Coronavirus: China pauses passport renewals to try to keep Delta variant out

Immigration administration says officers are asked to be flexible and grant applications for those who need to study or work abroad

Foreign business advocate warns China’s reputation may be harmed if overseas engineers and specialists continue to be blocked from entering

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A policy restricting the issuing and renewing of Chinese passports is part of a government plan to minimise the spread of the Delta variant within China’s borders. There is no indication when the policy will be relaxed. Photo: Shutterstock Images

Published: 7:31pm, 30 Jul 2021Updated: 3:28pm, 1 Aug 2021

Corrected [3:27pm, 1 Aug, 2021]

[3:27pm, 1 Aug, 2021]
An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that the 335,000 passports issued for those who study and work overseas and travel for business was a 2 per cent increase compared to the same time in 2019.

China has stopped issuing and renewing passports for non-urgent purposes to try to minimise travel amid the rapid spread of coronavirus variants.

After many complaints from passport applicants, Chen Jie, spokesman for the National Immigration Administration under the Ministry of Public Security, confirmed on Friday that the country had been pushing back passport applications this year, according to mainland media reports.

Without giving a time frame for when the passport policy would be relaxed, Chen said it was a necessary response to the State Council’s coordinated pandemic control mechanism to minimise the risk of outbreaks spread via entry and exit points, particularly when considering the difficulty of preventing the emergence of Covid-19 variants.

However, exceptions were granted to those who needed to work and study abroad or travel for business, Chen said.

He said this measure to deter non-urgent travel played an important role in containing the pandemic.

“If [travel] isn’t for urgent purposes, we urge the applicants to cancel or delay their plans to leave China. We also ask our officers to be flexible and grant applications for those who need to travel abroad to study, for work and for business. After confirming their case, we process applications for their travel documents in a timely manner,” Chen said.

He added that faster service would be offered to those who worked on international coronavirus control efforts and company employees seeking to recover productivity hit by the pandemic.

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