The classification screen

4 questions before you choose the route.

This page identifies the right question and evidence. It does not determine the legal outcome on a reader’s facts.

01

Criminal, civil, or unknown?

Which authority.

Engine
02

Is there an open case or judgment?

Documents.

File
03

Director/legal-rep role?

Deep guide.

Role
04

Counsel to query the restriction?

Not airline staff.

Counsel

Working rule: People discover exit bans at check-in or immigration: a criminal case, a civil enforcement restriction, or another lawful stop.

What changes the answer

The signal ledger.

These facts move the question beyond a label and into a product, money-flow and control analysis.

Signal
Ask the operating question
Why it changes the route
Broader Criminal Defense analysis needed
Second related guide.
Additional facts can change the Criminal Defense route, evidence and next step.
Argue with immigration only
No legal file.
Weak.
Assume bail = free to fly
Conditions/bans remain.
Check.
Prepare before you escalate

Bring a compact evidence docket—not a pitch deck.

Give a compliance team or counsel the operating facts that reveal the perimeter.

01Refusal record / notice if anyWhat border said.
02Case or judgment documentsEngine.
03Passport stamps/itineraryWhen it hit.
Common confusions

Questions people ask before they build.

Short answers for orientation. The right result can change with the service model and current rules.

Is every exit ban criminal?

No. Civil enforcement and other controls exist. Mislabeling wastes time.

Where is the director-focused guide?

Use the linked specialist resource when Exit Bans in China turns on detailed evidence, procedure or risk assessment.

Primary authorities

Reviewed sources support orientation, not a fact-specific assessment.

PRC Criminal Procedure Law (NPC)
PRC Criminal Law (NPC)
Supreme People’s Procuratorate
Ministry of Public Security