Chinese government make hukou switching easier than ever

Chinese people have been given easier access to switching their hukou, or household registration, from one place to another, thanks to the loosened policies provided by the Ministry of Public Security last year.

The hukou is the system of household registration on the Chinese mainland, identifying an individual as a permanent resident of a particular area and granting that individual social benefits, such as access to education, healthcare and the purchase of property.

To encourage a more flexible movement of people and bolster labor mobility while promoting urbanization efforts, the Chinese government has been gradually bridging the gap between agricultural and urban hukou over the past few years.

In 2023, the ministry piloted the implementation of more flexible hukou policies to boost urbanization. For example, it has allowed people to transfer household registrations through cross-provincial systems, so as to make it easier for them to work and live in different places.

According to data released by the ministry on Friday, Chinese police dealt with more than 1.73 million cross-provincial hukou transfers last year.

In the past, it was difficult to transfer one's hukou. For instance, in large cities like Hangzhou, an individual must have been unmarried and have no property in Hangzhou, as well as meet specific criteria set by the city to be eligible for household registration.