Administrative Measures for Chinese Citizens Travelling to or from Taiwan Region (Revised in 2015)

Order of State Council No.661

June 14, 2015

(Promulgated by the Order of the State Council of the People's Republic of China No.93 on December 17, 1991 and revised in accordance with the Decision of the State Council on Revising the Administrative Measures for Chinese Citizens Travelling to or from Taiwan Region on June 14, 2015)

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 The Administrative Measures for Chinese Citizens Travelling to or from Taiwan Region (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures") are formulated with a view to safeguarding the contact of the persons on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, facilitating the exchanges among various parties, and maintaining the public order.

Article 2 The Measures apply to Chinese citizens residing in the Mainland (hereinafter referred to as the "Mainland residents") and travelling to or from Taiwan Region (hereinafter referred to as "Taiwan") and Chinese citizens residing in Taiwan (hereinafter referred to as the "Taiwan residents") and entering or leaving the Mainland.
For those matters that are not specified in the Measures, but stipulated in other relevant laws or regulations, the latter shall apply.

Article 3 For going to Taiwan, Mainland residents shall pass through open ports or designated ports of exit and entry on the strength of the travel certificates signed and issued by the exit-entry administrative departments of the public security organs.

Article 4 For entering the Mainland, Taiwan residents shall pass through open ports or designated ports of entry and exit on the strength of the travel certificates signed and issued by the competent authorities of the State.

Article 5 Chinese citizens travelling between the Mainland and Taiwan may not commit any act harmful to the security, honor or interests of the State.

Chapter II Mainland Residents Travelling to Taiwan

Article 6 A Mainland resident who desires to go to Taiwan for the purposes of settling down there, visiting relatives and friends, travelling, accepting and disposing of property, undertaking matrimonial or funeral matters or participating in economic, scientific and technological, cultural, educational, physical and academic activities shall file an application to the public security bureau of the city or county where the applicant's registered permanent residence is located.

Article 7 A Mainland resident who applies for permission to go to Taiwan shall go through the following procedures:
1. present the identity certificate or certificate of registered permanent residence for examination;
2. fill in an application form for travelling to Taiwan;
3. submit the written opinions issued by the applicant's work unit or school concerning the travel to Taiwan, if the applicant is on job or in school; or the written opinions issued by the police station at the place where the applicant's registered permanent residence is located concerning the travel to Taiwan, if the applicant is not on job or in school; and
4. submit the certificates relevant to the reasons for filing the application.

Article 8 The certificates as mentioned in Item 4 of Article 7 of the Measures refer to:
1. where a person wishes to settle down, the person shall present the certificate testifying that he is actually able to settle down in Taiwan;
2. where a person wishes to visit relatives and friends, the person shall present the certificate testifying the kinship or relationship between the applicant and his relatives or friends in Taiwan;
3. where a person wishes to travel to Taiwan, the person shall present the certificate testifying the necessary travelling expenses;
4. where a person wishes to accept and dispose of property in Taiwan, the person shall present the notarized certificate relevant to the applicant's lawful right of the property;
5. where a person wishes to undertake matrimonial matters, the person shall present the notarized certificate testifying the applicant's matrimonial status;
6. where a person wishes to undertake funeral matters of his relative or friend, the person shall present relevant letters or notifications;
7. where a person wishes to participate in economic, scientific and technological, cultural, educational, physical and academic activities, the person shall present the certificate relevant to the invitation or consent from the corresponding institutions, organizations, or individuals in Taiwan; and
8. other certificates that, in the opinions of the competent authorities, need to be presented.

Article 9 The public security organ shall, within 30 days after receiving a Mainland resident's application for going to Taiwan, or 60 days for one residing in a remote and not easily accessible place, decide to approve or disapprove the application and notify the applicant of the decision. In the case of an urgent application, the public security organ shall make a decision as the occasion demands.

Article 10 With respect to a Mainland resident whose application for going to Taiwan has been approved, the public security organ shall issue the applicant a travel certificate or affix an endorsement in his travel certificate.

Article 11 A Mainland resident whose application for going to Taiwan has been approved shall leave for Taiwan within the time limit specified in his travel certificate and return on schedule, unless he goes there for permanent residence.
If a Mainland resident already arriving in Taiwan cannot return on schedule due to disease or other special circumstances on the expiry of the travel certificate, he may file an application for the renewal of his travel certificate to the original-issuing public security organ or the relevant organ appointed or authorized by the Bureau of Exit and Entry Administration of the Ministry of Public Security. With special reasons, he may file an application to the public security organ at an entry port for going through the entry procedures.

