Before you fly

The China arrival card is now an online form you fill before you fly

In short

Do I still have to fill in a China arrival card?

Since November 20, 2025 the Arrival Card for Foreigners is an online form. Fill it before you fly at the National Immigration Administration's site, the NIA 12367 app, or the WeChat and Alipay mini-programs. If you did not, you can still complete it on arrival by scanning the port QR code, using a smart terminal, or filling a paper card. Seven categories of traveler are exempt.

What the immigration counter involves

Applies to

Foreign nationals entering mainland China, at all ports, unless you are in one of the seven exempt categories below.

Check before you rely on it

No opened source reproduces the individual form fields or says how far ahead you may file, so this page covers what the card is and where to fill it, not a field-by-field walkthrough.

Information checked: 2026-07-25

An earlier source pass could not confirm the arrival card and dropped it. The National Immigration Administration put it online on 20 November 2025, so it is now a step you can finish before boarding.

Back to entry Official online filling site

How to do it

Fill it before you fly

1.Before you fly, open the National Immigration Administration's online filling site, the 'NIA 12367' app, or its WeChat or Alipay mini-program, and enter your entry information there.
2.You can also reach the same form by scanning the arrival-card QR code with your phone. The official web address is s.nia.gov.cn/ArrivalCardFillingPC/.
3.Check whether you are in one of the seven exempt categories first — permanent residents, Hong Kong and Macao permit holders who are not Chinese citizens, group-visa travelers, 24-hour direct-transit passengers, same-ship cruise passengers, E-channel users, and transport crew do not fill it in.
4.If you did not complete it before your flight, do it on arrival: scan the on-site QR code, use a smart service terminal in the inspection area, or fill out a paper Arrival Card.
5.Keep your passport and onward details to hand while filling it, because the form asks for entry information the same way the old paper card did.

Source: Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States, reproducing the National Immigration Administration notice — China Launches Online Arrival Card for International Travelers (page dated 2025-12-03; read 2026-07-25)

The address itself

Where the form lives

Printed in the National Immigration Administration notice, so you reach the real site rather than a lookalike.

https://s.nia.gov.cn/ArrivalCardFillingPC/

The same form opens in the NIA 12367 app and its WeChat and Alipay mini-programs, or by scanning the arrival-card QR code with your phone.

Who skips it

Seven categories do not fill in the card at all

Quoted from the National Immigration Administration notice. If your situation sits on the edge of a category, confirm with the airline or port before relying on it.

Exempt category	Who it covers
Foreign permanent residents	Holders of a valid Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card of the People's Republic of China.
Hong Kong and Macao permit holders	Holders of a valid Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents who are not Chinese citizens.
Group-visa travelers	Holders of a group visa, or those eligible for group visa-free entry.
24-hour direct-transit passengers	Passengers in 24-hour direct transit who stay within the designated area of the port.
Same-ship cruise passengers	Cruise passengers entering and departing on the same vessel.
E-channel / fast-track users	Travelers entering through the E-channel or fast-track channels.
Transport crew	Foreign crew members of exit-entry transport vehicles.

The published facts

Every rule on this page, with the page it came from

Both sources are official reprints of the National Immigration Administration measure. Sources read 2026-07-25.

The card went online on 20 November 2025

Effective November 20, 2025, foreign nationals may fill in the relevant entry information online before coming to China through the official website and government service platform of the National Immigration Administration, the 'NIA 12367' app and its WeChat or Alipay mini-program, or by scanning the QR code with a mobile phone. The measure applies at all ports nationwide.

China Launches Online Arrival Card for International Travelers (Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States, reproducing the National Immigration Administration notice, page dated 2025-12-03, read 2026-07-25)

The official filling website

The notice prints the online filling address in full: https://s.nia.gov.cn/ArrivalCardFillingPC/ . It is the National Immigration Administration's own site, not a third-party service, and the same form is reachable through the app and the mini-programs.

If you did not fill it in before you flew

Foreigners who cannot fill in the information online in advance may complete the process on arrival at the immigration inspection site by scanning the QR code with a mobile phone, using the smart devices on site, or filling out a paper-based Arrival Card. Nothing is lost by arriving without it; there is simply a step to do at the port.

