What are the passport types?

Our government issues three kinds of passports: diplomatic passport, official passport and ordinary passport.

1. Diplomatic passports are generally issued to people with diplomatic status, such as diplomats, consular officials, heads of state, heads of government, members of parliament or members of government delegations going abroad for state activities. According to international practice, the spouses and minor children of the above-mentioned persons generally also issue diplomatic passports.

2. Official passports are passports issued to state officials, which are called "official passports" in some countries. In addition, all countries issue such passports to staff members who have no diplomatic status in embassies (consulates) abroad and their spouses and adult children.

3. Ordinary passport refers to the passport issued to ordinary citizens (that is, ordinary people). In China, ordinary passports are divided into two types: one is ordinary passports for business, which are generally issued to graduate students, international students, visiting scholars and engineering and technical personnel sent by the state. This passport is issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the local foreign affairs office. The other is an ordinary passport for personal reasons, which is issued by the Ministry of Public Security or a local public security organ authorized by the Ministry of Public Security to domestic nationals who travel abroad or go abroad for personal reasons.

Extended data:

The validity period of diplomatic passports and official passports shall not exceed 5 years, and the validity period of ordinary passports shall not exceed 10 years. New photos will be sent after the expiration. Passports of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region are generally valid for 10 years, and passports issued to children under 16 years old are valid for 5 years. Generally, Macao SAR passports are valid for 10 years, and passports issued to children under 16 years old are valid for 5 years.

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-Passport of People's Republic of China