To standardize China’s entry management order, protect the legitimate entry rights and interests of foreign travelers, and prevent the risks of illegal entry and overstay, China has clarified the penalty standards and appeal channels for entry violations in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Public Security Administration Punishment Law of the People’s Republic of China. It covers two core violation scenarios: overstay/residence and illegal entry, and refines the appeal process to ensure fair and impartial penalties and convenient and efficient appeals. In 2026, China’s entry violation handling policies remain stable, further clarifying the discretion standards for penalties, simplifying the appeal process, and specifying the appeal time limit, providing clear guidance on violation handling for foreign travelers. This guide integrates the latest 2026 policies, takes practical operation as the core, detailedly interprets the penalty standards and common scenarios of the two types of core violations, comprehensively explains the whole-process key points of policy violation appeals, and is accompanied by high-frequency FAQs, with a word count of more than 700 words. It helps foreign travelers fully understand China’s entry violation handling rules, avoid violation risks, and quickly grasp the appeal methods to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests if they accidentally violate the rules.
The core principle of China’s entry violation handling is “legality and compliance, proportionality of punishment to fault, and fairness and impartiality”. The identification and punishment of all violations are strictly based on relevant laws and regulations, comprehensively considering factors such as the severity of the violation, the degree of subjective fault, and whether the violation is actively corrected. At the same time, convenient appeal channels are provided for foreign travelers to protect their right to state and defend themselves. After entering China, foreign travelers must strictly abide by the relevant provisions of China’s entry management, leave the country on time, and stay in a standardized manner. If they accidentally commit a violation, they should actively cooperate with the law enforcement agencies to handle it. If they need to appeal, they can apply in accordance with the specified channels in accordance with the law to avoid aggravating the violation due to lack of understanding of the policies.
The first type of core violation: Penalties for overstay/residence. Overstay refers to the act of a foreign traveler who, after entering China with a valid visa/stay certificate, continues to stay in China after the expiration of the stay/residence period without leaving the country on time; illegal residence refers to the act of a foreign traveler who, after obtaining a Chinese residence certificate, continues to reside in China after the expiration of the residence period without going through the extension procedures on time, or without going through the procedures for changing or canceling the residence certificate in accordance with the provisions. The penalty standards for the two are slightly different, but both are graded and discretionary according to the number of days of overstay, subjective fault, whether the violation is actively corrected, etc. The 2026 policy further clarifies the discretionary rules to avoid penalty deviations.
The specific penalty standards for overstay are as follows: 1. Minor circumstances: Overstay for 1-10 days, without intentional overstay, no illegal activities, and taking the initiative to explain the situation to the local public security entry-exit administration authority and go through the exit procedures in a timely manner, a warning shall be given, or a fine of less than 500 yuan shall be imposed; 2. General circumstances: Overstay for 11-30 days, or intentional overstay but no illegal activities, a fine of 500-2000 yuan shall be imposed, and an order to leave the country within a time limit (1-3 days) shall be issued; 3. Severe circumstances: Overstay for more than 31 days, or engaging in activities unrelated to the purpose of stay during the overstay period (such as illegal employment, illegal residence), a fine of 2000-5000 yuan shall be imposed, an order to leave the country within a time limit shall be issued, and in particularly serious cases, detention for more than 5 days but less than 10 days shall be imposed, together with a fine of 5000 yuan. At the same time, the traveler shall be included in China’s entry blacklist, and entry shall be restricted for 1-3 years; 4. Multiple overstays: Accumulating 2 or more overstays within one year, regardless of the number of days of each overstay, shall be punished as a serious circumstance, and the entry restriction period shall be extended to 3-5 years.
