People's Republic of China passport

People's Republic of China passport
The front cover of a Chinese passport since 1997
Issued by	China
Type of document	Passport
Eligibility requirements	Chinese citizens

This article deals with passports issued by the People's Republic of China (PRC). For passports issued by the Republic of China (aka Taiwan), see Republic of China passport.

Cover of a Chinese diplomatic passport issued in 1992.

First two versions of the PRC passports since 1949.

The People's Republic of China passport (Chinese: 中华人民共和国护照 Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó hùzhào), commonly referred to as the Chinese passport, is the passport issued to citizens of the People's Republic of China (PRC) for international travel.

Issued to Chinese citizens as defined by the PRC's Nationality Law, the passport is not for use by nationals travelling to Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan as these regions are considered parts of the PRC and, thus, does not constitute international travel. Two-way Permit are required to travel to these regions. Conversely, Chinese citizens residing in these regions cannot use their SAR passports or Republic of China passports to enter mainland China. However, mainland China residents transiting Hong Kong or Macau when travelling to other countries may use their passports to enter Hong Kong or Macau for 7 days.

Chinese citizens who are also permanent residents of Hong Kong or Macau Special Administrative Regions of the PRC are issued Hong Kong or Macau SAR passports by the respective immigration departments of the SARs. The SAR passports are special types of the PRC passport with colours on the cover different from that of the ordinary PRC passport. Holders of SAR passports enjoy visa-free entry to more countries than holders of regular PRC passports.

Overview and Contents

Types

According to Articles 3 through 9 of the 2006 Passport Law of the People's Republic of China, there are three types of passports issued by the PRC:

• ordinary (formerly known as "private regular/ordinary") passport;
• service (a.k.a. official) passport;
• diplomatic passport

The Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are reported to begin issuing biometric passports by the end of 2010.

The passports for Macau and Hong Kong are issued by the special administrative region authorities for these locales and are not covered in this law.

Validity

The passport previously had an across-the-board 5-year period of validity. Since 2007, it is valid for 10 years for bearers above 16 years of age, and for 5 years for bearers below 16 years of age. According to the 2006 Passport Law of the People's Republic of China, renewal of previously issued passports ended on January 1, 2007. However, passports renewed before 2007 remained valid until expiry.

Format

The newest version of the regular Chinese passport is "Form 97-2", which replaced its predecessors "Form 92" and "Form 97-1", and was released to the general public in 2007. "Form 97-2" passports consist of 48 pages.

Ordinary Passport - Inside

The "Form 97-2" ordinary Chinese passport is a machine-readable passport.

Personal data is on the inside front cover along with a coloured photo printed using digital security technology. Details include:

• Passport code (P)
• Country Code (CHN)
• Passport number (X########) - consists of one letter indicating passport type (G = ordinary), followed by eight digits
• Name (Surname and Given names)
• Sex (M/F)
• Date of birth (DD.MMM.YYYY)
• Date of issue (DD.MMM.YYYY)
• Place of birth (Province, or country if born abroad)
• Place of issue (Province, or place of diplomatic/consular authority if issued abroad)
• Date of expiry (DD.MMM.YYYY)
• Authority (Exit & Entry Administration Ministry of Public Security or the Chinese diplomatic and consular mission)

Languages

All information is printed in Simplified Chinese and English.

Passport Note

• In Chinese

中华人民共和国外交部请各国军政机关对持照人予以通行的便利和必要的协助

• In English

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China requests all civil and military authorities of foreign countries to allow the bearer of this passport to pass freely and afford assistance in case of need.

See also

• Visa requirements for Chinese citizens
• List of passports
• Nationality Law of the People's Republic of China
• Hong Kong SAR passport
• Macau SAR passport
• Republic of China passport

External links

• Text of the 2006 Passport Law of the People's Republic of China