For Uyghurs, A Passport Is Not Just A Passport

"Can Uyghurs also apply for a passport?"

Aug 28, 2025

An Uyghur Tour Guide in explaining how ‘contract invoices’ work:
“A ‘contract invoice’ is not just something used to apply for a passport, it’s not something that you buy, what a ‘contract invoice’ is, it is, for example, in our travel agency, for those that have passports, they apply, for example if someone wants to go to Japan, if there is a group tour, we provide the contract invoice, they give us their passport and [we] apply for their visa. Because you are applying from Xinjiang, and you do not already have a passport this is a [extra] service we provide, this is not the only service we provide, so initially you apply to go on a group tour, you pay for it, then we provide you with a ‘contract invoice’, you take that ‘receipt-contract’ and apply for a passport then after you obtain your passport, you come back to us [and apply for a visa] and be able to travel…”

For most people, a passport is a formality. You fill out some forms, pay a fee, and wait for the government to issue the document that confirms your right to travel. Even in China, the process on paper is not supposed to discriminate. Criminal records, for example, usually only become relevant when applying for a visa to another country.

But for Uyghurs in Chinese-occupied East Turkistan, the passport has been turned into a tool of control. It is not a document, it is a weapon.

Leave a comment

Uyghurs cannot simply apply for a passport and make their own travel plans. They are forced into a system designed to humiliate and restrict them at every step. Instead of applying directly, they must first pay for a group tour. Only after handing over money for tickets, before they even hold a passport, do they receive what’s called a “contract invoice,” a receipt they can take to the passport office.

An Uyghur tour guide put it bluntly:

“Initially you apply to go on a group tour, you pay for it, then we provide you with a ‘contract invoice’, you take that ‘contract invoice’ and apply for a passport…”

Uyghur tour guide explaining how individuals (Uyghurs) with criminal records cannot apply to get a passport:
“Many people ask, if I was sentenced by a court [have a criminal record], can I still apply for a passport? Then you cannot apply [for a passport], if you want specific details you should consult with immigration. Someone asked, if I had already paid the money, can you 100% guarantee that I would be able to get [a passport], we cannot guarantee this. Don’t think the process is done just because you give the money. After you pay, and we issue a contract invoice, you have to do this. Because you are travelling for the first time, you have to join a group tour, you are not free to travel individually, no matter where you go, for example you want to go to Korea and have plastic surgery or something, even that is not possible. If you go on vacation, business trip, visit family or study abroad, these are the only four options. You can’t just travel individually. You have to pick from one of these options. Others ask, I am Uyghur, can I also apply [for a passport], all the 56 ethnic groups [in China] can apply for a passport, any person from any region can apply. However, our condition is that you should not have a criminal record, you are not a dishonest person [loyal to the CCP], then you can apply. Some people ask, after I apply [for a group tour,] and I am not able to obtain a passport, can I get a refund from you [travel agency], I want to tell you upfront, first of all you need to meet our criteria as we cannot run a background check, we do not know whether you are telling us the truth [about who you are]. So if you are confident enough, and think you have no issues, you pay, you should be apply [to obtain a passport] but if you have issues and conceal this from us, and you already paid but you cannot obtain a passport, then if you request a refund, of course we cannot give you a refund, that is not possible. So if we create a ‘contract invoice’ for you, please do not have a criminal record, so if you don’t have a criminal record and pay the money, then you will be able to do it [obtain a passport]. You know the truth in your heart…”

If the application is denied, and for many Uyghurs it is, the money is gone. There are no refunds. Families are forced to gamble their savings on the slim hope that authorities might approve their right to travel.

The restrictions go deeper. An Uyghur man who recently obtained a passport explained that only those registered in Urumchi may have limited online access to apply. Residents of Kashgar, Aksu, and other southern cities are excluded. He added that, while the law itself does not forbid people with criminal records from applying, in practice Uyghurs are monitored and denied:

“…if you’ve just been released [from prison], you will be under surveillance, then you would not be able to apply…”

Uyghur man who has recently obtained a Chinese passport:
“For those that want to apply online, if you have already had a passport and it is about to or has already expired, you may apply [renew] online, our country [China] has specified the major cities, for our friends in Xinjiang, they [authorities] may give [online] access in Urumchi [to apply for a passport], I have not had a look but you can check it out, if among the cities Urumchi is available, as long as you are officially registered [Hukou-residency registration] in Urumchi. If you are registered in [places like] Kashgar or Aksu you will not be able to apply [for a passport] online, you can only apply according to where you are registered. This is the answer to this situation. Some of you asked whether or not those with a criminal record can apply for a passport, according to our country’s law, there is nothing that says that someone with a criminal record cannot apply for a passport, those with criminal records can apply for a passport. As long as the person did not serve a prison sentence like 10-20 years, if it was only, 3-4 or 4-5 years, 2-3 or 5-6 months and 3 years have passed after serving your prison sentence then normally it should not be an issue. But if you’ve just been released [from prison], you will be under surveillance, then you would not be able to apply [for a passport], so to show that this person [just released from prison] does not harm the people or society, a period of time must pass [before applying for a passport].”

Tour agencies openly admit they cannot guarantee results, no matter how much money is paid upfront. The Uyghur guide was direct:

“…if you have issues and conceal this from us, and you already paid but you cannot obtain a passport, then if you request a refund, of course we cannot give you a refund, that is not possible…”

Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it.

This is not a bureaucratic quirk. It is a deliberate system of discrimination. Han Chinese citizens from other provinces can apply for passports without these hurdles. Uyghurs, by contrast, are treated as people who must be contained, locked inside their homeland unless they can pass political and financial barriers designed specifically for them.

The questions are obvious. Why should a Uyghur have to pay for tickets before even knowing if they can obtain a passport? Why does a Uyghur’s place of residence decide whether they are eligible to apply? Why are Uyghurs with criminal records, even after serving their sentences, denied rights that others in China can still access?

The reality is that for Uyghurs, the passport system is not about travel at all. It is about erasure. It ensures that Uyghurs cannot leave freely, cannot study or work abroad without permission, and cannot escape the surveillance that defines life in East Turkistan.

Passports elsewhere are symbols of belonging. For Uyghurs, they are symbols of exclusion, reminders that even the basic right to move is something the state can take away.