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State Council Decree No. 841 — the “Regulations on Exit and Entry Administration” — signed by Premier Li Qiang, was formally published on July 31 and will take effect on September 15. The new regulation contains 19 articles and aims to standardize exit-entry administration, protect the lawful rights and interests of people entering and leaving the country, while safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests. As a significant administrative regulation in the exit-entry field, its implementation signals that China will introduce stricter, more refined systems across multiple areas — visa approval, port-of-entry checks, risk notifications and oversight of intermediary agencies — with broad implications for the movement of people between China and the rest of the world.

One of the most closely watched elements of the new regulation is the markedly stiffer penalty for providing false materials or making false statements. Under the rules, if a foreign national submits forged documents, false materials, or false statements when applying for a Chinese visa abroad or applying for entry at a port, immigration authorities or visa-issuing agencies may bar that person from entering China for one to five years, with the exact duration determined by the severity of the case. The provision is seen as a direct response to prior regulatory gaps, as cases had previously emerged of intermediaries or individuals using forged invitation letters or employment certificates to obtain visas fraudulently. By setting a clear, quantifiable penalty range, the new rule raises the cost of such violations and gives enforcement agencies clearer operational grounds.

The new rules also significantly strengthen oversight of exit-entry intermediary service agencies. Under the provisions, agencies providing exit-entry intermediary services must register with immigration authorities; operating without registration carries fines of 5,000 to 10,000 yuan, and in serious cases, a forced suspension of business. Agencies that publish false information, engage in exaggerated advertising or misleading promotion to solicit clients, or leak clients' personal information face harsher penalties, with fines of up to one to five times any illegal gains. Industry sources say that in recent years some unqualified exit-entry intermediaries have exaggerated success rates or fabricated “special internal channels” to attract clients, with some going so far as to leak or sell clients' personal data — causing financial losses and data-security risks for applicants. The new rule brings such agencies under a stricter registration and oversight framework, which should help clean up the exit-entry intermediary services market.

On the exit-management side, the new rules also expand the circumstances under which Chinese citizens can face exit restrictions, including cases tied to export controls and violations involving technology areas relevant to national security — widely interpreted as tightening controls over the outbound movement of personnel connected to critical technologies and sensitive industries such as rare earths and batteries, in line with China's broader tightening in export-control and anti-sanctions enforcement in recent years. At the same time, the new regulation adds provisions for a travel-risk notification mechanism, requiring foreign affairs, culture and tourism authorities to promptly and publicly issue safety alerts and risk warnings for overseas destinations, while immigration authorities are tasked with reminding Chinese citizens planning trips to high-risk countries or regions — helping the public better assess relevant risks before departure.

The new regulation also explicitly requires that stated reasons for exit-entry applications be true and lawful, and grants immigration and visa authorities greater review powers, including requiring applicants to provide necessary supporting documents, electronic data or other information, verifying the authenticity of invitation letters and application materials, and refusing to issue exit-entry documents where an applicant has submitted false materials or made false statements. Some legal experts say the shared aim of these provisions is to narrow the operating space for false declarations, gray-market intermediaries and unlawful exit-entry behavior by strengthening review before, during and after approval, while using softer measures such as risk notifications to balance travel safety with citizens' lawful rights and interests. Overall, the new regulation is seen as one of China's most systematic and comprehensive updates to immigration and exit-entry administration in recent years, and how it is actually enforced after taking effect on September 15 will be an important window for gauging the direction of China's exit-entry policy going forward.

The new regulation is also closely tied to the broader backdrop of expanding cross-border movement in recent years and the risks that have grown alongside it. As mutual visa-exemption arrangements between China and multiple countries, including Thailand, advance, and as channels for cross-border e-commerce, study and work diversify, exit-entry administration faces an increasingly complex environment — on one hand, steadily growing demand for legitimate, routine travel, and on the other, recurring problems such as false document submissions, illegal intermediaries and the cross-border movement of telecom-scam operations. For foreign nationals planning to travel to or transit through China, once the new regulation takes effect, honestly and accurately providing application materials and stating a genuine purpose of travel will become a key precondition for smoothly obtaining a visa and clearing immigration — while attempts to “cut corners” through informal channels or false materials will carry clearly higher legal risk and real cost going forward.

For Thailand and other countries with mutual visa exemptions or close travel ties with China, the implementation of these new rules is also worth watching. Thailand-China travel has grown steadily in recent years, with the two countries granting each other mutual visa exemption since March 2024, and the number of Thai citizens traveling to China for business, tourism or family visits has risen steadily. At the same time, cross-border crime such as telecom-scam networks has at times exploited the ease of travel between the two countries to spread, becoming a priority target for joint enforcement action by Thai and Chinese authorities in recent years. By toughening penalties for false declarations and illegal intermediaries, and expanding the risk-notification mechanism, the new rules should, in practice, give legitimate, lawful Thailand-China travel clearer regulatory guidance and stronger safety safeguards — helping both sides preserve the convenience of cross-border travel while jointly narrowing the space in which cross-border criminal activity can operate. Thai citizens and others planning trips to China in the near term are advised to check visa and entry-declaration requirements through official channels in advance and prepare accurate, truthful documentation, to avoid unnecessary entry obstacles once the new rules take effect on September 15. Law firms and the HR departments of multinational companies have also begun organizing internal briefings on the new regulation, advising foreign employees who travel to and from China regularly, and their employers, to familiarize themselves in advance with the declaration requirements and review standards under the new rules and prepare for compliance.