Article 12 The application filed for permission to go to Taiwan by a Mainland resident who comes under any of the following circumstances shall not be approved:
1. being a defendant in a criminal case or a criminal suspect;
2. being a person who is notified by a people's court of inability to leave the Mainland owning to involvement in an unresolved lawsuit;
3. being a convicted person still serving a sentence;
4. being a person undergoing reeducation through labor;
5. being a person whose exit will, in the opinion of the competent department of the State Council, be harmful to the security of the State or cause a great loss to the interests of the State; and
6. being a person who has committed such fraudulent act as fabricating situations or presenting forged certificates.

Chapter III Taiwan Residents Entering the Mainland

Article 13 Taiwan residents who wish to enter the Mainland shall apply to one of the following relevant authorities for handling travel certificates:
1. those who wish to enter the Mainland directly from Taiwan shall file an application to the relevant authorities appointed or authorized by the Bureau of Exit and Entry Administration of the Ministry of Public Security; with special reasons, they may apply to the public security organ at any designated port;
2. those who wish to enter the Mainland after their arrival to the regions of Hong Kong or Macao shall file an application to the relevant authorities in the regions of Hong Kong or Macao appointed or authorized by the Bureau of Exit and Entry Administration of the Ministry of Public Security; and
3. those who wish to enter the Mainland from foreign countries shall apply to the People's Republic of China's diplomatic missions or consular offices or other agencies located abroad that are authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in accordance with the Passport Law of the People's Republic of China.

Article 14 Taiwan residents applying for permission to enter the Mainland shall go through the following procedures:
1. present valid identity certificates of residence status in Taiwan and exit-entry permits for examination;
2. fill in the application forms; and
3. submit required photos.
The competent authorities of the State may, according to specific circumstances, require Taiwan residents to submit other application materials.

Article 15 For a Taiwan resident whose application for permission to enter the Mainland has been approved, the competent authorities of the State shall issue him/her a travel certificate.

Article 16 Taiwan residents who enter the Mainland shall, in accordance with the provisions on the administration of residence registration, go through the procedures for the registration of temporary residence; those who are accommodated in such enterprises and institutions as guest houses, hotels, inns, hostels and schools, public institutions or organs, organizations and other institutions shall fill in the registration forms for temporary residence; those who stay in the homes of their relatives or friends shall, within 24 hours (72 hours in rural areas), go through the registration procedures for temporary residence by themselves, or by their relatives or friends, with the local police station or office for residence registration.

Article 17 A Taiwan resident who desires to settle down in the Mainland shall file an application, before entering the Mainland, to the relevant organs appointed or authorized by the Bureau of Exit and Entry Administration of the Ministry of Public Security, or entrust his relatives or friends in the Mainland to file an application on his behalf to the public security bureau of the city or county where the applicant intends to settle down. After the approval is obtained, the public security organ shall issue to the applicant the certificate for permanent residence.

Article 18 Taiwan residents shall, after their arrival to the Mainland, leave the Mainland on schedule within the term of validity specified in their travel certificates. Those whose certificates are about to expire and who are in need of extending their stay in the Mainland shall apply to the public security bureau at the corresponding city or county level for renewal.

Article 19 The application filed for permission to enter the Mainland by a Taiwan resident shall not be approved if such resident:
1. is deemed to have committed a criminal act;
2. is considered prone, after entering the Mainland, to conduct the activities that may jeopardize the security and interests of the State;
3. does not meet application conditions or has committed such fraudulent acts as fabricating situations or presenting forged certificates;
4. suffers from mental disease or serious infectious disease; or
5. is under any other circumstances under which the application for permission to enter the Mainland is disapproved as stipulated in the laws and administrative regulations.
However, the application for entry filed by those who enter the Mainland for treating their diseases or for other special reasons may be approved.

Chapter IV Inspection over Exit and Entry

Article 20 Mainland residents who travel to and from Taiwan and Taiwan residents who enter or leave the Mainland shall show their certificates to the frontier inspection stations at open ports or designated ports of exit and entry, fill in and present the exit-entry registration cards and accept the inspection thereof.

Article 21 With respect to those who come under any of the following circumstances, the frontier inspection stations have the power to forbid their exit or entry:
1. where they do not hold travel certificates;
2. where they hold and use such invalid travel certificates as forged or altered;
3. where they refuse to present travel certificates for inspection; and
4. where they are denied exit or entry under the provisions of Article 12 and Article 19 of the Measures.

Chapter V Administration on Certificates

Article 22 The travel certificates held by Mainland residents for travelling to or from Taiwan refer to the Taiwan travel permits for Mainland residents and other valid travel certificates.

Article 23 The travel certificates held by Taiwan residents for entering or leaving the Mainland refer to the Mainland travel permits for Taiwan residents and other valid travel certificates.

