INTERPOL Cases in China
An INTERPOL alert surfaces in China at the border and in visa and residence procedures. What follows is decided under local law, not by the Organization: the public security organs act on the alert. The procedure before the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files is the same everywhere and is set out separately — this page covers only what is specific to China.
Requests originating here are frequently framed as economic crime. Establishing the character of the underlying matter is the whole of the work, and it requires material that is difficult to obtain from inside the jurisdiction.
How it works locally
- Where it surfaces
- at the border and in visa and residence procedures.
- Who decides on holding
- the public security organs act on the alert.
- Extradition
- extradition operates on treaty; where none exists, cooperation is case by case.
- Own nationals
- In principle, nationals are not surrendered.
- What is separate
- Any national warrant, and any travel or exit restriction imposed locally. Neither is affected by deleting international data.
What we do, and what we do not
We act on the international record: establishing what is held, and applying to have it deleted where the grounds are made out. Where a matter is live before the authorities of China — a detention hearing, an extradition request, an exit ban — we work with counsel admitted there rather than advising outside our own admission. The two run in parallel and use much of the same evidence.
What that work involves, stage by stage: our red notice removal service in China.
Before the jurisdiction matters
Two countries matter in any file: the one that made the request and the one you are standing in. They raise different questions, and separating them comes first. If you have not yet established what is on file, start with the instrument behind the alert and how to find out whether one concerns you.
Frequently asked
Can I be detained on arrival in China?
Detention is decided under local law rather than by the Organization. the public security organs act on the alert — and the alert alone is rarely the whole basis.
Does China extradite its own nationals?
In principle, nationals are not surrendered. The rule is usually constitutional or statutory rather than discretionary, and it does not prevent prosecution at home for the same conduct.
Will deleting the alert lift a local restriction?
No. Any travel ban, exit restriction or national warrant is a separate record held by a different authority, and has to be dealt with separately.