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anonymous
Q: Is it THAT hard for a Chinese citizen to get a passport?
Hi,
I plan to get married to my Chinese fiance next year, then take some vacations back to my country for the first time (we've been together 2 years and a half and never had the occasion to do that). The thing is, he doesn't have a passport and comes from the countryside, a very remote place. He asked the police station about getting a passport, and they told him he needed a letter of invitation from my country (WTF???) and that it won't be easy for him to get his passport. In addition to that, they were quite rude and lazy.
So, for those who are married to Chinese citizens, or even the Chinese who are reading this, how difficult is it to get a passport? How long does it take? May it be refused?
Thank you for your answers!
10 years 23 weeks ago in Visa & Legalities - China
My Father in-law just did his (3 weeks ago) and he is from a small rural City. it cost 200 yuan and Family book , He did it at a photo shop and the staff filled in the form for him to sign , So I do not know what the problem is ?
GuilinRaf:
If the person belongs to some particular minority group, especially if living in "certain areas" it can be downright impossible.
Hulk:
GuilinRaf is right.
However, bring a foreigner with you, and they won't have too much trouble getting their passport, especially if marriage has already taken place.
philbravery:
Being part of a minority group is plausible however I doubt if being with a foreigner has anything to do with it. as I said in my original answer they went to a photo shop with the family book to do everything and never went near a police station or had any letter of invitation but as we all know This is China
Victoria1987:
XD,it is so easy for me to get passport as well,I can only go out of china with my company business trip.How can I go out of China myself without a lot of money to show to the government?If I have to show,how much money do they want to see?
My wife went back to her hometown with her hukou filled out a form paid 200 yuan took about 10 minutes then received her passport via courier less than a week later.
It was simple for my wife, hukou at the hometown, a form, and a few RMB. A couple of days latter, passeport was ready. The letter of invitation, it's to get a visa, not a passeport. As for civil servant being lazy and rude, that sadly seems common, according to my wife, especially in rural areas. Your fiance need to patiently insist.
The part about needing an invitation to get a passport, I am pretty sure is bull. What if you are planning to travel but haven't decided yet (that would of course be very non-Chinese to try an prepare in advance)
But going to the place the hukou is registered is most likely required.
i think it is,one have to go through many precedures-fomalities,it should be much easier for chinese born in Hongkong or Taiwan
A friend of mine got his a couple of weeks ago. He couldn't stop telling me how easy it was. He told me about 10 times. Not sure what he did, but no, it shouldn't be THAT hard.
I had two Chinese friends get a passport recently. They told me it wasn't hard. Available for pick up in 5 days in the same city.
Seems easier than for British citizens to get one. I had to travel to London or Manchester to get mine, not possible to get it in my city..It is sometimes possible to renew a passport via post in the Uk, that's if you trust royal mail!
Getting a passport is easy, getting a visa to where you really want to go is almost impossible.
If they are from a "controlled area" eg the Tibetan regions in Sichuan it is indeed difficult. Just write an invitation letter with your passport number and a copy of your passport and it should work. My wife and I had the same problem.
Bring a foreigner with you (that means YOU), especially if he's an ethnic minority. Bring HIS hukou, and YOUR passport. Go there with him, and they won't give you any trouble.
They tried to give my wife some shit because she's an ethnic minority, but they saw me and decided to issue the passport. We weren't even married at the time. You'll need to go and apply in the nearest big city, I believe. For example, my wife came from the deep rural countryside, but we were able to get her passport in the city which administers that rural area.
But, as everyone else says, it wouldn't hurt to have a letter of invitation written by you. It probably wouldn't be needed if you went with him. If you were all about controlling people, people who are known to make things up constantly, would you really believe someone who showed up in a rural area and said, "I'm going to marry this foreign lady, so please give me a passport!"?
When my wife applied for her's a 2 years ago it was super easy, just take the application/pictures/money/ID and fill out the form, they will mail it to you about 1 week later or you can pick it up. She is also from a remote area.
If they need a letter, just get your family to write one stating that they have been invited to go and for how long and where they will be staying. But usually there is no need.
I sent a couple of letters of invitation to friends of mine here in Xinjiang when I was home a few months ago.
Neither letter arrived and someone told me that the police, on seeing English writing on the envelopes, would simply have thrown them in the bin, as is their go.
Getting a passport is quick and easy. My gf is also from a rural area and had to return to hometown to process the paperwork. It was so fast that the passport arrived at our home before she returned from her hometown the next week. Now getting a visa to some countries is a different matter.
That depends on which province in China. It's not a big problem to get passport for major cities and well known places. Some countryside police officers don't even know what the passport is. The law about getting passport is ok but the authoritative officers in countryside are bloody fools even ignorant about their duty.
