As the Chinese communist regime’s tightened new rules on exit and entry officially take effect on Sept. 15, the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has expanded screening of passports and foreign resident status to family members of employees at some agencies within its system, according to insiders who spoke to The Epoch Times in recent days.
Huang Bin, an insider within the CCP system who used a pseudonym out of fear of reprisal, told The Epoch Times that over the past two months, departments under the CCP’s State Council and related enterprises and public institutions have been internally tracking staff members’ passports. “At the same time, they have required employees to declare whether their family members—such as spouses, parents, and children—hold Chinese passports or overseas residency permits,” he said.
Huang also revealed that the CCP has launched another screening campaign recently targeting government agencies, financial institutions, state-owned enterprises, hospitals, and schools.
“Personnel in these organizations are required to disclose whether they or their family members hold foreign passports, as well as the issuing countries and the number of passports held,” he said.
“This inquiry has not been announced through public channels. The relevant forms and notifications were distributed internally within the respective organizations.”
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Previously, the declaration requirement and centralized custody of travel documents for private overseas trips applied primarily to personnel in specific sensitive positions or officials at the deputy division-director level and above, “but the scope of the current review has been expanded to include ordinary employees and their family members,” he said.
Li, an administrative staff member working at a state-owned oilfield in Tianjin who only provided his surname out of fear of reprisal, told The Epoch Times reporter that the authorities have expanded passport controls to include the family members of officials and civil servants, primarily to address the issue of “naked officials,” namely officials in China who have already sent their wealth and families abroad, and the leakage of internal information.
“Over the past year, there have been serious leaks of internal information concerning matters such as corruption and the real situation of China’s economy. The authorities suspect that some of the information is being carried out by individuals who have already emigrated or are preparing to leave the country,” Li said. “Even after leaving China, these individuals continue to have access to the situation in China through their existing connections within China, raising concerns among the authorities about intelligence leaks.”
According to Li, authorities are compiling dossiers on these officials and individuals.
“The investigation covers details such as their past employers and alma mater, as well as their social connections—including former classmates and colleagues,” he said. “For instance, they record where you previously worked, which school you graduated from, and which classmates of yours are employed in domestic government departments.”
A security guard guides passengers at Beijing International Airport on July 6, 2025. Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images
Sun Haitao, an employee at a large state-owned financial institution who used a pseudonym out of fear of reprisal from the Chinese regime, told The Epoch Times that various sectors—including government agencies, state-owned banks, securities firms, large public hospitals, and universities—have received internal notices requiring all staff to complete a special survey regarding whether they hold foreign passports, dual citizenship, or foreign permanent residency, such as green cards.
Sun said that the screening requires individuals to disclose not only whether they hold a foreign passport but also—if they do—the issuing country, the date of acquisition, the passport number, and the exact number of passports held.
“Even those who have not acquired foreign citizenship but merely hold foreign permanent residency must voluntarily declare their status,” he said.
In addition, immigration consultancy firms are also being required by the Chinese regime to report client information to the relevant authorities, Sun added.
“If it is discovered that a civil servant or an employee of a public institution has processed immigration arrangements without declaring it to their employer, they will face disciplinary action.”
Ye Zilong contributed to this report.
