Beijing family without local residency to send son to school in registered province starting in September

Starting in September, Wang Ming's 12-year-old son will attend school in a city 120 km from Beijing. South China Morning Post reported that the family has lived in the capital for more than 20 years without obtaining a hukou, the household registration document required for access to local public services including education. Wang Ming works at a bank and his wife at an insurance company.

Their son completed elementary and middle school in Beijing but must take the college entrance exam in Liaoning province, where the family holds registration. The hukou system, in place for almost 70 years, ties most registrations to birthplace and imposes strict criteria for changes.

South China Morning Post reported that the Wangs' situation is typical of hundreds of thousands of people living and working in Beijing without local hukou.

The registration controls population movement and resource allocation, restricting healthcare and schooling for those who do not meet residency thresholds.