China’s Digital Arrival Card: How to Fill It Out Before You Fly

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In November 2025, China replaced its paper arrival card with a digital one you fill out online before you fly. Here’s who needs it, the official ways to file, the 72-hour window, how to avoid fake sites, and what happens at the border.

Since 20 November 2025, the paper arrival card you used to scribble on the plane to China is gone. In its place is the China Digital Arrival Card, an online form you fill in before you travel and carry as a QR code. It applies to almost every foreigner entering the country by air, land, or sea, from tourists on visa-free entry to relocating expats.

The card is free and takes about five minutes. The catch is a strict 72-hour window and a short list of exemptions to check. A growing crop of fake copycat sites also tries to charge you for something the government gives away.

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Who Needs to Submit China’s Digital Arrival Card

If you’re a foreign national entering China by air, land, or sea, you need to submit China’s Digital Arrival Card. It replaced the old paper form for everyone crossing the border.

Seven groups of travelers are exempt. You don’t need to submit the arrival card if you fall into one of these categories:

• You have a valid Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card of the People’s Republic of China
• You have a valid Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents (Non-Chinese)
• You are only transiting directly within 24 hours without leaving the restricted area of the port
• Foreign crew members, drivers, and other employees of transport vehicles
• You enter China by cruise ship and return with the original cruise
• You enter China through the E-channel
• You are a member of a foreign tourist group holding a group visa or entering under the group visa-free policy

If you’re not on that list, assume you need to file it.

Not sure which group you’re in? Call the China Immigration Service Hotline on 12367. The NIA lists it as the number for questions about the arrival card.

How to Fill Out the Digital Arrival Card

You fill out China’s arrival card through the National Immigration Administration (NIA), using one of its four official channels and nothing else. All four lead to the same form.

• The NIA website (s.nia.gov.cn): the desktop route. Open it, switch the language to English, and choose “Entry Declaration”. Easiest if you’re filling it out on a laptop before your trip.
• The “NIA 12367” app: the official NIA mobile app, with the arrival card as one of its services. Handy if you’d rather do everything on your phone.
• The WeChat mini-program: an official NIA mini-program inside WeChat. Convenient if you already have the app installed.
• The Alipay mini-program: the same official form inside Alipay.

I filled out my own card in December 2025, a few weeks after the system launched, using the s.nia.gov.cn website on a laptop. It was easy and straightforward.

The Five Steps of the Form

However you access it, the form runs through five steps shown along the top:

• ID document page: select your document type (ordinary passport for most people) and upload a photo of your passport data page. The system reads it automatically and fills in your basic details.
• Basic information: check the details pulled from your passport and correct anything the system misread.
• Personal information: gender, date of birth, nationality, country of birth, a contact phone number, an email address, and optionally your Chinese name.
• Travel information: transport mode, flight or train number, and your city and port of entry.
• Accompanying persons: add any family members traveling with you, so they don’t each have to file separately.

Have your flight details and your accommodation address in China ready before you start.

When to Submit

You must submit the arrival card within the 72 hours (three days) before you arrive in China. You can’t file it earlier than three days out, so there’s no getting it out of the way weeks ahead. Set a reminder for the day or two before your flight.

What the China Arrival Card Form Asks For

The China arrival card asks for your passport details, your travel plans and where you’ll stay. (Verified October 2026.) Have these ready before you start.

• Passport photo: upload a photo of the data page. The form takes JPG or PNG files, and its own rule says uploads can’t top 100 KB, so shrink a big phone photo first.
• Purpose of entry: pick from a list that includes sightseeing, visiting friends or relatives, business, work and study.
• Entry details: your arrival date, the city and port you’re entering through, and your flight, train or vessel number.
• Where you’re going: the Chinese cities you’ll visit, your address there and a phone number in China.
• Visa details: whether you hold a valid visa or other entry permit and, if so, the visa type and number.
• Recent travel: whether you’ve been to other countries or regions in the past two years, and whether your passport has ever been lost or stolen.

At the end you read a declaration and sign on screen. It says China’s immigration authority may store and use your information, and that what you entered is true and accurate.

At the Border: Your QR Code and Automated Gates

Once you submit China’s arrival card, the system generates a unique QR code you can download straight to your phone. Immigration officers scan that code when you land. It replaces the paper form and speeds you through the checkpoint, including the automated e-gates where you’re eligible.

When I arrived, presenting the downloaded QR code at the gate was quick and straightforward.

Tip: Download or screenshot your QR code as soon as you get it. You’ll often need to show it at immigration with no internet access, and a saved image on your phone means you’re not scrambling for signal in the arrivals hall.

After You Submit: Your Entry Declaration Receipt

The portal gives you an Entry Declaration Receipt as soon as you submit. (Verified October 2026.) You can save it to your device or email it to yourself.

• Download to Local: saves the receipt to your phone or laptop.
• Send to Email: sends a copy to your inbox.

