Concerns are being raised that China's impending immigration regulations could expand Beijing's reach over its citizens overseas.

New Zealanders who have ties with China are also advised to be aware of the new regulations to avoid being denied passage by authorities in the East Asian nation.

An immigration expert says the new rules may lead to shrinking tourism and international education markets for New Zealand.

Coming into effect next month, China's latest immigration regulations introduce a number of new circumstances under which individuals may be denied exit from or entry into China.

In one case, Chinese citizens could be banned from travelling overseas for six months to three years if they are deemed to have damaged the security or national interest of China overseas.

Although now a New Zealand citizen, China-born Xian Zhang expressed concern she would be able to get in or out of the Asian nation without difficulty, as she had been vocal on topics such as civilian freedom in China.

"Authorities in China could recognise me as a potential threat for their security or whatsoever if they want to identify my behaviour in that way," she said.

"I think [going] back to China could put me in danger."

Zhang said the new regulations symbolised a trajectory of reduced civilian freedom in China, which was concerning.

She said the uncertainty created by the broadly framed powers and the ambiguity around how they may be enforced could lead to more self-censorship.

Knowing how much content on social media was censored in China, people had already been careful around what they said on such platforms, she said, adding that the regulations could exacerbate the situation.

"We don't know where the boundary is," she said.

"And because we're always trying to navigate where the safe buffer is, we tend to just speak less."

Jason Young, director of the New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre at the Victoria University of Wellington, said China had aways been able to control inward and outward migration, and the new regulation was just codifying existing practices.

For example, he said officials working in national security, state-owned enterprise employees or dissidents could all be prevented from going overseas.

On the other hand, foreign nationals who were deemed to be a security risk might be denied entry or prevented from leaving.

"People should be very aware of the rules, regulations, laws and political environment within the PRC (People's Republic of China), which does have provisions around national security and certain types of political activities which are very common in New Zealand," Young said.

He said such activities could include criticising a country's leader or taking a political position that many people disagree with.

He also warned non-Chinese citizens to be aware of the new regulations.

"For foreigners - people who are not PRC citizens - when they do go to China, obviously they should be aware of the rules and regulations and the laws of China.

"Because of course once you enter that jurisdiction, then you're subject to the laws of the land."

The new regulations also state that Chinese citizens whose conduct may endanger China's industrial and technological security could be prohibited from leaving the country.

Young said China had been leading research and development in high-tech areas such as artificial intelligence and robotics, and it appeared that Beijing wanted to monitor the international engagement that people had.

"The restrictions, closer management and increased paperwork for travel for Chinese citizens in industrial technology sectors will likely make it harder for those people to travel and work with international companies," he said.

"This supports an effort to protect the competitive advantage of China's industrial sector through tighter export controls and trade regulations."

Leo Liao, a senior lecturer at the University of Waikato, believed there would be no practical ramifications when ordinary people travelled, whether they were Chinese citizens or foreign nationals.

He said the new regulations introduced a pre-emptive mechanism encompassing technology security, export control and data security.

It could be seen as a tightening of regulations affecting people working in high-tech fields such as those working in important roles in large AI models, quantum technologies and cloud services, he said.

"The threshold seems to be not high," Liao said.

"A restriction can be triggered where the going abroad of that person may endanger technology security," he said.

"No evidence proving actual law violations or damage is required. Nor is a criminal proceeding needed."

Liao said Chinese citizens working in high-tech fields travelling abroad could be asked to provide more information and documentation.

Immigration advisor Peter Luo said many Chinese citizens who worked as civil servants, as well as some doctors and teachers, were already expected to give their passports to their employers in China.

The new regulation could now make it harder for such people to travel overseas, he said.

"Of course, it won't be good news to New Zealand," Luo said.

"As Chinese authorities tighten these regulations, more people, especially middle-class people, will [find it] hard for them to travel.

"These middle-class incomers, they're better off and they like to travel, but it will be difficult for them to ask for leave or to ask for [their] passports from their employers."

The new regulations also state that immigration officials can advise people not to travel to high-risk destinations.

Luo said what was deemed to be "high-risk" was ambiguous, as it could be more political in nature than related to safety.

"This is defined by some unspoken rule, which country or destination is safe and which is not," he said.

"One day, if something happens, New Zealand could be announced as an unsafe place to travel."

Luo said New Zealand potentially would not see the same number of Chinese tourists and international students as it had over the past 20 years, as studying or travelling overseas could be deemed "politically incorrect".

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was aware of China's impending changes to its controls on entry and exit procedures.

New Zealanders concerned with their eligibility to travel to China should consult with Chinese authorities in New Zealand before they travelled from New Zealand, even if they were entering China under the visa waiver arrangement, a spokesperson from the ministry said.

New Zealanders and New Zealand businesses operating overseas should respect and obey local laws, including providing accurate information for any visa application, the spokesperson said.

RNZ has approached the Chinese Embassy for comment.