Register the place you actually stay.
A booking confirmation or rental contract is not an accommodation registration. The route depends on whether the property registers you as a hotel guest or you are staying in a residence outside the hotel system.
The property registers you.
Present your valid passport or travel document at reception. The hotel is responsible for collecting and reporting accommodation registration information to the local public security authority.
Arrange registration within 24 hours.
For a residence outside the hotel system, you or the person accommodating you must register with the public security authority for the place of residence within 24 hours of moving in.
Online registration is now available nationwide. The National Immigration Administration rolled it out on 21 September 2026. Use the NIA government service website, the official NIA 12367 app, or its WeChat and Alipay mini-programs. The in-person route remains available, with the same legal effect.
For a first monthly rental, ask the host early.
The NIA’s current instructions say that a host submits online registration for a foreign guest renting or borrowing another person’s home. Guests staying in their own home, or who have previously registered through the NIA platform, can submit it themselves. Arrange the host’s help before paying a deposit.
Confirm the address and the person helping.
Ask for the full Chinese address, including the building and room. Establish who will provide the property information and handle the host’s part of the registration.
Prepare your documents.
Have your passport, entry information and rental contract or other address evidence ready. Follow the current official form and local office’s document requirements.
Use the official channel and check the result.
Open the accommodation registration service on the NIA platform. Check the completed electronic registration record, rather than treating an unfinished form as confirmation.
Use the local police station if online registration fails.
Go to the police station responsible for the residence if you cannot complete it online. Call 12367 for help finding the correct route; the 24-hour obligation still applies.
NIA: Nationwide rollout · Who can register online · Using the electronic record · All published 2026-09-21.
Ask how a property will host you.
Do not use an old “foreign-guest licence” list as your accommodation rule. A seven-department policy says authorities and platforms should not impose qualification barriers to hosting overseas guests, and properties and platforms should not improperly publish information refusing them.
That policy is not a check of an individual property’s current staff, booking system or registration procedure. For a long stay, obtain a clear written answer from the actual property before you pay. A listing’s “homestay” label alone does not tell you whether it uses a hotel registration system or the non-hotel route.
Confirm your passport and registration.
“I will check in with a foreign passport and stay for one month. Please confirm how accommodation registration will be completed: through your hotel system, or with the host’s help using the non-hotel route?”
Confirm the practical terms.
- Registration help and the full address
- Rent, deposit, utilities and refund terms
- Payment method for both rent and deposit
- Cooking, laundry, internet and heating or cooling
If a property’s response conflicts with its listing, keep the written messages and contact the booking platform before making a long commitment. For a registration question, use 12367 or the local public security office.
Ministry of Commerce: measures facilitating accommodation for overseas guests · Published 2024-07-26. Rental questions above are an editorial checklist.
Build a three-to-six-month plan around your permission.
The time you want to spend in China and the time you are permitted to stay are different things. Your passport, actual purpose and issued visa or other permission determine the route. A rental, an accommodation registration, or a multi-year visa validity period does not grant an uninterrupted three- or six-month stay.
Check the purpose and each stay.
If your plan exceeds a visa-free allowance, check the appropriate visa before travel. Tourist, family, study, work and business routes have different conditions. Do not assume every visa in a category is issued with the same stay length.
Read the visa categories →Know the actual deadline.
Read the permission you were granted. For a visa stay extension, apply to the responsible exit-entry office at least seven days before the permitted stay expires, with the required supporting evidence. An extension is reviewed rather than guaranteed.
Understand the dates on your visa →A three-month itinerary is not an automatic 90-day permission. Do not build a rental plan around an assumed extension or guaranteed re-entry after leaving China. If the issued permission requires a residence permit after arrival, follow that separate procedure.
Our dedicated China visa guide covers entry routes, documents and arrival requirements →
NIA visa extension guide · Published 2021-04-01; Passport-specific visa-free policies are maintained on the visa page.
Paying a shop is different from paying a landlord.
Foreign passport holders can set up supported mobile payments and link eligible international cards. A working merchant payment does not prove that the same card can fund a transfer, wallet top-up or rental deposit sent to an individual.
A practical payment setup
Use the official app and your own details.
Install Alipay or WeChat, register using a supported phone number, and follow the prompts for identity verification and card binding. Use your own passport and card; card acceptance and verification depend on the payment product and issuer.
Test one small merchant payment.
Try a small purchase before relying on the app for a large bill. Check the amount, funding card and any service fee on the confirmation screen. If binding or payment fails, contact the app’s official support or your card issuer.
Agree rent and deposit payment separately.
Ask whether the recipient is a supported merchant or an individual, which payment method will be used, and how a refund will be returned. Make that agreement before signing rather than discovering the limitation on move-in day.
Keep a second way to pay.
Keep an accessible bank card and some RMB cash. The national guide describes withdrawing cash at compatible ATMs and exchanging currency at authorized outlets. Check your issuer’s fees and supported ATM network.
International-card payments have a specific scope. Alipay’s service agreement permits this card service for qualifying mainland merchant purchases, not transfers, wealth management or cash withdrawals. This is a funding-method restriction; it is not a statement that every foreign passport holder is unable to transfer money.
Check today’s fees, not an old screenshot.
