No passports, no study abroad: China limits public staff’s travel

No passports, no study abroad: China limits public staff’s travel 

Govt Employees Like Elementary Schoolteachers, Doctors Told To Hand In Passports To Strengthen ‘Disciplinary Awareness’ 

Vivian Wang. 04.08.2025

Beijing : When Tina Liu was hired to teach literature in a public elementary school in southern China, her contract included the usual warnings about absenteeism and job performance. Then came another line: Travelling abroad without the school’s permission could get her fired. The rule was reinforced in a staff group chat. “According to regulations from higherups, teachers need to strengthen their disciplinary awareness,” the message said. “We will currently not permit any overseas vacations.” Across China, similar warnings are spreading as authorities tighten control over state employees’ contacts with foreigners. Some kindergarten teachers, doctors and even govt contractors and employees of state-owned enterprises have been ordered to hand in their passports. Some cities make retirees wait two years to reclaim their passports. In many cities, travel overseas by public employees, even for personal reasons, requires approval. Business trips abroad for “ordinary research, exchange and study” have been banned. And in most provinces, those who have studied abroad are now disqualified from certain positions. Officials cite various reasons, including protecting national security, fighting corruption and cutting costs. But the scope of the restrictions has expanded rapidly, sweeping up employees who say they have no access to sensitive information or govt funds. The New York Times spoke to seven public employees, including an elementary school music teacher, a nurse and a literature professor, who confirmed the restrictions. The rules are part of a push by the central authorities to impose greater so-called political discipline and ideological loyalty on govt workers. Two of the people the NYT spoke to said they were also ordered to disclose their personal social media accounts to their employers. Another person said she had to notify her employer if she left the city where she worked. Some local govts have banned civil servants from eating out in groups of more than three, measures that came after several reports of excessive drinking at official banquets. But authorities are especially vigilant about overseas contact. The Chinese govt has long been wary of the threat of espionage and what it sees as hostile foreign forces seeking to sow discontent. The curbs are also creeping into hiring. For new graduates hoping to join China’s civil service, some of the most coveted positions are in the programme known as “xuandiaosheng,” which loosely translates as “selected students.” Each province determines which schools it will recruit from, and many, including Guangdong in the south, used to include overseas universities. This year, Guangdong listed only Chinese universities. Liaoning province went even further. Anyone who had lived overseas for more than six months, and whose “experience and political performance abroad” were hard to probe, was deemed ineligible. Police departments have imposed similar rules. NYT