Use both. If your phone dies or goes missing before the flight, the emailed copy is still there.

Avoid Fake Arrival Card Websites

China’s arrival card is completely free, and you only ever fill it out through the NIA’s official channels:

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• the s.nia.gov.cn website
• the “NIA 12367” app
• the WeChat mini-program
• the Alipay mini-program

The NIA itself has warned travelers about fraudulent websites that imitate the official system.

These copycat sites show up in search results and look official. They charge a “service fee” for something the government provides for free, or worse, harvest your passport details. If a site asks you to pay to submit the arrival card, it’s not the real one. Go directly to the official NIA portal and ignore paid intermediaries.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Because the form is new, most problems come from small, avoidable errors.

• Wrong passport or travel details: the information must match your passport and your booking exactly. The system warns that fraudulent omission or concealment can get you denied entry or transit, so treat accuracy seriously.
• Submitting too early: file outside the 72-hour window and the system won’t accept it. Wait until you’re inside three days of arrival.
• Arriving with no saved copy: if you can’t pull up your QR code offline, you lose the time you were trying to save. Screenshot it.
• Assuming you’re exempt when you’re not: unless you clearly fall into one of the exemption categories, file the card.

False details can cost you more than a refused entry. Under State Council rules in force since 15 September 2026, China can bar a foreigner from entry for one to five years. The ban covers handing over false documents or making false statements when applying to enter at a port. (Verified November 2026.)

How It Fits With Visa-Free Entry and 240-Hour Transit

China’s arrival card is separate from your visa status. It doesn’t replace a visa or grant you entry on its own. It’s the entry declaration everyone files.

If you’re entering visa-free or using the 240-hour visa-free transit scheme, you still complete the arrival card the same way. For how the underlying visa and transit rules work, see our full guide to the Chinese visa system.

Transit Passengers and the China Arrival Card

You skip the China arrival card only for a direct transit of 24 hours or less that stays inside the port’s restricted area. (Verified October 2026.) If you leave the airport, you file it.

The form has a menu for this. After your passport details, it asks you to pick an entry category. Transit options such as 24-hour and 240-hour visa-free transit sit next to ordinary entry, so choose the one you’re using.

You also enter a departure date. On the 240-hour option, the date picker stops 10 days after your entry date.

Tip: Exempt means you stay inside the port’s restricted area the whole time. If you plan to leave the airport for even a few hours, file the card.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can one person submit for the whole family?

Yes. The form includes an accompanying-persons step, so one traveler can add family members traveling with them rather than everyone filing separately. Fill in each accompanying person’s details in that section.

Can I update the arrival card after I submit it?

If your details change, the safest move is to submit a fresh, correct arrival card within the 72-hour window before arrival. That way the QR code you show at the border matches your actual travel information.

Do I still need to fill out a paper arrival card?

No, not if you file online in advance. The digital card replaces the paper form. If you didn’t manage to file before you land, you can still complete it on arrival:

• scan the QR code at the port
• use the self-service machines
• fill out a paper card there

What if I forget to submit before arrival?

You’re not stuck. At the port of entry you can complete the arrival card on the spot with:

• the on-site QR code
• a self-service device
• a paper form

Doing it in advance saves you from queuing to do it after a long flight.

Is the digital arrival card a visa?

No. China’s digital arrival card is an entry declaration, not a visa or a travel authorization. You still need whatever visa or visa-free eligibility applies to you. The arrival card is an additional, separate step.

Is the China arrival card free?

Yes. The NIA says online arrival card filling is free of charge. A site that asks for a fee is a copycat, and the NIA has warned travelers about them.

What is the official China arrival card website?

The NIA gives s.nia.gov.cn/ArrivalCardFillingPC as the web address for the form. You can also use:

• the NIA 12367 app
• the WeChat or Alipay mini-programs
• the arrival card QR code on the NIA notice

Do I need WeChat or Alipay to file the arrival card?

No. The NIA website and the NIA 12367 app are official channels too, so you can file without either payment app.

Do tour group members need to file the arrival card?

No. Foreigners with a group visa, or who enter under the group visa-free policy, are exempt. If you travel on your own, file the card.

Who sees the information I enter on the arrival card?

Before you submit, the form asks you to confirm that China’s immigration authority may lawfully store and use what you entered. It also asks you to confirm that it’s true and accurate.

Tips for a Smooth Arrival

• File in the window: submit within the three days before you fly, not before.
• Screenshot your QR code: save it offline so you can show it without internet.
• Match your documents: check every field against your passport and booking before submitting.
• Use only official channels: the NIA website, the NIA 12367 app, or the WeChat and Alipay mini-programs, and never a site that charges a fee.

Done right, the arrival card is a five-minute task the night before your flight, and it gets you through the border faster.

Read more:

• Moving to China: A Complete Guide
• The Best Travel Insurance for China
• Your First 30 Days in China: Registered, Connected and Paid, Day by Day

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