The penalty standards for illegal residence are slightly heavier than those for overstay, specifically: 1. Minor circumstances: Failure to go through the extension procedures within 1-7 days after the expiration of the residence period, taking the initiative to apply for supplementary procedures and no violations, a warning shall be given, together with a fine of less than 1000 yuan; 2. General circumstances: Failure to go through the extension within 8-30 days after the expiration of the residence period, or failure to change the residence information in accordance with the provisions, a fine of 1000-3000 yuan shall be imposed, an order to leave the country within a time limit shall be issued, and the residence certificate shall be cancelled; 3. Severe circumstances: Failure to go through the extension more than 31 days after the expiration of the residence period, or engaging in illegal activities such as illegal employment and illegal operation during the illegal residence period, a fine of 3000-10000 yuan shall be imposed, detention for 10-15 days shall be imposed, an order to expel from the country shall be issued, the traveler shall be included in the entry blacklist, and entry shall be restricted for 5 years; 4. Forging or altering residence certificates leading to illegal residence shall be regarded as a serious violation, and the entry-exit certificates shall be revoked, and entry shall be permanently restricted (in particularly serious cases).
It should be noted that if a foreign traveler overstays/resides illegally due to force majeure (such as sudden serious illness, natural disaster), he/she may apply for a reduction or exemption of punishment to the local public security entry-exit administration authority with relevant certification materials (hospital diagnosis certificate, disaster certificate, etc.). After verification and confirmation, the punishment may be mitigated, reduced or exempted, but he/she must take the initiative to declare within 3 working days after the force majeure is eliminated. Failure to declare within the time limit shall not be eligible for reduction or exemption.
The second type of core violation: Handling of illegal entry. Illegal entry refers to the act of a foreign traveler who enters China without going through the inspection and approval of the border inspection authority by means of holding no valid entry-exit documents, forging or altering entry-exit documents, using others’ entry-exit documents, or sneaking into the country, hiding, etc. It is a key violation cracked down by China’s entry management, with heavy penalties. In 2026, China further increased the investigation and punishment of illegal entry-related acts and clarified the coordinated punishment mechanism.
Common scenarios of illegal entry include: 1. Entering China without holding any entry-exit documents and arbitrarily crossing China’s border line; 2. Entering China with forged or altered passports, visas, port visas and other entry-exit documents; 3. Entering China by using others’ passports, visas and other entry-exit documents; 4. Entering China secretly by means of smuggling, hiding in transportation vehicles (aircraft, ships, vehicles), etc.; 5. Forging extension certificates after the visa expires and continuing to stay in China; 6. Applying for a visa to enter China for false purposes (such as applying for a tourist visa but actually engaging in illegal employment), which is regarded as disguised illegal entry.
The specific penalty standards for illegal entry are as follows: 1. Minor circumstances: First-time illegal entry, no criminal record, and taking the initiative to surrender to the border inspection authority or public security organ, a fine of 5000-10000 yuan shall be imposed, detention for 5-10 days shall be imposed, and an order to leave the country within a time limit shall be issued; 2. General circumstances: Illegal entry for 2 or more times, or staying in China for no more than 30 days after illegal entry without engaging in illegal activities, a fine of 10000-20000 yuan shall be imposed, detention for 10-15 days shall be imposed, an order to expel from the country shall be issued, the traveler shall be included in the entry blacklist, and entry shall be restricted for 3-5 years; 3. Severe circumstances: Engaging in illegal activities such as illegal employment, illegal operation, and endangering national security after illegal entry, or organizing or assisting others in illegal entry, a fine of 20000-50000 yuan shall be imposed, detention for 15 days shall be imposed, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the law (in particularly serious cases), permanent expulsion from the country shall be ordered, and entry shall be permanently restricted; 4. For minors who enter the country illegally, their guardians shall bear corresponding responsibilities, and the detention punishment for minors shall be mitigated or exempted, but the guardian shall be ordered to take back the minor and leave the country within a time limit, and the guardian shall be imposed a corresponding fine.
In addition, units or individuals who assist in illegal entry (such as assisting in hiding, providing false certificates) will also be punished in accordance with the law, with a fine of 10000-30000 yuan. In serious cases, criminal liability shall be pursued, and the relevant units will be suspended from their qualifications for entry-exit related businesses.
