Overview
- China's Exit and Entry Administration regulations took effect on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, and formally authorize exit bans, data inspections and new grounds for denying foreign entry.
- The measures allow authorities to bar citizens for six months to three years if their actions abroad harm national security or for technology export and import breaches that threaten industrial or technological security.
- Immigration officials can require submission of documents and electronic device data when verifying travelers, and in some cases do not have to notify people that an exit ban has been imposed or explain the legal basis.
- Taiwan's government has warned specific groups—civil servants, certain religious visitors, tech and semiconductor workers and business executives—to take precautions while traveling to the mainland and is preparing guidance for at-risk citizens.
- Analysts and businesses say the rules codify earlier ad hoc practices and raise risks to cross-border talent and capital flows, to immigration service firms, and to diplomatic ties as enforcement discretion and opacity create uncertainty about how often and how transparently the measures will be used.