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Responses to Information Requests (RIRs) cite publicly accessible information available at the time of publication and within time constraints. A list of references and additional sources consulted are included in each RIR. Sources cited are considered the most current information available as of the date of the RIR.            

RIRs are not, and do not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Rather, they are intended to support the refugee determination process. More information on the methodology used by the Research Directorate can be found here.          

The assessment and weight to be given to the information in the RIRs are the responsibility of independent IRB members (decision-makers) after considering the evidence and arguments presented by the parties.           

The information presented in RIRs solely reflects the views and perspectives of the sources cited and does not necessarily reflect the position of the IRB or the Government of Canada.          

31 March 2015

CHN105153.E

China: Passenger information gathered by airlines for international flights to and from China (2014-2015)

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Advance Passenger Information (API)

The Ministry of Public Security and Civil Aviation Administration of the People's Republic of China (CAAC) Decree No. 99, Measures for the Implementation of Advance Information of Personnel on Board of the International Flights, effective as of 1 May 2008, provides that

Article 1 These Measures are formulated in accordance with the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection, for the purposes of safeguarding the national security of the People's Republic of China and providing exit and entry clearance facilitation for international flights and their passengers.

Article 2 The aviation companies operating international flights (hereinafter referred to as aviation companies) shall, in accordance with these Measures, report the advance information of personnel on board to the relevant exit-entry immigration inspection stations completely, accurately and without delay.

Article 3 The information reported by the aviation companies shall include the following contents of the passengers and crew members on board of the flights: the names, nationalities, genders, dates of birth, passport or other exit-entry document numbers, expiry dates of the validity of passport or other exit-entry documents and personnel types.

Article 4 The aviation companies shall, in accordance with the format prescribed by the exit-entry administrative organ under the Ministry of Public Security, send the information to the address designated by the exit-entry administrative organ under the Ministry of Public Security through the SITA network or the internet.

Article 5 Where the voyage of an incoming flight takes more than two hours, the aviation company shall report the information one hour and 30 minutes before the flight arrives at the port of entry; where the voyage of an incoming flight takes less than two hours, the aviation company shall report the information 40 minutes before the flight arrives at the port of entry.

For an outgoing flight, the aviation company shall report the information before the passengers and crew members on board go through the exit immigration inspection procedures.

Article 6 Where an aviation company reports the information in accordance with the provisions, the exit-entry immigration inspection station and the administrative department of civil aviation of China shall provide facilitation for the entry and exit of the international flights under its operation and the passengers and crew members on board. (China 2008)

A copy of the Decree is attached to this Response.

Airline websites report that China and Canada are among a number of countries that require airlines to collect "advance passenger information" (API) for passengers travelling into these countries (Air Canada n.d.a; Air France n.d.). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, an assistant director responsible for aviation security and facilitation at the International Air Transport Association (IATA), an airline industry trade association that comprises 250 member airlines in 60 countries [including 13 airlines in China and 4 in Hong Kong (IATA n.d.b)] that works to "promote safe, reliable, secure, and economical air travel" (IATA n.d.a), indicated that, to the best of the source's knowledge

the electronic provision of Advance Passenger Information (API) appears to be mandated since 2003 by China's Department of Health (all flights to and from China) and since 2008 also separately by Chinese Customs. All airlines (Chinese/foreign) and all passengers (as well as crew) are in the scope of these mandates. (ibid. 29 Mar. 2015)

The IATA Assistant Director and Air Canada report that the required API includes the following:

  • full name (ibid.; Air Canada n.d.b);
  • date of birth (ibid.; IATA 29 Mar. 2015);
  • gender (ibid.; Air Canada n.d.b);
  • nationality (ibid.; IATA 29 Mar. 2015);
  • passport number (ibid.; Air Canada n.d.b); and
  • passport date of expiry (ibid.; IATA 29 Mar. 2015) for customs (ibid.).

