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SUBSCRIBE
The leading Copyright |
Query: 1) What documents must Chinese nationals present to the issuing
agency in order to receive passports?
2) Describe the guaranties that Chinese must post in order to travel
to the United States.
3) Describe the roles in the passport application process of local
party committees and Government agencies.
4) Must a Chinese passport have the bearer’s signature in order to be
valid?
5) Describe the process for receiving exit stamps at airports
6) Could Chinese who have been released on bail and ordered by their
arresting agencies to report regularly to their local police stations
obtain passports and travel abroad? Response: 1) WHAT DOCUMENTS MUST CHINESE NATIONALS PRESENT TO THE ISSUING
AGENCY IN ORDER TO RECEIVE PASSPORTS? Chinese citizens applying for passports must present their
official household registration books and an invitation from abroad
(Consular Officer 14 Aug 2002). While passport applicants must present household registration
books, they do not have to show their national identification cards,
which all Chinese possess. Of the two types of documents, identity
cards are considered less authoritative because they are only one of
several papers that Chinese must show in order to get household
registration books. Each household has one registration book that
covers all family members (Consular Officer 14 Aug 2002). 2) DESCRIBE THE GUARANTIES THAT CHINESE MUST POST IN ORDER TO
TRAVEL TO THE UNITED STATES. WHO POSTS THEM, WHO ACTS AS GUARANTOR,
ARE THERE ANY GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES INVOLVED, AND WHAT IS THE PURPOSE
OF BANK GUARANTIES? Guaranties are required only from applicants who lack foreign
invitations. They essentially are documents issued by banks
certifying that passport applicants possess enough hard foreign
currency assets to meet a Government-set minimum requirement for
international travelers. The banks’ certifications are sufficient;
no third-party guarantors are required (Consular Officer 14 Aug
2002). The purpose of the bank guaranties is to make sure that Chinese
planning to go abroad have enough funds to make their trips and
return home, according to a consular official at the Embassy of China
in Washington (14 Aug 2002). The official was unable to provide the
current minimum asset level needed to obtain passports (14 Aug
2002). 3) DESCRIBE THE ROLES IN THE PASSPORT APPLICATION PROCESS OF LOCAL
COMMUNIST PARTY COMMITTEES AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. ON PASSPORT
APPLICATIONS, ARE THERE PARTS FOR LOCAL PARTY COMMITTEES AND POLICE
TO COMPLETE? The consular official said that the only Governmental entities
involved in the passport application process are county-level Bureau
of Public Order offices, which process applications, and banks, which
provide the asset-level guaranties (14 Aug 2002). The official said
that local Communist Party committees are not involved in the process
(14 Aug 2002). However, a prominent Chinese dissident who now lives in the U.S.
said that local party committees decide at the outset whether
applicants can receive passports (Executive director 19 Aug 2002).
The dissident, who is Executive Director of the Washington DC-based
Laogai Institute, said in a telephone interview that applicants who
work in factories and other state firms must get approval from their
work units, which are run by party officials (19 Aug 2002). Peasants
must get consent from local party offices. Candidates who are
approved receive documents from party officials that they submit
along with their formal passport applications at Bureau of Public
Order offices (Executive Director 19 Aug 2002). 4) MUST A CHINESE PASSPORT HAVE THE BEARER’S SIGNATURE IN ORDER TO
BE VALID? A Chinese passport must have the bearer’s signature in order to be
valid (Consular Officer 14 Aug 2002). 5) WHAT CHECKS ARE DONE BY CHINESE AUTHORITIES AT AIRPORTS BEFORE
THEY PLACE EXIT STAMPS IN PASSPORTS? WHO PLACES THE STAMPS IN
PASSPORTS? IS AN EXIT STAMP A TYPE OF CUSTOMS STAMP? Exit stamps are given to Chinese boarding international flights by
immigration officers, who first confirm that the passengers’
passports and visas are valid. The main purpose of the stamps is to
mark in the passports the date that passengers left China, according
to the consular official (14 Aug 2002). The exit stamps are not part
of the customs process (Consular Officer 14 Aug 2002). 6) COULD CHINESE WHO HAVE BEEN RELEASED ON BAIL AND ORDERED BY
THEIR ARRESTING AGENCIES TO REPORT REGULARLY TO THEIR LOCAL POLICE
SUBSTATIONS OBTAIN PASSPORTS FROM THEIR LOCAL SECURITY BUREAUS AND
LEAVE THE COUNTRY WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE POLICE STATIONS? The consular official was unable to say for sure whether Chinese
nationals who have been released on bail and ordered to report
regularly to their local police stations could receive passports and
travel abroad, but stated that this probably would not be possible
(14 Aug 2002). This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible
information currently available to the RIC within time constraints.
This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to
the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. References: Consular Officer. Embassy of China, Consular Section. Telephone
interview (Washington, DC: 14 Aug 2002). Executive Director. Laogai Institute. Telephone interview
(Washington, DC: 19 Aug 2002). |
