China arrival card: fill it in online before you land
The paper form you used to fill in on the plane can now be done online. It takes five minutes and saves the queue at immigration.
First, the scam to avoid
Use only the National Immigration Administration's own channels. If a page found through a search advert charges you, close it.
Who fills in an arrival card
| Situation | Arrival card needed |
|---|---|
| Entering with a visa or under visa-free entry | Yes — unless you qualify under the exemptions below |
| Holding a valid Chinese residence permit | No |
| Holding an APEC Business Travel Card | No |
| Transiting without leaving the port area | No |
| Children | Each traveller needs their own, including infants |
Exemptions change more often than the form itself. If you hold a residence permit, skip it — otherwise fill one in.
What you need before you start
- Your passport, as printed — exactly matching the machine-readable zone at the bottom of the photo page.
- Your flight number and the airport you land at.
- The address of your first night: hotel name in Chinese if you have it.
- Your onward or return flight number.
The three fields that cause most of the confusion
1. Your name
Surname first, given name second, no commas. If your passport shows "SMITH JOHN WILLIAM", the surname is SMITH and the given names are JOHN WILLIAM. Do not guess, copy the MRZ.
2. Your address in China
Fill in the hotel's name and district, in Chinese if you can manage it. A hotel's front desk will write it for you on arrival — but the form is filled before you land, so screenshot the booking confirmation and copy from it.
3. Purpose of visit
Tourism, business, visiting relatives, transit and exchange are the common categories. Match the purpose you entered under. Saying "tourism" when you are clearly at a trade fair creates questions you do not want after a long flight.
Doing it at the airport instead
Paper cards are still available on arrival, and there are usually writing desks before immigration. The practical cost is queueing behind a planeload of people who are also filling in a form. Do it online on the plane's Wi-Fi or before boarding — that is the whole benefit.
Keep a copy
Screenshot the confirmation. Some hotels ask to see it, and if the system has an issue at the border you want something to show.
Source: National Immigration Administration, How to Submit Your Arrival Card to China Online (22 December 2025) and Beware of Fraudulent Websites for Arrival Card Filling (5 December 2025).
The next hour after the border
Cash, then a SIM card, then the apps. In that order — because reversing it is what strands people.
Read the first-hour walkthrough