Internal Passport - People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China (PRC) maintains a system of residency registration in mainland China known as hukou, by which government permission is needed to formally change one's place of residence. This system effectively controlled internal migration before the 1980s, but subsequent market reforms caused it to collapse as a means of migration control. An estimated 150 to 200 million people are part of the "blind flow" and have unofficially migrated, generally from poor, rural areas to wealthy, urban ones. However, unofficial residents are often denied official services such as education and medical care and are sometimes subject to both social and political discrimination.

Hong Kong and Macau residents need Home Return Permits, issued by the PRC government through the Guangdong Public Security Bureau, to enter mainland China. The system was put in place when Hong Kong and Macau were under British and Portuguese rule. It was retained after their sovereignty was transferred to the PRC in 1997 and 1999, respectively, under the One country, two systems policy. The PRC government denies permit applications from people viewed as a threat to national security. Residents of mainland China wishing to visit Hong Kong or Macau require a Two-way Permit, issued by local Public Security Bureaus in the mainland. The requirement for applying for a travel permit has recently been relaxed under the Individual Visit Scheme for residents of Guangdong province, all the province-level municipalities and a number of other major cities.