China Tightened its Border Contral With New Law: What You Need to Know

China State Council just recently issued a new regulation further strenghening border control that may affect both Chinese citizens and foreigners entering and exiting Chinese borders. The new regulations cover four main areas:

1. Exit Security Risk Prevention— Establishing a system for assessing overseas security risks and dissuading Chinese citizens from traveling to high-risk regions.
2. Integrity of Applications— Requiring truthful and lawful reasons for exit/entry applications, with strict penalties for false statements or fraudulent documentation.
3. Enhanced Exit/Entry Bans— Expanding the grounds and duration for prohibiting Chinese citizens from exiting and foreigners from entering.
4. Intermediary Service Regulation— Introducing a mandatory registration and supervision regime for agencies providing exit/entry consulting and document processing services.

We focus on No. 2, 3 and 4 points helping you better understand the new regulations that may be of your concerns.

1. Expanded Exit Bans for Chinese Citizens (Article 4)

The new regulatory control over Chinese citizens is rumored to be in relation to the newly promulgated tax crackdown on high net worth individuals who have piled great fortunes that hidden or concealed in complex trust structures with a view to block some people from fleeing China. This may not be true but people cannot help associating this new regulation with the new tax policy.

Article 4 of this new border control regulation provides that Chinese citizens may be barred from exiting for 6 months to 3 years if they:

- Fraudulently obtained exit/entry documents or illegally exited/entered, and received administrative detention; or

- Engaged in illegal/criminal activities overseas that endanger national security or interests (decided by relevant State Council departments or provincial-level governments after verification by overseas diplomatic missions).

Additionally, citizens who violate export control or technology import/export regulations in ways that may harm national industrial or technological security may be barred from exiting by commerce authorities. This is apparently a response to the heated tech rivalry between USA and China.

This significantly broadens the grounds for exit bans beyond traditional immigration violations to encompass national security, economic security, and technology controls. The 6-month to 3-year timeframe is substantial. The provision creates a powerful tool to prevent individuals involved in sensitive technology sectors or deemed security risks from leaving the country, aligning with broader strategic competition and technology protection priorities.

2. Stricter Entry Bans for Foreigners (Article 5)

Foreigners may be barred from entering China for 1 to 5 years if they:

- Provide false materials or make false statements when applying for visas or port visas;

- Receive criminal punishment for undermining national (border) management, or administrative penalties for fraudulently obtaining exit or entry documents or illegally exiting or entering;

The 1-to-5-year ban creates a strong deterrent against visa fraud and border violations.

Foreigners who are listed on countermeasures lists, unreliable entity lists, or malicious entity lists will be dealt with accordingly in restricting them from entering and exiting China borders.

The explicit linkage to countermeasures and unreliable entity lists integrates economic and foreign policy tools with immigration control. Foreign businesspersons and entities subject to Chinese sanctions or trade restrictions now face direct immigration consequences, reinforcing the extraterritorial reach of these lists.

3. Mandatory Registration of Intermediary Agencies (Articles 7–10)

Much of the regulations is devoted to the revamp of administration of immigration business by market agencies that have thrived for years and caused some high-profile contraversies, such as aiding in moving large amounts of money out of China.

Under the new regulations, all agencies and personnel providing exit/entry policy consulting, document processing, and procedure handling must register with local immigration authorities within 15 days of establishment (existing agencies have 90 days from the regulation’s effective date). Agencies must meet strict conditions, including among others:

- No criminal record for the legal representative;

- Professional staff with knowledge of relevant laws;

- Adequate capital and premises;

- Overseas cooperation agreements (for exit services);

It shall be noted that it is made clear now that  foreign enterprises and agencies are prohibited from providing such exit  and entry services within China.

Agencies are banned from publishing false information, assisting with fraudulent applications, leaking personal data, or facilitating cross-border illegal activities. This brings the previously loosely regulated intermediary market under strict state oversight. The prohibition on foreign agencies operating in this sector protects the domestic market but may reduce service options for foreign nationals and multinational companies. The registration requirements and severe penalties (fines up to 5x illegal gains, business suspension, or license revocation) will likely consolidate the industry around larger, compliant domestic players and increase compliance costs. For individuals, it raises the barrier to obtaining informal or flexible assistance with visa applications.

On a seprate note, lawyers in China engaged in immigration business may find themselves in a dilemma as the new regulation requires that counsultants in this business shall need file with local immigration authority, and it is not clear whether they can file in the name of a law firm instead of an immigration agency.

Conclusion

These regulations represent a tightening of China’s exit and entry framework, in particular, through  (1) Security-first approach: Both exit and entry controls are increasingly integrated with national security, economic security, and foreign policy objectives. (2) Professionalization and state oversight: The intermediary market is being brought under strict administrative control, squeezing out informal and foreign operators, and (3) Deterrence through severity: The penalties for document fraud and the lengthy duration of exit/entry bans signal a zero-tolerance shift toward integrity in cross-border movement.

For Chinese citizens, the regulations mean greater scrutiny when exiting, particularly to sensitive destinations or in sensitive professions. For foreigners and international businesses, the rules demand higher compliance standards when applying for visas or sponsoring visits to China.