When a Chinese visa or permit becomes void or is cancelled

2026-10-11

Lists, item by item and with article numbers, when a visa, stay permit or residence permit held in mainland China is declared null and void, or cancelled or confiscated, before its date.

Two articles of the Regulations answer this question. Regulations, Article 34 lists four circumstances in which the issuing authority declares a visa, stay permit or residence permit null and void. Regulations, Article 35 lists three circumstances in which a public security organ cancels or confiscates it. Article 67 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law adds rules on damaged, lost or stolen documents and on documents that are invalid.

Declared null and void: Regulations, Article 34

Regulations, Article 34 reads: "In one of the following circumstances, the visa, stay permit or residence permit held by a foreigner shall be declared null and void by the issuing authority:"

(1) His or her visa, stay permit or residence permit is lost, damaged, destroyed, stolen or robbed;

(2) The time limit for his or her exit, repatriation or deportation from China has been decided, and his or her visa, stay permit or residence permit has not been confiscated or canceled;

(3) The original purpose of residence has been changed, but he or she fails to report to the exit and entry administration authority of the public security organ within the prescribed time limit and fails to do so even after the said organ has given a public notice thereon; or

(4) Circumstances in which a visa or residence permit shall not be issued as prescribed by the provisions of Article 21 or Article 31 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law.

The same article says that when the issuing authority declares a document null and void, "it may do so on the spot or through a public notice."

Cancelled or confiscated: Regulations, Article 35

Regulations, Article 35 reads: "In one of the following circumstances, the visa, stay permit or residence permit held by a foreigner shall be canceled or confiscated by a public security organ:"

(1) The issuing authority declares it null and void, or it is being used fraudulently by someone else;

(2) It is forged, altered, or obtained by fraud or other illegal means; or

(3) The holder has been decided on a time for exit, repatriation or deportation from China.

The article adds that "the authority that makes a decision on cancellation or confiscation of a visa, stay permit or residence permit shall, in a timely manner, notify the issuing authority."

Article 34(2) and Article 35(3) each refer to a decided time for exit, repatriation or deportation, but they name different actions: Article 34(2) concerns a document that has not been confiscated or canceled, and Article 35(3) is one of the circumstances for cancellation or confiscation.

Exit and Entry Administration Law, Article 67

Article 67 has three paragraphs. The first reads: "In such cases that the exit/entry documents such as visas or foreigners' stay or residence permits are damaged, lost or stolen, or that after the issuance of such documents, the holders are found not eligible for being issued such documents, the issuing authorities shall declare the aforesaid documents void."

The second reads: "Exit/entry documents which are forged, altered, obtained by fraudulent means or are declared void by issuing authorities shall be invalid."

The third reads: "Public security organs may cancel or confiscate the exit/entry documents prescribed in the preceding paragraph or used fraudulently by persons other than the specified holders."

A suggestion for planning

This is a suggestion, not a rule: keep the original document and its details in a safe place, because loss, damage or theft is item (1) of Regulations, Article 34.

Sources

Checked 11 October 2026

This page is an unofficial summary. It is not published by or affiliated with the National Immigration Administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, any embassy, consulate or visa application service centre, and it is not legal or immigration advice. If the official text and the current notice of the office handling your case differ, the official text and that notice prevail.