Lost Your Passport in China? The 3 Steps to Get Home

The short version

Losing your passport in China is stressful, but it is a known process with three steps. You cannot fly home with only a new passport, because your Chinese visa or visa-free entry record was in the old one.

1. Report it and get a passport loss certificate from the local public security bureau’s exit-entry office. It is free.
2. Get a new passport or emergency travel document from your embassy or consulate in China.
3. Get a replacement visa or exit permit from a local exit-entry administration service center. In Beijing this takes up to seven working days.

Plan for one to two weeks in China, and change your flight once you know the dates. This guide follows the Beijing Municipal Government’s official procedure, checked on 3 October 2026. Other cities use the same three steps, but local offices, appointment systems and documents can differ.

Before anything else: is it really lost?

• Check your hotel. Hotels scan passports at check-in, and some keep them at reception by mistake.
• Check taxis, trains and sights. Passports left on trains are often handed to station staff. Call the railway hotline 12306 with your train number, car and seat. For DiDi rides, contact the driver through your trip history.
• Ask your tour guide or driver if you handed it over for tickets.

If you think it was stolen, report it as theft. That also helps your insurance claim.

Step 1: report the loss and get a passport loss certificate

1a. Report it to the police

Call 110, or go to the nearest police station (派出所, pàichūsuǒ). Explain that you lost your passport and ask for a receipt for the report (报案回执). Your hotel can tell you where the station is and may send someone to help translate.

1b. Get the passport loss certificate

Take the receipt to the exit-entry administration of the local public security bureau (公安局出入境管理, gōng’ānjú chūrùjìng guǎnlǐ) to get a passport loss certificate (护照报失证明).

In Beijing, the official list of documents is:

• Three 2-inch color photos, bareheaded, 3.5 cm × 4.9 cm
• Proof of identity: a scan or photocopy of your passport, an ID card from your home country, a driver’s license or similar
• The police receipt showing you reported the loss
• The loss report form for foreign nationals’ exit-entry documents, filled in at the office

For a child’s passport, also bring proof of the parent-child relationship, such as a birth certificate.

Fee: free. Photo shops near exit-entry offices make visa photos in minutes.

Step 2: get a new passport from your embassy

Contact your embassy or consulate in China. Most have a 24-hour emergency phone line for citizens.

• Bring the passport loss certificate and whatever else your embassy asks for, usually photos, proof of identity and proof of your travel plans.
• Ask which document you need. Many embassies can issue an emergency travel document quickly, valid only for the trip home, or a full replacement passport, which can take longer.
• Fees and times are set by your embassy. Check its website.

Embassies are in Beijing, and many countries also have consulates in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and other cities. Go to the one responsible for the area you are in.

Step 3: get a replacement visa or exit permit

Your new passport has no Chinese visa and no entry stamp. Before you can leave, apply at a local exit-entry administration service center for foreign nationals.

In Beijing, the official documents are:

• The original passport loss certificate, or a note from your embassy or consulate
• Your new passport or other international travel document
• Valid registration of your accommodation in the city. Hotels register you automatically; ask reception for a printout of your registration
• One recent 2-inch color photo, white background, 3.5 cm × 4.9 cm

Appointment: in Beijing, book in advance on the Beijing Public Security Bureau’s online service platform.

Processing time: up to seven working days from when your application is accepted in Beijing. Weekends and public holidays, such as 1 to 7 October, add days.

Fee: the normal Chinese visa application fee.

If you entered visa-free, for example under the 30-day visa-free policy or 240-hour transit, you still need this step. Explain your entry type at the office, and ask about your permitted stay if the process will take you past the end of your visa-free period.

How long will it all take?

Traveling while you wait

• Hotels: checking in needs identity documents. Many hotels can register you with the police loss certificate or your new embassy document. Call ahead.
• Trains: the railway accepts a passport loss report certificate for some ticket transactions. Ask at the station ticket office. Tickets booked with your old passport number may need to be changed.
• Flights: you cannot fly until you have a new travel document, and you cannot leave China until you have the replacement visa or exit permit.
• Stay near the offices. You may need to return to the exit-entry office and your embassy. Avoid moving to another city until the process is finished.

Money, insurance and your trip

• Tell your airline as soon as you know your new dates. Change rather than cancel, to keep the fare.
• Claim on travel insurance. Many policies cover extra hotel nights, transport and the cost of replacement documents. Keep every receipt, and the police and loss certificates. See China travel insurance.
• Payment apps still work. Alipay and WeChat Pay are linked to your phone, not your passport. Your bank cards are not affected unless they were lost too.

Protect your passport before it happens

• Keep a scan of your passport photo page and Chinese visa in your email and on paper.
• Carry it in a zipped inner pocket, not a back pocket or an open bag.
• Do not hand it over to anyone who is not hotel staff, police, a ticket office or your booked guide, and get it back straight away.
• Save your embassy’s emergency number on your phone and on paper.
• Bring two spare passport photos. They save time if anything happens.

You do not have to do it alone

The hardest part of a lost passport is finding the right office, filling in forms in Chinese and explaining your situation. Your personal travel concierge can guide you through each step on WhatsApp, find the nearest police station and exit-entry office, and help you rebook trains and hotels. For in-person help at the offices, we can arrange a local guide to go with you and translate. In an emergency, call 110 for police first.