Part Three: Policy Violation Appeal Channels. If a foreign traveler disagrees with the violation penalty decision (such as fine, detention, ordered departure within a time limit, expulsion from the country, entry restriction, etc.) made by China’s border inspection authority or public security entry-exit administration authority, and believes that the penalty is based on unclear facts, insufficient evidence, wrong application of law, or excessive punishment, he/she may apply for appeal in accordance with the law to safeguard his/her legitimate rights and interests. In 2026, China further simplified the appeal process, shortened the appeal time limit, clarified the appeal channels, and provided convenient appeal services for foreign travelers.
The appellant is the foreign traveler who has been punished. If the traveler is unable to appeal in person due to detention, physical discomfort, etc., he/she may entrust a legitimate institution in China (such as a law firm, foreign-related service institution) or relatives and friends to appeal on his/her behalf. The entrustment shall provide a written power of attorney and the identity certification materials of the principal and the agent.
The appeal channels are divided into two levels, specifically as follows: 1. First-level appeal (local review): The traveler shall submit an appeal application to the authority that made the penalty decision (border inspection authority or local public security entry-exit administration authority) within 60 days from the date of receiving the penalty decision, explaining the reasons for the appeal and providing relevant evidence materials (such as evidence proving that he/she is not at fault or the penalty is excessive). The accepting authority shall complete the review within 30 days from the date of receiving the appeal application, make a review decision (maintain the penalty, change the penalty or revoke the penalty), and notify the appellant in writing; 2. Second-level appeal (higher-level reconsideration): If the appellant still disagrees with the local review decision, he/she may submit a reconsideration application to the higher-level competent department of the authority that made the penalty decision (such as the higher-level border inspection general station of the border inspection authority, the higher-level public security organ of the public security entry-exit administration authority) within 15 days from the date of receiving the review decision. The higher-level competent department shall complete the reconsideration within 60 days from the date of receiving the reconsideration application and make a final reconsideration decision. The reconsideration decision is a final decision and cannot be appealed again.
The materials required for appeal include: 1. Appeal application (indicating the appellant’s name, nationality, passport number, penalty decision number, reasons for appeal, and contact information); 2. Original and copy of the penalty decision; 3. Relevant evidence materials (such as force majeure certificate, certificate of no violation, identity certificate, etc.); 4. If entrusting others to appeal, a written power of attorney and the agent’s identity certification materials shall be provided. Appeals can be handled in two ways: on-site submission and mail submission. On-site submission shall go to the appeal acceptance window of the corresponding authority, and mail submission shall be sent to the appeal acceptance department of the corresponding authority, with the words “Appeal Application” indicated on the mail.
It should be noted that during the appeal period, the original penalty decision shall not be suspended (unless the accepting authority makes a decision to suspend execution). The appellant shall perform the relevant obligations in accordance with the requirements of the original penalty decision (such as paying fines, leaving the country within a time limit) to avoid aggravating the violation due to failure to perform the obligations. If the appellant submits false evidence or maliciously appeals, it shall be regarded as a violation, an additional fine shall be imposed, and in serious cases, the appellant shall be included in the entry blacklist.
To help foreign travelers quickly solve questions related to violation handling and appeals, the following high-frequency FAQs are sorted out: 1. Can the punishment be reduced or exempted if I take the initiative to declare after overstaying? A: Yes. Those who take the initiative to declare, explain the situation and have no illegal activities can be given a lighter or mitigated punishment, and those who overstay for a short time can be exempted from punishment; 2. Can the punishment be reduced if I surrender after illegal entry? A: Yes. For first-time illegal entry with surrender and no criminal record, the detention and fine punishment can be mitigated, and entry restriction can be exempted or the entry restriction period can be shortened; 3. Do I need to pay fees for appeal? A: No. China’s entry violation appeal is free of charge throughout the process, and no appeal fees are charged; 4. Can appeal materials be submitted in foreign language versions? A: Yes, but a Chinese translation must be provided at the same time (the translation must be stamped with the official seal of a formal translation agency); 5. After being restricted from entering the country, can I apply to lift the restriction? A: Yes. After the expiration of the entry restriction period, you can submit an application to lift the restriction to the authority that made the entry restriction decision. After verification and confirmation of no violation records, the entry restriction can be lifted.
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