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Arriving in Mainland China: The Arrival Card, the Border Counter, and the 24-Hour Registration Clock

What you file before boarding, what you can finish at the port if you did not, and who must register your address within 24 hours of check-in — plus the channels that count as official and the ones that do not.

Sources checked ·

The short answer

Three things define arrival day. File the arrival card — online before you fly if you can, otherwise at the port. Clear border inspection. Then make sure your address is registered: if you sleep in a hotel, the hotel registers you; if you sleep anywhere else, the registration must happen within 24 hours of check-in, by you or by the person putting you up.

The 24-hour clock starts when you move into non-hotel accommodation. The rest of this guide follows the order you will actually experience it.

Before you board: the arrival card

Since 20 November 2025, foreign nationals can fill in arrival information online before coming to China, through the National Immigration Administration (NIA) official website and government service platform, the 移民局12367 application, or the WeChat or Alipay mini-programme — or by scanning a QR code on a phone (NIA, Beware of Fraudulent Websites for Arrival Card Filling). The embassy notice gives the web address for online filing as official arrival-card portal (Arrival Card E-filling Launched).

One warning is worth more than the convenience. NIA has publicly flagged copycat websites outside China impersonating the official platform and charging a fee. Filing is an official service; the official channels are the ones listed above. If a site asks you to pay, that is the signal to stop, not to continue.

Official rule, not preference: the channels are NIA's own website, its government service platform, 移民局12367, and the WeChat/Alipay mini-programmes.

At the port: what is fixed, and what the port decides

If you could not file in advance, the arrival card is still completable on arrival: by scanning the code, using on-site smart devices, or filling in a paper arrival card at the border inspection site (embassy notice, Arrival Card E-filling Launched). That fallback is official, so a missed pre-flight filing is an inconvenience, not a problem.

Beyond that step, be careful about what a guide can tell you. The channel layout at the inspection hall, any health declaration requirement, and the detail of border officers' questioning are executed by each port on site and differ from port to port. This evidence pack does not fix them, and guessing would be worse than silence. Ask your specific port of entry, or NIA, before you travel if your route depends on it. The same caution applies to the inspection itself: the pack documents the arrival-card step, not the full procedure, so confirm document expectations with the port rather than with a checklist.

Practical suggestion only: do the online filing before you fly if you can. It removes one queue from a day when you will be tired, and it removes your dependence on whichever device the hall happens to have working.

Your first night: who registers you, and by when

The rule splits by where you sleep.

In a hotel, the hotel handles your accommodation registration. In a residence or lodging other than a hotel, you must register with the public security organ at your place of residence within 24 hours of moving in, and the registration can be done by you or by your host (留宿人) — the NIA policy interpretation, 网上办理外国人旅馆以外住宿登记政策解读.

Failing to register is not a formality without consequence: under Article 76 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law, a warning may be given, and a fine may be imposed in addition (same source).

The practical reading: if you are staying in serviced housing, a rented flat, or a friend's home, treat the 24-hour deadline as the first errand of the trip, not the last. If you are in a hotel, the obligation is discharged by the hotel, and your job is only to make sure the front desk actually has your passport details right.

Filing online: the channels, and when your host should do it

Since 21 September 2026, online filing of non-hotel accommodation registration has been rolled out nationwide. Online filings carry the same effect as filing in person at a public security organ, and the in-person channel remains available (NIA Announcement No. 7 of 2026, 公告).

The online channels are the NIA government service website, the 移民局12367 application, and the WeChat or Alipay mini-programme, inside the accommodation registration module under 外国人服务, after you register and authenticate (policy interpretation, source).

Here is the exception that matters most on a first trip. NIA's policy interpretation suggests that for a first online filing, the person hosting you assist with it; filing it yourself is described as applying to situations such as having already been registered at the same residence, or your own residence. So do not assume you can sit down alone and complete a first registration at a new address as the standard path. Line up your host or landlord before check-in day, and if that is impossible, go to the local public security organ — the offline channel is still there by design.

Note also what this online system covers: accommodation other than a hotel. Hotel registration remains the hotel's job.

Getting from the port to your address

Choose the onward trip using your arrival port and destination address, then check that port's current transport page. The State Council's transport guide for foreign travellers describes metro single-journey tickets at station counters or machines and app-based ride hailing. Payment methods vary by operator; the guide does not promise that every airport has the same line or pickup point.

For a local example, Shanghai's municipal airport transport guide lists metro, bus and taxi options at Pudong and Hongqiao airports, with terminal-specific pickup information. Those directions apply to Shanghai only and may change. Elsewhere, use the corresponding airport or city authority's current instructions. Plan the trip to the address where you will actually sleep, because that address determines who handles accommodation registration.

Where the variables actually sit

The national rules are stable. What varies is local and personal:

  • Port of entry — channel arrangement, health declaration, questioning detail. Settled on site, port by port.
  • Type of accommodation — hotel versus everything else determines who files, and whether you have a 24-hour errand at all.
  • Whether you are filing online for the first time — and therefore whether your host should be involved.
  • Whether you filed the arrival card in advance — if not, you will do it at the port by one of the three on-site methods.

A first-day order that works under those rules: file the arrival card online if possible; keep the port fallback in mind; get to the address; confirm with the hotel that it has registered you, or, for any other address, have the host assist with the online filing or go to the local public security organ within 24 hours.

What this guide does not cover

Rules on goods carried through Customs are outside this guide. Check current General Administration of Customs guidance for the exact items you plan to bring.

Nothing in this article is an individual legal or immigration determination. If your situation involves an unusual visa category, a refused registration, or an address your host cannot register, the competent authority is the local public security organ or NIA.

Sources and verification

Verify before you rely on any of it: the nationwide rules above with NIA; port-specific arrangements and any health declaration requirement with your port of entry; your specific registration with the local public security organ at your place of residence; carried-goods questions with the General Administration of Customs. Information current as of 2026-09-28.