China: Procedures in Hebei province for updating a hukou with a change of address or after a change in the head of household, including whether new pages are added or an entirely new booklet is issued (2014-July 2016)

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Regulation on Page-binding Formats for Hukou Booklets Issued in Hebei Province

The Yongnian County Public Security Bureau website provides a copy of the Hebei province's "Standards for the Management and Enforcement of Household Registration of Hebei Provincial Public Security Authority (trial implementation)", which came into effect on 5 February 2010 (Hebei Province 5 Feb. 2010). The Standards state the following regarding the format of various types of household registration booklets issued in Hebei province under chapter IV, Section 2:

[translation]

Article 37

…

The Residents' Household Registration Booklet for a family-type household shall be in a multi-page bound form or an inserted page form, while the Residents' Household Registration Booklet for a group-type household shall be in a loose-leaf form. (ibid.)

For contextual and background information on the hukou booklets, including formats of collective/jiti or non-family/group-type hukous, and physical features for various type of booklets, please refer to Responses to Information Requests CHN103191, CHN102487, CHN102488, and CHN101420. For information on Chinese hukou policy, its local implementation and impact on internal migration, including its recent reforms, local implementation, and anti-fraud features, refer to Responses to Information Requests CHN105053 from 2015 and CHN103882 from 2012.

Further information on whether in Hebei province hukous composed entirely of individual loose pages were issued in 2014 could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2. Procedures and Requirements for Updating Hukou Booklets in Hebei Province

The "Standards for the Management and Enforcement of Household Registration by the Hebei Provincial Public Security Authority (trial implementation)" state the following measures, distributed by Provincial Ministry of Public Security to local authorities in Hebei province:

[translation]

Article 37

…

Where a citizen's entire household is moving out, the household registration authority for the locality from which the household is moving (or into which it is moving) shall take back the Residents' Household Registration Booklet, and the household registration authority for the locality into which the household is moving shall issue a new Residents' Household Registration Booklet.

Where an individual is moving out, the household registration authority for the locality from which the individual is moving (or into which the individual is moving) shall note the fact in the Residents' Household Registration Booklet or take back the individual page applying to said individual, and the household registration authority for the locality into which the individual is moving shall fill out a new page in/for the Residents' Household Registration Booklet. (ibid.)

According to a webpage of the Hebei provincial department of Public Security on the subject of transferring household registration, [translation] the "[a]uthority responsible for handling application" of the "[t]ransfer of Household Registration" is "[l]ocal police station in locality where permanent household registration is held or the county (regional) public security authority for [the] said locality" (Hebei Province 10 Dec. 2009). The same source further describes the procedures to be followed for household registration transfers "within same city" and "outside city" as follows:

[translation]

Household registration transfer within same city:

The party concerned shall go to the police station within the locality to which said party is moving and present pertinent identity documents - the Residents' Household Registration Booklet, Resident's Identity Card, Marriage Certificate and Housing Title Certificate in order to complete procedures.

Transfer outside city:

The party concerned shall go to the police station within the locality of the intended transfer or to the county (regional) public security authority for said locality, taking with them their legal and valid personal identity documents (Resident's Identity Document, Residents' Household Registration Booklet) as well as a Housing Title Certificate and a work transfer certificate, and submit a written application.

After authorization has been granted, a Certificate of Authorization to Transfer In will be issued. The party concerned shall take this Certificate of Authorization to Transfer In as well as his or her Residents' Household Registration Booklet and Resident's Identity Card and go to the police station for the locality from which said party is moving in order to apply for a Household Registration Transfer Certificate.

The party concerned shall take this Household Registration Transfer Certificate within the effective time period to the police station for the locality into which the party is moving and complete procedures for settlement of the new household. (ibid.)

Further information on procedures for updating a hukou after a change in the head of household or address could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3. Fees Required for Household Registration Requests in Hebei Province

The Public Security Bureau website of Hengshui city in Hebei province states that the fees required for various requests related to household registration are as follows:

[translation]

Fee Item: Residents' Household Registration Booklet

Fee Schedule:

No charge for first application.

Charge for reissue will be double the following basic fee schedule:

[Chinese Yuan or CNY] 6 for each handwritten booklet [approximately C$1.18];

[CNY] 8 for each microprinting [approximately C$1.58];

[CNY] 30 for each group household registration booklet [approximately C$5.94].

[CNY] 0.50 production cost for single page of insert-type household registration booklet and group household registration booklet [approximately C$0.10];

[CNY] 5 for cover of group household registration booklet [approximately C$0.99];

[CNY] 3.50 for cover of insert-type household registration booklet [approximately C$0.69]. (Hebei Province 20 June 2014)

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Hebei Province. 20 June 2014. "Fee Schedule for Household Registration Requests." Translated by the Translation Bureau, Public Services and Procurement Canada [Accessed 22 June 2016]

_____. 5 February 2010. Hebei Provincial Public Security Authority. "Standards for the Management and Enforcement of Household Registration by the Hebei Provincial Public Security Authority (Trial Implementation)." Translated by the Translation Bureau, Public Services and Procurement Canada. [Accessed 15 June 2016]

_____. 10 December 2009. Hebei Provincial Public Security Authority. "Transfer of Household Registration." Translated by the Translation Bureau, Public Services and Procurement Canada. [Accessed 20 June 2016]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Associate professor of Economics, State University of New York at Buffalo; Associate professor of social development, East China Normal University; Associate professor of Public Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science; PhD Candidate and lecturer, International Politics at University of Leicester; Professor of International Affairs, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.

Publications: Organizing Through Division and Exclusion: China's Hukou System; China Perspectives; The China Quarterly; IZA Discussion Papers.

Internet sites, including: Asia Society; Asia Times; BBC; Center for China and Globalization; China - State Council, People's Government in provinces of Hebei, Henan, Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Guangdong, and in cities of Baoding, Cangzhou, Chengde, Handan, Hengshui, Hefei, Jiyuan, Langfang, Qinghuangdao, Siping, Shijiazhuang, Tangshan, Xingtai, Zhangjiakou, Departments of Public Security in provinces of Hebei, Hubei, Fujian, Guangdong, Shanxi, Shannxi, and in the perfecture of Wenshan, Public Security Bureau in cities of Baode, Jining, Liaocheng, Siping; Current History; The Diplomat; ecoi.net; The Economist; Factiva; Freedom House; The Guardian; Hebei.com.cn; Human Rights in China; Human Rights Watch; Migration Policy Institute; Peking University Law Database; UN - Refworld; US - Department of Justice, Department of State, Library of Congress; People.com.cn; Reuters; Sixth Tone.