According to Air Canada, the following API is also required:

  • country of residence (Air Canada n.d.b);
  • travel document type (normally passport) (ibid.); and
  • country of issue of passport (ibid.).

1.1 Collection of API by Airlines

Sources indicate that passenger information can be collected at different times by airlines:

  • at the time of ticket reservation, according to Air France (Air France n.d.);
  • at the time of purchasing international tickets, according to the website of state-owned China Southern Airlines [1] (China Southern Airlines n.d.);
  • at the time of check-in (Air Canada 30 Jan. 2015; IATA 29 Mar. 2015).

1.2 Transmission of API by Airlines

The IATA Assistant Director stated that

API can be provided inbound (to country of destination) or outbound (to country of departure), depending on States' preferences. In the case of China, the authorities want airlines to transmit API in both cases, i.e. when flying to and from China. (IATA 29 Mar. 2015)

The IATA Assistant Director further explained that for passengers on departing flights leaving China, to the best of the source's knowledge,

[a] Board/No Board advisory can only be provided in the case of "interactive API" systems [2]. Few countries in the world have one. In the case of China, an advisory was sent out in 2009 announcing an interactive API but I don't believe this is in place. ... China probably does not issue Board / No Board advisories today because the data is sent unilaterally by airlines as a passenger list, with no response provided by customs/health (IATA 29 Mar. 2015)

Corroborating information about board/no board advisories could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

A China-based official from the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC), Canada's national tourism marketing organization and a federal crown corporation (CTC n.d.), indicated that API on departing passengers is collected by airlines operating international flights leaving China is submitted to destination country border officials (Canada 23 Jan. 2015). The "privacy policy" of the state-owned Air China airline [1], states that the collection of API "is done solely for the immediate transmission to authorities of the destination country" (Air China n.d.).

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a representative of Air Canada who works on issues of airline facilitation indicated that

[a]t the request of the relevant governments and as a prescribed condition of operating to or from a country, Air Canada collects and transmits advanced passenger information (API) on flights into and out of China. Prescribed advanced passenger information is collected by airlines from passengers when they check-in and that information is transmitted to the country authorities at the prescribed time. For China and Canada, it is once the flight is closed (Air Canada 30 Jan. 2015).

The Malaysian National News Agency, Bernama, indicated in a March 2014 article that, according to "a travel industry source," regarding flight travel into China, China's Civil Aviation Administration

has two control measures in place, the first being at the check-in counter at the foreign airport where a flight originates. The airline staff manning the counter needs to enter a passenger's passport details into the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) where the particulars will be checked against China's Stop List. This is a list of people whom the Chinese authorities bar from boarding aircraft bound for any destination in the republic for reasons best known to the authorities there... [t]he second control measure is upon arrival in China, where the passports and the passengers again come under scrutiny before being allowed into the country. (Bernama 11 Mar. 2014).

Further information on passenger information collected by airlines and authorities in China, including differences in requirements and practices by China-based airlines and foreign airlines, could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to the Section 6(3) of the Immigration Ordinance of Hong Kong,

an immigration officer or a chief immigration assistant may, on the arrival of an aircraft in Hong Kong and immediately prior to the departure of an aircraft there from, require the captain of the aircraft to furnish to him a notice containing the names and nationalities of the crew and a notice containing the prescribed particulars of the passengers. (Hong Kong 1997)

Under Regulation 7 (Prescribed particulars of passengers on board an aircraft), of the Immigration Regulations of Hong Kong,

a notice required to be furnished by the captain of an aircraft to an immigration officer or a chief immigration assistant under section, 6(3) of the Ordinance shall contain the following particulars of the passengers-

  1. the given names, surname or patronymic and nationality of each passenger;
  2. the number of passengers who embarked at the last departure place of the aircraft;
  3. the number of passengers who were on the same flight before it landed at the last departure place of the aircraft;
  4. the number of passengers disembarking in Hong Kong; and
  5. the number of passengers continuing on the same flight from Hong Kong. (Hong Kong 2013)

Further information on API for flights between China and Hong Kong could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

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.

