(Adopted at the 13th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress on November 22, 1985 and promulgated by Order No. 32 of the President of the People's Republic of China on November 22, 1985)
Chapter 1 General Provisions
Article 1: This law is formulated to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens entering and leaving the Chinese border, and to promote international exchanges.
Article 2 Chinese citizens do not need to apply for visas when leaving or entering the country with valid passports or other valid documents issued by the competent authorities of the State Council and their authorized agencies.
Article 3: Chinese citizens who exit or enter the country shall pass through open or designated ports and be subject to inspection by border inspection authorities.
Article 4: Chinese citizens shall not be in danger after leaving the country
Acts that harm the security, honor, and interests of the motherland.
Chapter 2 Exit
Article 5: Chinese citizens who wish to leave the country for personal matters may apply to the public security organs of the city or county where their household registration is located for approval, except as provided in Article 8 of this Law. The public security organs shall make a decision to approve or disapprove the application of Chinese citizens to leave the country for personal matters within the prescribed time and notify the applicant.
Article 6: Chinese citizens who leave the country for official purposes shall apply for exit documents from the dispatching department to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or local foreign affairs departments authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Article 7: Seafarers who leave the country for the purpose of carrying out their duties shall have their exit documents processed by the Port Supervision Bureau or a port supervision authorized by the Port Supervision Bureau.
Article 8: Those who fall under any of the following circumstances shall not be approved to leave the country:
（1） Defendants in criminal cases and suspect identified by public security organs, people's procuratorates or people's courts;
（2） The people's court notifies that there are unresolved civil cases that cannot be left the country;
（3） Those who have been sentenced to imprisonment and are currently serving their sentences;
（4） Those who are undergoing reeducation through labor;
（5） The relevant competent authorities of the State Council believe that leaving the country will cause harm to national security or significant losses to national interests.
Article 9: In any of the following circumstances, the border inspection authorities have the right to prevent the exit and handle it in accordance with the law:
（1） Holding invalid exit documents;
（2） Holding someone else's exit documents;
（3） Holding forged or altered exit documents.
Chapter 3 Entry
Article 10: Chinese citizens who have settled abroad and wish to return to their home country for settlement shall handle the procedures with the Chinese diplomatic missions, consular offices, or other overseas offices authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They may also handle the procedures with the public security organs of relevant provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government.
Article 11 Chinese citizens who enter the country for settlement or work shall register their permanent residence in accordance with the household registration management regulations after entry. Those who enter the country for temporary residence shall apply for temporary residence registration in accordance with the household registration management regulations.
Chapter 4 Management Authority
Article 12: Passports used by Chinese citizens who leave the country for official purposes shall be issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or local foreign affairs departments authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Seamen's certificates shall be issued by the Port Supervision Bureau or port supervisors authorized by the Port Supervision Bureau. Passports used by Chinese citizens who leave the country for personal purposes shall be issued by the Ministry of Public Security or local public security organs authorized by the Ministry of Public Security. Chinese citizens applying for passports and documents abroad shall have them issued by Chinese diplomatic missions, consular offices, or other overseas authorized agencies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Article 13: The Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Port Supervision Bureau, and the original issuing authorities each have the right to revoke or declare invalid the passports and certificates issued by them or authorized agencies.
Chapter 5 Punishment
Article 14: For those who violate the provisions of this Law by illegally leaving or entering the country, forging, altering, impersonating, or transferring exit or entry documents, the public security organs may impose a warning or detention for up to ten days; If the circumstances are serious enough to constitute a crime, criminal responsibility shall be pursued in accordance with the law.
Article 15: If a citizen who has been detained and punished by a public security organ is dissatisfied with the punishment, they may file an appeal with the higher-level public security organ within 15 days from the date of receiving the notice, and the higher-level public security organ shall make the final decision. They may also directly file a lawsuit with the local people's court.
Article 16 Any State functionary implementing this Law who, taking advantage of his power, extorts or accepts bribes shall be punished in accordance with the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China and the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Severe Punishment of Criminals Who Seriously Undermine the Economy; If there are other illegal and dereliction of duty behaviors, and the circumstances are serious enough to constitute a crime, criminal responsibility shall be pursued in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China.
Chapter 6 Supplementary Provisions
Article 17: The management measures for the travel of Chinese citizens to and from Hong Kong or Macao shall be separately formulated by the relevant departments of the State Council.
Article 18: Chinese citizens residing in border areas adjacent to China shall temporarily exit or enter the country. If there is an agreement between the two countries, it shall be implemented in accordance with the agreement. If there is no agreement, it shall be implemented in accordance with the regulations of the Chinese government.
The exit and entry of international train and civil aviation international flight attendants, as well as border railway staff, shall be carried out in accordance with agreements and relevant regulations.
Article 19: The Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Transport shall formulate implementation rules in accordance with this Law and submit them to the State Council for approval before implementation.
Article 20: This Law shall come into effect on February 1, 1986.