Obtaining a passport soon to get easier

China will ease restrictions covering the household registration that people must hold when applying for passports and travel passes in six large cities, the Ministry of Public Security announced Wednesday.

As of September 1, people who work or study at higher education institutions in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen will be allowed to apply for passports in those cities, even if they do not hold household registration there, the ministry said.

Currently, Chinese must apply for a passport in the area where their household is registered, causing trouble for people who can't transfer their household registration location.

The policy is being applied in the six cities because they have seen a large inflow of people, the ministry's statement said.

The policy is among a number of efforts to facilitate people's travel abroad and to provide equal public service to both locally registered people and the migrant population.

In the first half of this year, about 38 million Chinese traveled abroad, a year-on-year increase of 18 percent, according to the National Tourism Administration.