Notes

[1] Air China, China Southern and China Eastern are China's three state-owned airlines (Time 20 Oct. 2010; The Wall Street Journal 29 May 2013), which reportedly "dominate" the civil aviation market in China; Hainan province's Hainan Airlines is also an "important player" (ibid.).

[2] A document about "batch" and "interactive" passenger data exchange systems produced by IATA indicates that in an interactive API system, "airlines provide passengers' biographical details in real time on a passenger-by-passenger basis to authorities, while check in is taking place" at which time the authorities assess whether there are issues preventing the passenger from entering the destination country or leaving the origin country and boarding the aircraft (IATA n.d.c, 12). Following the assessment, authorities issue a "Board" or "Do Not Board" response to the airlines in real time (ibid.).

References

Air Canada. 30 January 2015. Correspondence from a representative to the Research Directorate.

Air Canada. N.d.a. "Advance Passenger Information." [Accessed 22 Jan. 2015]

Air Canada. N.d.b. "Instructions." [Accessed 22 Jan. 2015]

Air China. N.d. "Privacy Policy." [Accessed 22 Jan. 2015]

Air France. N.d. "Information APIS." [Accessed 22 Jan. 2015]

Canada. 23 January 2015. Correspondence from an official of the Canadian Tourism Commission in Beijing to the Research Directorate.

Canada. N.d. "About the CTC." [Accessed 18 Mar. 2015]

China. 2008. Decree of the Ministry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China and Civil Aviation Administration of the People's Republic of China No.99. [Accessed 27 Mar. 2015]

China Southern Airlines. N.d. "Notes to Passengers (International Service)." [Accessed 22 Jan. 2015]

Hong Kong. 2013. Chapter 115A Immigration Regulations. [Accessed 23 Mar. 2015]

Hong Kong. 1997. Chapter 115 Immigration Ordinance. [Accessed 23 Mar. 2015]

International Air Transport Association (IATA). 29 March 2015. Correspondence from the Assistant Director to the Research Directorate.

International Air Transport Association (IATA). N.d.a. "Frequently Asked Questions." [Accessed 22 Jan. 2015]

International Air Transport Association (IATA). N.d.b. "Current Airline Members." [Accessed 24 Mar. 2015]

International Air Transport Association (IATA). N.d.c. "Passenger Data Exchange." [Accessed 23 Mar. 2015]

Malaysian National News Agency (BERNAMA). 11 March 2014. S. Sivaselvam. "MH370 Passengers and Crew Got Greenlight from CAAC and APIS." (Factiva)

Time. 20 October 2010. Chengcheng Jiang. "China's Private Airlines Still Face Unfriendly Skies." [Accessed 23 Jan. 2015]

The Wall Street Journal. 29 May 2013. Joanne Chiu. "China Opens Skies to Privately Owned Airlines." [Accessed 23 Jan. 2015]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Attempts to contact the following individuals and organizations were unsuccessful within the time constraints of this Response: Hainan Airlines; Hong Kong – Civil Aviation Department; Hong Kong International Airport; National Airlines Council of Canada; Professor of political science specializing in aviation and border security, University of Ottawa.

Internet sites, including: Beijing Review; Biometrics Institute; Center for Identity at the University of Texas at Austin; China – Beijing Capital International Airport, China News Service, Civil Aviation Administration of China, Embassy in Washington, DC, Guangdong Airport Authority, Hong Kong International Airport, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Public Security, Shanghai Airport Authority; China Aviation; China Civil Aviation Report; China Today; ecoi.net; Global Times; People's Daily; UN – Refworld.

Attachment

China. 2008. Decree of the Ministry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China and Civil Aviation Administration of the People's Republic of China No.99. [Accessed 27 Mar. 2015]

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