Seven categories do not fill it in at all

The notice lists seven exempt categories: permanent residents holding the Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card; non-Chinese holders of the Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents; group-visa holders and those eligible for visa-free group entry; 24-hour direct-transit passengers staying inside the port area; same-vessel cruise passengers; E-channel entrants; and foreign transport crew.

A second official reprint confirms the go-live date

A consular guidelines page dated November 28, 2025 restates that the National Immigration Administration will implement online completion of the Arrival Card for Foreigners at all ports nationwide from November 20, 2025, to improve clearance efficiency, and repeats the same pre-arrival and on-arrival routes and the same seven exemption categories.

Guidelines for Online Completion of the Arrival Card for Foreigners Entering China (Embassy of the People's Republic of China, consular guidelines reproducing the National Immigration Administration measure, page dated 2025-11-28, read 2026-07-25)

Why this page exists now

An earlier source pass recorded the arrival card as unsourceable and dropped it. As of 20 November 2025 it is a named online form with an official filling URL and a published exemption list, so the topic is now something a traveler can act on before boarding rather than a mystery at the counter.

In short

Arrival-card questions travellers actually ask

Including the one people search at the gate: I did not fill it in before my flight.

Do I still have to fill in a China arrival card?

Yes, unless you are in one of the seven exempt categories. Since 20 November 2025 it is an online form rather than a paper slip handed out on the plane. You fill it in before you travel through the National Immigration Administration website, the NIA 12367 app, or its WeChat or Alipay mini-program.

Where do I fill in the online arrival card?

The official filling website is https://s.nia.gov.cn/ArrivalCardFillingPC/, published in the National Immigration Administration notice. You can also open the same form in the NIA 12367 app, in its WeChat or Alipay mini-program, or by scanning the arrival-card QR code with your phone.

I did not fill it in before my flight. What happens at the airport?

You complete it on arrival. The notice says foreigners who could not fill it in advance may scan the on-site QR code with a phone, use the smart service terminals in the inspection area, or fill out a paper Arrival Card. Arriving without it is a step to finish at the port, not a refusal.

Who is exempt from the arrival card?

Seven categories: foreign permanent residents; non-Chinese holders of the Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents; group-visa holders and those eligible for visa-free group entry; 24-hour direct-transit passengers who stay in the port area; same-vessel cruise passengers; travelers using the E-channel; and foreign crew on exit-entry transport vehicles.

Is the paper arrival card gone completely?

No. The paper Arrival Card survives as one of the on-arrival fallback options for people who did not, or could not, complete the form online in advance. The default from 20 November 2025 is the online form, filled before travel, with the paper card kept as a backup at the port.

Not published

What we could not confirm

Where the official sources stop, so you are not told more than the notice actually says.

No opened source states how far in advance of departure you may fill in the online card, or whether a saved submission expires before you travel.
No opened source reproduces the individual fields on the online form, so this page describes what the form is for rather than walking field by field.
No opened source says what confirmation you receive after submitting online, or whether you need to show anything at the counter beyond your passport.
The exemption list is quoted from the National Immigration Administration notice. If your situation sits on the edge of a category, confirm with the airline or the port before relying on being exempt.

The immigration counter and fingerprints

What you submit, the biometric scan for ages 14 to 70, and what the officer can examine.

Open the inspection page

The health declaration on arrival

The form is abolished; the one residual duty is for travellers with symptoms.

Open page

Customs channel and what to declare

Red and green channels, allowances, and what happens if you skip a declaration.

Open page

The China arrival card is now an online form you fill before you fly

Do I still have to fill in a China arrival card?

Fill it before you fly

Where the form lives

Seven categories do not fill in the card at all

Every rule on this page, with the page it came from

The card went online on 20 November 2025

The official filling website

If you did not fill it in before you flew

Seven categories do not fill it in at all

A second official reprint confirms the go-live date

Why this page exists now

Arrival-card questions travellers actually ask

Do I still have to fill in a China arrival card?

Where do I fill in the online arrival card?

I did not fill it in before my flight. What happens at the airport?

Who is exempt from the arrival card?

Is the paper arrival card gone completely?

What we could not confirm

The immigration counter and fingerprints

The health declaration on arrival

Customs channel and what to declare

Leave each page knowing what to do next.

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