C. The Application for Macao
SAR Passport and Other Travel
Documents
The Chinese
embassy/consulate-general does not accept the application
for Macao Special Administrative Region passport for the
reason of unripe condition.
The applicant for
Macao Special Administrative Region Travel Permit may obtain
“the Application Form for MSAR Travel Permit” and
“the Notice for overseas
application”.
The applicant may directly
post the completed application form and all other relevant
documents to:
Director of Identification
Department of Macau Special Administrative
Region
Largo Do Senado, No.20
Macau (Via
Hong Kong)
Tel: (0853) 356615
Fax: (0853) 374300
Macao
residents who have no travel documents or whose travel
documents have expired but need to return to Macao for the
application may seek advice and help from the Chinese
embassy/consulate-general.
In emergency, Macao
residents may directly contact the director of
Identification Department of Macao. The mobile phone number
is (0853)
6813664
Table
1: Notice of Payment
Name of the
Travel
Document Subject Payment
in RMB
Diplomatic passport and service passport
First issuance or regular
replacement 150
Replacement
in case of loss or
damage 300
Renewal,
page-adding or
endorsement 100
Passport
for Public Affairs
First issuance or regular
replacement 200
Replacement in case of loss or
damage 400
Renewal, page-adding or
endorsement 100
Passport
for private affairs
First issuance or regular
replacement 300
First replacement in case of loss or
damage 700
Second replacement in case of loss or
damage 1500
Renewal or
endorsement 100
Irregular
replacement 800/1200
Travel
Permit valid for one
year First
issuance
100
Replacement
200
Travel
permit valid for two
years First
issuance
200
Replacement
400
Seafarer’s
passport
Regular
replacement 100
Replacement in case of loss or
damage 200
Renewal
100
Pass for Taiwan
residents
Entry permit
100
HKSAR
travel documents See
relevant notice of payment
*All the payment
should be made in local currencies or US dollars.
*The
above payment rate is subject to change due to the changes
in exchange rate. Please contact the embassy or consulate
for exact payment rate.
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