Foreigners are Administratively Detained in China for Breaking the Law. Will They be Known to Their Home Country?

2020/1/16

When a foreigner is detained in China for violation of the law, some people may choose to notify their embassy or consulate in China in order to hire a lawyer or protect their legitimate rights and interests in other ways. Laws also endorse and protect the choices of such people. After receiving the decision on the administrative detention of the foreigner, the provincial public security organ shall notify the embassy or consulate of the foreigner's country in China of the relevant information. Embassies and consulates in China may protect the legitimate rights and interests of their citizens in accordance with the law.

However, some foreigners have also been detained for prostitution or other acts. They are worried that the notification of the embassy or consulate will affect their resume or files, so they choose not to notify the embassy or consulate in China. Is this okay? 

It depends on the specific situation. If China and the foreigner's mother country have signed a bilateral agreement requiring notification, the relevant facts of the administrative detention of the foreigner will be automatically communicated to the state of nationality. If no such bilateral agreement has been signed, the foreigner shall submit a written application, and the Chinese provincial public security organ may not notify the embassy or consulate in China. It is worth noting that the law stipulates "may" not to notify, not "should" not to notify, that is to say, whether or not to notify the embassy or consulate in China is decided by the provincial public security organs, not by the foreigner concerned.