How the China Entry Checker Works

Purpose of the checker

The China Entry Eligibility Checker is an independent pre-check. It helps users describe a trip, identify possible published entry options and see which conditions passed, failed or remain unknown. It does not issue a visa or make an immigration decision.

Policies currently covered

The current data model and engine support published structured records for existing entry documents, unilateral and mutual visa-free entry, 240-hour and 24-hour visa-free transit, and regional or special-group arrangements when their rules and evidence are available. A policy only participates when its version is PUBLISHED and its structured rules can be evaluated; unsupported or ambiguous configurations require manual verification.

Information users provide

The flow can ask for passport nationality and document type, existing entry document, purpose, dates, immediate origin and onward destination, entry and exit ports, planned areas, onward travel and passport expiry. It does not ask for a passport number, name, date of birth, document upload or government-system login.

Candidate policy selection

The engine resolves candidates from currently published policy versions, country scopes, effective dates and the facts already provided. It asks route, port or area questions only when a candidate policy makes those facts relevant.

Condition evaluation

Structured rules are evaluated by deterministic PHP evaluators. The supported rule vocabulary includes nationality, passport type, purpose, date range, maximum stay, passport validity, third-country transit, entry and exit ports, permitted areas, onward travel and regional-only conditions. Imported data is never executed as code.

Policy ranking

When more than one candidate is possible, the assessment ranks results using the deterministic policy status, configured policy priorities and restriction information, missing facts and stable policy code. Alternatives remain separate policy options, not duplicate versions.

Result statuses

Strong Match

The information provided satisfies the main required conditions of a published policy, but this is still not a formal entry decision.

Conditional Match

The policy may fit, but a key itinerary, port, area, document or onward-travel condition still needs confirmation.

No Match

The current answers show at least one clear conflicting condition for the policy.

Manual Verification Needed

Data is missing, policy scope is unclear, the travel date is outside the published period, or the situation is not suitable for automatic assessment.

Unknown and manual verification

Unknown is not the same as fail. An unanswered port does not mean that the port is ineligible. Missing or ambiguous facts remain visible and may lead to a manual-verification result rather than a guessed answer.

Official sources

Production policy components resolve recorded official sources attached to the published policy version. The checker does not treat an AI suggestion, an unreviewed import or an unrecorded source as production truth.

Policy versioning and last verified dates

Policy changes follow an import, review, apply and publish lifecycle. Only the current published version participates in production assessments; older versions are retired. Last-verified dates show when the recorded evidence was checked.

What the checker cannot verify

• It cannot verify passport or visa authenticity.
• It cannot access government internal systems or predict a carrier’s boarding decision.
• It cannot predict the final decision of border authorities.
• It cannot replace official verification for a particular traveller or itinerary.

Data and privacy

Checker answers are processed in an anonymous, expiring server-side session. See the Privacy Policy for current storage, cookie and logging details.

Reporting an error

If a result, source link or explanation appears wrong, use the Contact page with enough context for a human review. Do not send passport numbers or document images.