Payment products have different card support, limits and fees. Tencent’s 2026 update offers eligible first-time international-card users a WeChat Pay processing-fee waiver for 90 consecutive calendar days from their first transaction, up to RMB 1,000 of spending a day. Tencent also describes fee-free international-card payments of RMB 200 or less for all users. Check the app’s eligibility, fee display and current terms; these are not unlimited fee-free payments.
Alipay international-card service agreement (2021-08-20) · Weixin Pay passport setup (2023-07-20) · Tencent fee-waiver update (2026-05-27) · Tencent payment explanation · National living guide, 2025 edition
Get a number that can receive the messages you need.
A passport is a supported document for obtaining a local SIM. The national guide directs foreign nationals to telecom operators’ service offices; the Tianjin communications authority’s 2026 guidance specifies operator-owned stores and an in-person application with a valid original document.
Find an operator-owned service office.
Ask the operator where a nearby office can process a passport application. Customer-service numbers are China Mobile 10086, China Unicom 10010 and China Telecom 10000.
Go yourself with your passport and phone.
Confirm handset and SIM compatibility with the staff. The Tianjin guide says another person cannot apply using your identity document on your behalf.
Check the plan before activation.
Ask about local calls and SMS, the monthly charge, data allowance, renewal or top-up, and cancellation when you leave. Actual prices follow the operator’s published tariffs.
Test calls and an SMS before leaving.
Use the number for a service you need and check that its verification message arrives. Keep the operator’s support and top-up instructions somewhere accessible.
Compare the service, not only the data allowance. A travel data eSIM and a local-number SIM with calls and SMS may solve different needs. Before buying, ask whether that exact product provides a mainland number and incoming verification SMS; do not assume all eSIMs do.
Tianjin communications authority: passport SIM applications · Published 2026-04-14; local guidance. National passport-SIM guidance, 2025 edition. Testing and plan questions are an editorial checklist.
A missing ID option needs a fallback, not a guess.
A Chinese resident ID is not the only document supported across China’s services. Passport support is specific to the provider and the task. Paying, transferring money, booking a hospital visit and opening a bank account are separate procedures, even when they appear inside the same app.
12306 train tickets
China Railway’s official English FAQ accepts valid foreign passports and provides ticket purchase, changes and refunds. Use the passport details exactly and bring the original document used to book when traveling.
Open official 12306 English →Use the railway’s manual route.
The national guide describes online passport verification, a passport-photo manual review, and in-person verification at a railway station ticket office. A failed automatic check does not mean passports cannot be used.
When an app only shows a Chinese ID field
Look for another document type.
Check for “passport”, “other document”, an international version, or a different official booking channel. Do not enter an invented Chinese ID number.
Ask about the exact service.
Explain that you use a foreign passport and name the task you need. Ask whether it supports passport verification, a local phone number, or an in-person alternative.
Use an official counter or telephone channel.
For a hospital, railway or public service, ask the actual provider about its staffed route. A mini-program’s form is not evidence that the whole service excludes foreign passport holders.
China Railway 12306 English FAQ · No publication date displayed. National guide: passport verification alternatives, 2025 edition
Find your medical route before you need it.
For a longer stay, identify a nearby hospital and a route you can use with your passport. Hospitals, departments and booking systems differ; English support and direct insurance billing should be confirmed with the actual provider.
A local example: visiting a Shanghai hospital
Shanghai’s official guide describes bringing a passport to the registration desk, paying the registration fee and receiving a hospital card on a first visit. After the consultation, patients pay for prescribed tests or medicines and collect medicines from the hospital pharmacy. This is a local example, not a promise that every hospital follows the same steps.
Bring the information that travels with you.
- Original passport and appointment confirmation
- Medical history, previous reports and relevant imaging
- Current medication names, doses and allergies
- Insurance details and a usable payment method
Ask the hospital what it actually requires. This checklist is preparation advice, not a universal mandatory document list.
Booking, language and payment
- Which department and campus should I use?
- Can I register with my passport at a counter or by phone?
- What language assistance is available?
- Do I pay first, and what does my insurer need?
For repeat visits and ongoing medication
Keep your hospital card, prescriptions, test results and itemized receipts available for follow-up and insurance enquiries. If you take regular medication, contact the clinician or hospital before your supply runs out to ask about a local review, prescription and availability. A brand name from another country does not establish that the same product is available here.
If an online appointment form does not accept your passport, contact the hospital’s official telephone service or registration desk. Confirm the available staffed route before treating an app error as a refusal of care.
For a medical emergency in mainland China, call 120. Keep your exact address in Chinese available so you can describe where you are.
Shanghai: how to see a doctor at a local hospital · Body states updated 2026-05-26; Shanghai scope. National emergency numbers, 2025 edition. The preparation and follow-up questions are editorial checklists.
Dates, sources and the limits of this guide.
The review date means we read the linked official materials on that date. It does not mean we visited every office, tested every app account, or confirmed a particular property’s acceptance. National rules, a local procedure and our editorial preparation checklists are identified separately.
For a city-specific decision, confirm the actual address, responsible office and service provider. Recheck registration instructions before moving, entry permission before extending a stay, and payment or medical arrangements before relying on them.