China Entry Checklist: Arrival Card, Customs and Health

Three different procedures are often confused at the border: the immigration arrival card, the Customs baggage declaration, and a health or quarantine declaration when required. Treating them as separate steps makes arrival much easier.

Before departure

Check that the passport and entry permission you intend to use match your itinerary. Depending on nationality, passport type, purpose, dates, and route, that permission may be a visa, a published visa-free arrangement, or a visa-free transit policy. Use the China Travel Pulse checker for a planning assessment and confirm the result against the National Immigration Administration or the Chinese embassy or consulate responsible for you.

Keep the following available offline:

• passport and any required visa or residence document;
• first accommodation address and phone number;
• return or onward booking where relevant;
• basic itinerary and contact in China if applicable;
• arrival-card confirmation if completed online;
• evidence for goods or cash that must be declared.

1. Immigration arrival card

The National Immigration Administration introduced official online arrival-card filling in November 2025. The service is free. Official channels include the NIA website and designated government or NIA mini-program channels. A paper card remains available at ports, and travelers who did not complete the form in advance can use devices provided on arrival where available.

Completing a card does not grant a visa and does not guarantee entry. It provides arrival information for inspection. Use the official page and do not pay a third-party site that imitates the service.

2. Immigration inspection

Present the original travel document and any required entry permission. Be ready to explain the purpose, length, accommodation, and onward route of the trip. Travelers using visa-free transit should carry the confirmed onward booking and should understand the permitted port and area rules before travel.

Final admission decisions are made by the relevant Chinese authorities. An airline or other carrier may also conduct its own document check before boarding.

3. Customs baggage declaration

Customs and immigration are separate. Use the green “Nothing to Declare” channel only when your baggage falls within current duty-free and declaration rules. Use the red “Goods to Declare” channel when carrying declarable cash, commercial goods, restricted articles, specified quantities of alcohol or tobacco, or regulated animals, plants, food, biological products, and similar items.

Limits and product rules can change. The Shanghai government customs guide, sourced from the General Administration of Customs, explains the declaration channels and lists common categories, but travelers should verify current national Customs rules for their exact goods before departure. When uncertain, declare the item and ask Customs rather than hiding it.

Medication deserves advance preparation. Carry it in original packaging with a prescription or medical letter where appropriate, and verify whether any ingredient is controlled.

4. Health and quarantine

Do not reuse pandemic-era instructions without checking their date. Routine processes can change, and a general health declaration should not be confused with the arrival card. If you have fever, cough, vomiting, diarrhea, another significant symptom, or exposure that must be reported under current quarantine rules, declare it truthfully and follow the instructions of Customs health-quarantine officers.

Check current airline, departure-country, and Chinese Customs notices shortly before travel. A page written during an earlier outbreak is not evidence of a permanent requirement.

5. After you collect baggage

Keep your passport secure and proceed through the correct Customs channel. At the hotel, present your passport so the property can complete accommodation registration. If staying outside a hotel, arrange the applicable residence registration promptly.

Common mistakes

• Paying an unofficial arrival-card website.
• Assuming an arrival card is a visa application.
• Treating the green channel as permission to ignore uncertain goods.
• Using old COVID-era screenshots as current policy.
• Packing onward tickets and hotel details where they cannot be accessed without internet.

This checklist is independent planning guidance. It is not an official immigration or Customs clearance decision.

Official sources

• NIA warning and official arrival-card instructions: https://en.nia.gov.cn/n147418/n147463/c191530/content.html
• Official NIA arrival-card service: https://s.nia.gov.cn/ArrivalCardFillingPC/
• Shanghai government customs-clearance guide sourced from the General Administration of Customs: https://english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-EssentialItemstoPrepare/20231212/9a3c7f512d464e0798be3fc76c8dd6f2.html

Last reviewed: 17 July 2026.