Arriving in China: Immigration, Fingerprints and Customs Step by Step

The short version

Entering China as a foreign visitor follows the same order at every international airport:

1. Before you fly: check your visa or visa-free option, then fill in the free arrival card online.
2. Border control (immigration): join the foreigners’ lane. Officers check your passport and visa, take your fingerprints if you are 14 to 70, photograph your face and may ask a few questions.
3. Baggage claim: collect your checked bags.
4. Customs: walk through the green channel if you have nothing to declare, or the red channel if you do.
5. Arrivals hall: get data, payments and transport into the city.

At major airports such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, the whole process usually takes 30 to 90 minutes.

This guide follows the National Immigration Administration’s (NIA) official guidance for foreigners, checked on 29 September 2026. Entry policies change often, so confirm your own case with the NIA or a Chinese embassy before you book.

Entry requirements: what you need before you fly

Which option applies to you?

• UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and most EU citizens can currently visit visa-free for up to 30 days. See which countries can visit China visa-free.
• US citizens need a tourist visa for an ordinary round trip. Without a visa, they can use 240-hour transit if they fly on to a different country, or Hainan’s 30-day visa-free entry for Hainan only.
• 240-hour visa-free transit covers 57 countries and 65 ports since 20 August 2026, according to the NIA.

Save everything offline. Download your visa page, arrival card QR code, onward ticket and hotel booking to your phone, and keep a printed copy. You may not have mobile data when you land.

Step 1: On the plane and after landing

• Your airline may hand out paper arrival cards. If you already filled one in online, keep the QR code ready instead.
• Health declaration: not needed for most travelers. China stopped requiring a routine health declaration in November 2023. You may pass an infrared temperature scanner. If you have a fever or symptoms of an infectious disease, tell the customs health officers.
• Follow the signs for “Arrivals / 入境” and “Immigration / 边防检查”.
• Connecting to a domestic flight? You clear immigration and customs at your first Chinese airport, then check in again for the domestic flight. See China domestic flights.

Step 2: Arrival card

If you did not fill in the arrival card online, do it before you queue:

• Use a self-service kiosk in the immigration hall, or ask for a paper card at the desk before the queue.
• Some airports show a QR code that opens the NIA’s official online form.
• The official website ends in nia.gov.cn. The service is free; sites that charge a fee are not official.

Our China arrival card guide walks through each field and explains who is exempt.

Step 3: Border control

Choose the right lane

Signs are in Chinese and English:

• Foreigners / 外国人: the lane for foreign passport holders
• Chinese citizens / 中国公民: not for foreign visitors
• Visa-free transit / 过境免签 or Visa-free / 免签: some airports have dedicated counters for visa-free travelers
• Priority or care lanes / 绿色通道 or 爱心通道: many airports open these for travelers with disabilities, older people, pregnant women and families with babies. Ask staff.

Fingerprints: who gives them

China records the fingerprints of foreigners when they enter. According to the NIA:

• Foreigners aged 14 to 70 (inclusive) give fingerprints.
• Exempt: children under 14, people over 70, some holders of diplomatic passports or Chinese diplomatic or courtesy visas, people covered by bilateral fingerprint exemptions, and people whose fingerprints cannot be taken.

How it works:

1. At many large airports, you first use a self-service fingerprint machine before the counter. Follow the on-screen instructions in English: scan your passport, then place your fingers on the glass. Staff nearby help if it does not work.
2. At the counter, the officer may ask you to place your fingers on the scanner again and will take a photo of your face.
3. It takes less than a minute. Remove gloves, and dry your hands if they are wet.

What the officer checks and asks

The officer checks your passport, visa or visa-free eligibility and arrival card. Questions are usually short:

• What is the purpose of your visit? “Tourism” is enough if it is true.
• How long will you stay?
• Which cities will you visit?
• Where are you staying? Have the hotel name and address ready.
• When do you leave, and where to? For 240-hour transit, show your onward ticket to a third country or region.

Answer briefly and truthfully. Under the State Council’s exit and entry provisions, in force since 15 September 2026, foreigners who give false information or false documents when applying for entry can be refused entry.

Your entry stamp

The officer stamps your passport. Check the stamp before you walk away. For visa-free entry, it shows the entry date and the type of permission. Your permitted stay is counted from it. If anything looks wrong, ask immediately.

Reasons entry can be refused

According to the NIA, officers can refuse entry to people who, among other things:

• do not have a valid passport or visa, or refuse border checks
• were deported and are still within the ban period
• give false information or cannot support themselves during the stay
• are likely to do activities that do not match their visa, such as working on a tourist entry

Step 4: Baggage claim

• Screens show the belt number for your flight.
• Trolleys are free at major Chinese airports.
• Lost or damaged bag? Report it at the airline’s baggage service counter in the hall before you leave through customs, and keep your bag tag receipt.

Step 5: Customs

After baggage claim, you choose a lane:

• Green channel (“Nothing to declare”): for personal belongings within the allowances. No form needed.
• Red channel (“Goods to declare”): for foreign cash over US$5,000, alcohol or tobacco over the allowances, goods to leave in China worth more than RMB 2,000, commercial goods, and animal or plant products.

Chinese yuan cash is capped at RMB 20,000 per person. Customs officers may X-ray any bag in either lane. Fresh fruit, meat, dairy and eggs are banned, so finish airline snacks before landing. See the full list in China customs rules.

Step 6: In the arrivals hall

Before you leave the airport:

• Mobile data: activate your eSIM, or buy a local SIM with your passport. See eSIM vs SIM card in China.
• Payments: check that Alipay or WeChat Pay works with your card. Withdraw a little cash from an airport ATM as a backup. See Alipay for foreigners.
• Into the city: follow signs for official taxis, the airport express or metro, or book a ride with DiDi. See how to get a taxi in China.

Families, seniors and special cases

• Children need their own passport and their own visa or visa-free eligibility. Children under 14 do not give fingerprints. Families usually go through the counter together. See China with kids.
• Travelers over 70 do not give fingerprints. Ask airport staff about wheelchair help when you book your flight.
• 24-hour direct transit: if you stay inside the international transit area and fly on within 24 hours, you normally do not go through immigration. Follow the transit signs, and check with your airline whether your bags are checked through.
• Arriving by train or ferry from Hong Kong or Macao works the same way: immigration, then customs. Some land ports have self-service fingerprint machines and dedicated foreigners’ counters.

Common mistakes

• Using an unofficial arrival card website that charges a fee.
• Booking a 240-hour transit trip as a round trip. The onward flight must go to a different country or region.
• Not having the hotel address. Save it in Chinese and English.
• Carrying fresh fruit or meat from the plane into customs.
• Not checking the entry stamp. Overstaying, even by a day, leads to fines.
• Leaving your passport in a checked bag. You need it at immigration, and later for trains, hotels and many attractions.

Plan the rest of your arrival

Once you are through, the next jobs are data, payments and transport. Our first trip to China guide covers your first day. If you would like an arrival that runs smoothly, our airport transfer service can meet you in the arrivals hall, and our free trip planning service can check your entry option and route before you book.