Rumors about improper corner cutting of immigration documents untrue, official says

An official with the National Immigration Administration on Monday said online rumors that China has stopped issuing passports and that immigration officials are cutting off the corners of all foreign residential permits held by Chinese citizens are groundless.

In fact, the officials only cut corners of invalid Chinese exit and entry documents according to law, the NIA official said.

One rumor said that two people's passports and French residency cards were seized when they tried to take a flight to France from Shanghai Hongqiao Airport.

The truth is that Hongqiao Airport has suspended all international flights to France since March 25, 2020, so the incident is completely fabricated, said Liu Haitao, head of NIA's department of frontier inspection and management.

Based on hearsay, a person surnamed Zhang from Guangzhou, Guangdong province, said online that other people's passports were cut off in corners while entering China via Beijing. Public security organs have held Zhang accountable.

"In accordance with relevant laws, when immigration officials discover that documents held by a person are invalid, they cut the corners off the documents to prevent them from being illegally used," Liu said.

Cutting the corners of invalid documents is a common practice in many countries. Immigration authorities have been issuing and managing entry and exit documents in accordance with the law, earnestly performing the duties of entry and exit and border inspection and effectively safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese and foreign immigrants, he said.