Exit regulation in the People's Republic of China: Law, policy and practice

In the past 20 years, there have been increasing media reports of individuals being banned from exiting the People's Republic of China (PRC). This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current PRC mechanisms for regulating the exit of PRC and foreign citizens. It proposes that...

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Published in:International migration Vol. 63; no. 1
Main Author: Song, Lili
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Oxford Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.01.2025
Subjects:
Citizens
Criminalization
Decentralization
Inconsistency
Legislation
Passports
Passports & visas
Punishment
Regulation
Transparency
Unauthorized
China
ISSN:0020-7985, 1468-2435
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Abstract In the past 20 years, there have been increasing media reports of individuals being banned from exiting the People's Republic of China (PRC). This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current PRC mechanisms for regulating the exit of PRC and foreign citizens. It proposes that the PRC uses three types of exit regulation mechanisms. First, restrictions on access to passports serve to preclude targeted PRC citizens from obtaining the document necessary for international travel. Second, PRC and foreign citizens with valid passports could be prohibited from exiting the PRC on extensive grounds. Third, the criminalization of unauthorized departure serves to punish and deter the clandestine exit of PRC citizens. In relation to each mechanism, it outlines the legal grounds for imposing restrictions or punishment and provides illustration with recent cases. It also identifies a number of shortcomings of the PRC exit regulation system, including fragmented and overly broad legislation in some aspects, inconsistency of legislation, overly decentralized distribution of power among institutions and insufficient safeguard for procedural transparency.
AbstractList In the past 20 years, there have been increasing media reports of individuals being banned from exiting the People's Republic of China (PRC). This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current PRC mechanisms for regulating the exit of PRC and foreign citizens. It proposes that the PRC uses three types of exit regulation mechanisms. First, restrictions on access to passports serve to preclude targeted PRC citizens from obtaining the document necessary for international travel. Second, PRC and foreign citizens with valid passports could be prohibited from exiting the PRC on extensive grounds. Third, the criminalization of unauthorized departure serves to punish and deter the clandestine exit of PRC citizens. In relation to each mechanism, it outlines the legal grounds for imposing restrictions or punishment and provides illustration with recent cases. It also identifies a number of shortcomings of the PRC exit regulation system, including fragmented and overly broad legislation in some aspects, inconsistency of legislation, overly decentralized distribution of power among institutions and insufficient safeguard for procedural transparency.
Author Song, Lili
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  organization: Otago University
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Copyright 2022 The Authors. published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Organization for Migration.
2022. This article is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.
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Snippet In the past 20 years, there have been increasing media reports of individuals being banned from exiting the People's Republic of China (PRC). This article aims...
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SubjectTerms Citizens
Criminalization
Decentralization
Inconsistency
Legislation
Passports
Passports & visas
Punishment
Regulation
Transparency
Unauthorized
Title Exit regulation in the People's Republic of China: Law, policy and practice
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