Article 24 The Taiwan travel permits for Mainland residents shall remain valid for ten years; and the Mainland travel permits for Taiwan residents are divided into two categories: one is valid for five years and the other is valid for one trip within three months.

Article 25 The Taiwan travel permits for Mainland residents shall be endorsed once for each trip. The endorsement is valid for one trip or for multiple trips.

Article 26 In the event of the loss of the travel certificates by Mainland residents, they must report the loss to the original-issuing public security organ; the organ may, after proving the case to be true through investigation, re-issue new corresponding travel certificates upon endorsement.

Article 27 In the event of the loss of the travel certificates by Taiwan residents in the Mainland, they must report the loss to the local public security organ of the city or county where they stay. After the public security organ has, through investigation, proved the case to be true, they are permitted to apply for receiving new corresponding travel certificates or the public security organ shall issue an exit pass which is valid for one trip only.

Article 28 The travel certificates held by Mainland residents for going to Taiwan or held by Taiwan residents for entering the Mainland shall be revoked or declared null and void, if their holders come under any of the circumstances stipulated in Article 12 and Article 19 of the Measures.

Article 29 The organ that examines, approves, signs and issues travel certificates shall have the power to revoke travel certificates issued by it or declare them null and void. The Ministry of Public Security may, whenever necessary, change the endorsement, revoke travel certificates or declare them null and void.

Chapter VI Penalties

Article 30 Any person who has held and used such an invalid travel certificate as forged or altered or used another person's travel certificate for exit and entry may be subject solely or concurrently to a fine of not less than CNY100 but not more than CNY500, in addition to the penalties stipulated in Article 23 of the Implementing Rules of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Control of the Exit and Entry of Citizens.

Article 31 Any person who has forged, altered, transferred or sold travel certificates at a profit may be subject solely or concurrently to a fine of not less than CNY500 but not more than CNY3,000, in addition to the penalties stipulated in Article 24 of the Implementing Rules of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Control of the Exit and Entry of Citizens.

Article 32 Any person who has fabricated situations, presented a forged certificate or resorted to bribery or other methods to obtain a travel certificate may be subject solely or concurrently to a fine of not less than CNY100 but not more than CNY500, in addition to the penalties stipulated in Article 25 of the Implementing Rules of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Control of the Exit and Entry of Citizens.
For those who fall into the foregoing circumstances, their applications for exit and entry shall not be accepted and handled within six months upon the completion of the enforcement of their punishments.

Article 33 In the event that authorities, organizations, enterprises or public institutions are discovered to have fabricated situations, or provided forged certificates in order to help applicants obtain travel certificates, the exercise of their certificates-issuing power shall be suspended; if the circumstances are serious, their certificates-issuing qualifications shall be cancelled. Those persons directly responsible may be subject solely or concurrently to a fine of not less than CNY500 but not more than CNY1,000, in addition to the penalties stipulated in Article 25 of the Implementing Rules of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Control of the Exit and Entry of Citizens.

Article 34 Those who, in violation of the provisions in Article 16 of the Measures, fail to handle the temporary residence registration shall be given a warning or be subject to a fine of not less than CNY100 but not more than CNY500.

Article 35 Those who stay on illegally beyond the specified period in violation of the provisions in Article 18 of the Measures shall be given a warning or may be subject solely or concurrently to a fine of CNY100 for each day beyond the time limit.

Article 36 If any person who is punished does not accept the penalties imposed by the public security organ, he may, within 15 days as of the date on which the notice of penalties is received, appeal to the public security organ at the next higher level for a reconsideration and the public security organ at the next higher level shall make a final decision; he may also bring a suit directly in a people's court.

Article 37 For those Taiwan residents who violate the provisions in the Measures or commit other offences or criminal acts after entering the Mainland, besides penalties imposed according to the provisions of the Measures and other relevant laws or regulations, the public security organ may curtail their period of stay or order them to leave within a specified period or deport them from the Mainland.
Those whose applications for permission to enter the Mainland are disapproved due to any of circumstances stipulated in Article 19 of the Measures shall be deported immediately.

Article 38 Where a state functionary implementing the Measures takes advantage of his position to extort or accept bribes, or commits any other illegal act or misconduct, if the circumstance is minor, an administrative sanction shall be imposed by the competent department; if the case is so serious as to constitute a crime, the criminal responsibility shall be investigated in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China.

Article 39 The property obtained by any person in violation of the Measures shall be recovered, or reimbursed or compensated as ordered. The personal effects used for committing the crime shall be confiscated.
The fines and confiscated property shall be turned over to the State Treasury.

Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions

Article 40 The Ministry of Public Security shall be responsible for the interpretation of the Measures.

Article 41 The Measures shall take effect as of May 1, 1992.