Interim Measures for The Administration of Chinese Citizens Going Abroad for Tourism at Their Own Expenses

(Approved by the State Council on March 17, 1997, and issued by the National Tourism Administration and the Ministry of Public Security on July 1, 1997)

Article 1 These Measures are formulated in accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of the Exit and Entry of Citizens and its implementing rules, and the Regulations on the Administration of Travel Agencies and its implementing rules, with a view to strengthening the administration of Chinese citizens' self funded outbound tourism, regulating outbound tourism activities, and safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of tourists.

Article 2 Chinese citizens traveling abroad at their own expense mainly take the form of teams. A team refers to a group of three or more overseas tourists organized by a travel agency with the right to operate (hereinafter referred to as a team). The destination countries and regions for overseas tourism shall be proposed by the National Tourism Administration in conjunction with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security and submitted to the State Council for approval.

Article 3 Chinese citizens traveling abroad at their own expense must develop in an organized, planned and controlled way. The National Tourism Administration shall, in accordance with the Regulations on the Administration of Travel Agencies and the performance of travel agencies in inbound tourism, examine and approve travel agencies (hereinafter referred to as "tour agencies") that franchise Chinese citizens to travel abroad at their own expense, submit a case to the Ministry of Public Security and publish it to the public. No unit or individual without approval may engage in this business.

Article 4 The National Tourism Administration shall, in accordance with the principle of total amount control, check and ratify the number of outbound tourists organized by the group travel agency in a certain proportion of the number of inbound tourists, and uniformly print, number and issue the Verification Certificate of Chinese Citizens Going Abroad at Their Own Expenses (hereinafter referred to as the Verification Certificate). The Audit Certificate shall be made in triplicate for each person.

Article 5 The travel agency shall organize a group according to the number of outbound travel quotas approved by the National Tourism Administration, go through the procedures of registration and fees for the participants, and fill in the Examination Certificate. The contents of the Audit Certificate include the basic information of the participants, the team name, the tour route, the charging standard and the actual amount paid.

Article 6 The Audit Certificate shall be stamped with the audit seal after being verified as qualified by the National Tourism Administration or the provincial tourism administrative department where it is located. One copy shall be kept by the tourism administration department in charge of the examination, one copy shall be submitted by the participants to the public security organ for examination, and the other copy shall be kept by the travel agency itself. The public security organ shall not go through the formalities for traveling abroad without a qualified Audit Certificate.

Article 7 After registering with the travel agency and paying the full amount of fees, the participants must, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of the Exit and Entry of Citizens and its implementing rules, present their own identity cards, residence booklet or other household registration certificates to the public security organ in the place where their residence is registered, submit their opinions on the exit of the participants from their work units, At the same time, the Audit Certificate issued by the tourism administration department and the invoice issued by the travel agency for the full amount of travel expenses shall be submitted for inspection.

Article 8 The public security organ shall check the Examination Certificate and expense invoice submitted by the participants, confirm the legal qualifications of the travel agency and the participants, go through the formalities for traveling abroad in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations, make a decision of approval or disapproval within the legal time limit, and notify the participants. If a participant is approved to leave the country, the exit and entry administration department of the public security organ shall issue a passport with an exit registration card attached.

Article 9 The National Tourism Administration shall uniformly print the List of Chinese Citizens Going Abroad Tourism Teams at Their Own Expenses (hereinafter referred to as the List), and issue the numbered list to the travel agencies. The travel agency shall fill in the form truthfully and affix the verification seal after being verified as qualified by the National Tourism Administration or the provincial tourism administrative department. The List is in triplicate. When leaving the country, the first and second copies shall be submitted to the border inspection station for verification, and those who do not have the List or the actual exit personnel do not conform to the registration status of the List shall not be released. The border inspection station shall keep the first copy after indicating the actual number of people on the List and affixing the verification seal; The second copy is temporarily kept by the team leader and submitted to the border inspection station for verification and storage when the team enters the country. The third copy shall be submitted by the travel agency to the tourism administration department in charge of review for filing after the team returns home.

Article 10 The tour activities of the team must be carried out under the leadership of the leader. The team must enter and leave China through the national open ports. If the public security frontier defense organ has special regulations, it shall follow the regulations of the public security frontier defense organ. The team must enter and exit the country as a whole. If it is really necessary to divide the team abroad, the delegation agency should report to the relevant provincial public security border and organ for approval in advance. For those who have not been approved to travel abroad, the border inspection station shall punish the travel agency and relevant responsible personnel according to the relevant provisions of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Frontier Inspection at Exit and Entry at the time of entry.

Article 11 The travel agency shall have the responsibility to ask the overseas reception agency to arrange tourism activities according to the team activity plan, and shall not arrange to participate in pornographic, gambling, drug and dangerous activities. When the team encounters special difficulties and security problems abroad, the leader must report to our embassies and consulates abroad and overseas tourism offices in a timely manner, and the travel agency must report to the domestic tourism administration department and the public security organ in a timely manner.

Article 12 Participants are strictly prohibited from staying abroad. For those who stay and do not return, the travel agency shall report to the public security organ and the tourism administration department in a timely manner on matters such as inquiry and repatriation. The travel agency shall provide assistance and be responsible for paying expenses in advance, and then claim compensation from the repatriated.

Article 13 Luggage and articles carried by participants must comply with the relevant provisions of the State. The travel agency is responsible for assisting relevant departments in the management of team baggage inspection and release.

Article 14 Whoever, in the name of traveling abroad at his own expense, practises fraud, fraudulently obtains exit certificates, illegally crosses the national border (frontier), or uses them to organize or transport others to illegally cross the national border (frontier), shall, in accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of the Exit and Entry of Citizens and the detailed rules for its implementation, and the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Severely Punishing Organizing and Transporting Others to illegally cross the national border (frontier) The relevant provisions of the Supplementary Provisions on Frontier Crimes.

Article 15 These Measures shall be interpreted by the National Tourism Administration and the Ministry of Public Security.

Article 16 These Measures shall come into force as of the date of promulgation.