The Ministry of Education recently issued a notice that it will be adjusting the qualifications for international applicants to study at Chinese universities, targeting students who have at least one parent who is of Chinese nationality. 

The full text of the notice is as follows: 

According to the Education Law of the People's Republic of China, the Higher Education Law of the People's Republic of China and the Nationality Law of the People's Republic of China, in order to maintain the fairness of China's higher education, in accordance with the requirements of the Administrative Measures for the Enrollment and Training of International Students, the following supplementary provisions on the acceptance of international candidates to study at Chinese universities are made:　　

1. According to Article 5 of the Nationality Law of the People's Republic of China, students who have at least one parent who is of Chinese nationality and live in a foreign country, if they were born with foreign nationality, shall not have Chinese nationality. 

Starting from 2021, students who apply to attend Chinese universities as international students, in addition to meeting other school registration requirements, should also have held their foreign nationality for at least four years. Within the last four years (up to April 30 of the school year), records of actual residence in a foreign country for more than two years (actual residence in a foreign country for nine months in a year can be calculated as one year, subject to entry and exit signatures) are required.　　

2. Residents of the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan who have applied for entry into Chinese universities as international students after acquiring foreign nationality shall meet the first requirement of this notice.　　

3. Chinese universities should strictly review the nationality status and application qualifications of international candidates in accordance with relevant laws. If there is any doubt about the nationality status, they should take the initiative to check and confirm the nationality status of the applicant with local entry and exit authorities.　　

On the basis of this notice, universities may formulate their own regulations and make further requirements for the status and qualifications of international candidates.　　

4. All provincial educational administrative departments are requested to forward this notice to all higher education institutions that admit international students in their administrative area.　　

5. This notice will take effect on January 1, 2021. The "Notice on Regulating the Relevant Work of Chinese Universities to Accept International Students" ([2009] No. 83) issued on November 16, 2009 will be abolished at that time. 

6. The authoritative interpretation of this notice is that of the Ministry of Education. 

The principal of the International Department of the Ministry of Education answered some questions relating to the notice. 

1. Question: Could you please provide some background on the revision? 

A: Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, international education in China has been seeking to improve quality and efficiency. The Ministry of Education has issued a series of policies to improve the framework and strictly regulate management. 

In 2017, the Ministry of Education, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security, promulgated the Administrative Measures for the Enrollment and Training of International Students, requiring Chinese universities to strictly control entry and conduct admission qualification reviews, examinations, or assessments for international candidates to ensure the enrollment of students comply with admission standards and strengthen management in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. 

In 2018, the Ministry of Education issued the "Quality Standards for Higher Education for International Students in China (Trial)", which further emphasized that colleges and universities should clearly stipulate requirements for the status and qualifications of international students in admission standards in accordance with relevant national regulations, and establish effective review procedures for the applicants’ nationality and other qualifications. 

In 2009, the Ministry of Education issued the “Notice on Regulating the Relevant Work of Chinese Universities to Accept International Students”, which clearly stipulates the qualifications for Chinese citizens to enter Chinese colleges and universities as international students after emigration to foreign countries. 

In recent years, some students who have at least one parent who is of Chinese nationality and were born with foreign nationality, received basic education in China but applied as an international student to attend Chinese universities. Such cases received social attention. 

The Ministry of Education attaches great importance to these cases. In order to adapt to the new situation of international student education and solve problems in the management process, on the basis of preliminary research and extensive consultation, the amendments to the “Notice on Regulating the Relevant Work of Chinese Universities to Accept International Students” were made to further tighten the qualifications for international students to apply to attend Chinese universities. 

2. Question: Could you please introduce the main changes in the revised content? 

Answer: While maintaining the continuity of the policy, the Notice focuses on solving new problems. For students who have foreign nationality by birth but have at least one parent who is of Chinese nationality, and students who have acquired foreign nationality through emigration, if they apply to study at Chinese universities as international students, they need to have held their foreign nationality for at least four years and have lived overseas for more than two of the past four years as stipulated in the notice. 

3. Question: What if some students with foreign nationality who have at least one parent who is of Chinese nationality and are currently studying in Chinese high schools fail to meet the actual residence time limit in the notice but want to study at Chinese universities? 

Answer: According to the current regulations on the enrollment work of ordinary colleges and universities, foreign nationals who reside in China and hold the permanent residency permit for foreigners issued by the public security bureaus and meet enrollment requirements for the college entrance examination may apply to take the national college entrance exam in the relevant provinces. 

4. Question: If colleges and universities do not clarify the nationality of students when recruiting international students, or the students themselves do not clarify their nationality, how should this be confirmed? 

Answer: For students whose nationality is unclear, colleges or students can make judgments according to the Nationality Law of the People’s Republic of China or check with local entry and exit authorities.