Booking a place in China that can legally check you in

A hotel has to be able to file, or it cannot take you

Where foreigners stay in hotels, the hotels shall register their accommodation under the hotel-industry public security regulations and submit the registration information to the local public security organs. A property that cannot make that filing is a property that says no at the desk.

Article 39, first paragraph

Source: National Immigration Administration — Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (page dated 2021-03-10; read 2026-07-25)

Which properties count as hotels

Hotels, inns, guest houses, overnight bathing facilities, apartment-style hotels and other accommodation service providers that charge by the hour. An aparthotel booked from the operator is inside the regime; the same flat sublet by an individual is not.

Article 2

Source: Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Justice — Provisions on Accommodation Registration by Hospitality Establishments (page dated 2025-09-18; read 2026-07-25)

The system behind the desk, and its clock

Establishments verify the guest's identification document and upload the identity information to the Public Security Lodging Industry Information System within two hours of registration. Being connected to that system is what 'can take foreign guests' means in practice.

Article 3

Source: Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Justice — Provisions on Accommodation Registration by Hospitality Establishments (page dated 2025-09-18; read 2026-07-25)

Running a hotel is licensed work

Opening a hotel requires examination and approval by the competent department, a signed opinion from the local public security organ, and registration with the administration for industry and commerce. It may only open after the business licence is issued.

Article 4

Source: Ministry of Justice national administrative regulations database — Measures for the Administration of Public Security in the Hotel Industry (Chinese only) (page dated 1987-11-10; read 2026-07-25)

Equal access is written into the rule

Hospitality establishments shall comply with the municipal lodging-industry procedures and guarantee equal access to accommodation services for all guests.

Article 6

Source: Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Justice — Provisions on Accommodation Registration by Hospitality Establishments (page dated 2025-09-18; read 2026-07-25)

What three central authorities said in 2024

The Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Commerce and the National Immigration Administration answered complaints from Nigerian, British, Pakistani and other travellers and stated that the hospitality industry must not refuse foreign nationals by claiming a lack of foreign-related qualifications. The same item says the problem is most common in small cities and budget hotels.

Source: Shanghai Municipal People's Government English portal — Hotels told not to turn away foreign guests (page dated 2024-05-29; read 2026-07-25)

Anywhere that is not a hotel, the duty is yours

For foreigners who reside or stay in domiciles other than hotels, they or the persons who accommodate them shall, within 24 hours after arrival, go through the registration formalities with the public security organs in the places of residence.

Article 39, second paragraph

Source: National Immigration Administration — Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (page dated 2021-03-10; read 2026-07-25)

The document your host has to hold

Beijing's guide asks an online filing for a photo of your passport information page, a bareheaded photo taken in real time, and a photo of the page showing the address in the property ownership certificate or lease agreement. An in-person filing asks for the same proof of residence at the counter.

Source: Beijing Municipal Government English portal — Guide to Accommodation Registration for Foreigners in Beijing (read 2026-07-25)

Shanghai's Chinese text asks for it too — the English one does not

The Chinese text of Shanghai's procedures requires a counter filing to present the visitor's valid identity document and proof of residence, and allows a written on-the-spot undertaking where the proof cannot be produced and the police find no record of a false declaration. The English translation of the same rule leaves the proof-of-residence requirement out.

Article 6

Source: Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau — Notice issuing the Procedures for the Accommodation Registration of Overseas Personnel (Chinese only) (page dated 2020-01-13; read 2026-07-25)

A private home filing runs on your host's documents

If a visitor stays at a resident's home, the host or the visitor takes the host's passport or ID and the host's household registration booklet to a nearby police station within 24 hours of arrival, or 72 hours in a rural area. A housing lease contract is also required if the household registration address differs from the accommodation address.

Source: Shanghai Municipal Government English portal — How can foreign visitors register for temporary accommodation? (page dated 2023-12-14; read 2026-07-25)

Which documents the online route accepts

Beijing's online system takes four: a foreign passport, a Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card, a Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents, and a Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Residents. Without one of those the registration has to be made in person at a police station.

Source: Beijing Municipal Government English portal — A Guide for Registering Accommodation Online (page dated 2024-01-22; read 2026-07-25)

Two Beijing pages disagree about the phone number

The 2024 online-registration guide says only phone numbers registered in the Chinese mainland can be used and overseas numbers are not supported. The municipal service guide's own FAQ says no mobile number is needed for online registration, only an email address. Both are Beijing government pages. Plan for the stricter one.

Source: Beijing Municipal Government English portal — A Guide for Registering Accommodation Online (page dated 2024-01-22; read 2026-07-25)

The online filing route, and where it runs

From 20 March 2026 the immigration administration piloted online accommodation registration in Hebei, Liaoning, Zhejiang, Hubei, Guangxi, Chongqing and Sichuan, with nationwide rollout stated as gradual. The offline channel stays open, and an online filing has the same legal effect as one made on site.

Source: National Immigration Administration — Announcement of the National Immigration Administration on the Pilot Implementation of Online Accommodation Registration for Foreigners Residing or Staying in Domiciles Other Than Hotels (page dated 2026-03-20; read 2026-07-25)

The languages the Beijing system speaks

English, French, Russian, Japanese and Korean, in addition to Chinese. Status sits under My Record, an approved filing can be printed as an electronic registration form, and a rejected one can be resubmitted or taken to the police station where you are staying.

Source: Beijing Municipal Government English portal — Guide to Accommodation Registration for Foreigners in Beijing (read 2026-07-25)

What an unregistered stay costs you

Failing to go through the registration formalities required by the second paragraph of Article 39 draws a warning, and a fine of not more than RMB 2,000 may also be imposed. It reaches the person accommodating you as well as you.

Article 76, item (6)

Source: National Immigration Administration — Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (page dated 2021-03-10; read 2026-07-25)

What makes a property able to take a foreign guest at all?

Being able to make the filing. A licensed hospitality establishment verifies your document, registers you and passes the information to the local public security organ — in Shanghai, into the Public Security Lodging Industry Information System within two hours. A property that is not set up for that is the one that turns you away at the desk.

The hotel says it has no foreign-related qualification. Is that a real thing?

In May 2024 the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Commerce and the National Immigration Administration said the hospitality industry must not refuse foreign nationals by claiming a lack of foreign-related qualifications. That reaches us as a news item on a municipal government portal, not as a regulation, so treat it as the official position rather than as something the night manager must obey.

I booked a flat on a platform. Who registers me?

You or your host, within 24 hours of moving in, at the public security organ for the place you are staying. The filing needs the address page of the property ownership certificate or the lease, which only your host can give you. Ask for it before you pay rather than after you land.

Does an apartment-style hotel count as a hotel?

Under Shanghai's provisions, yes: hotels, inns, guest houses, overnight bathing facilities, apartment-style hotels and hourly-rate accommodation providers are all hospitality establishments and all register guests on check-in. The distinction that matters is whether you are booking the operator or an individual owner renting one unit.

Can I file the registration from my phone before I have a Chinese number?

It depends whose page you read, and that is worth knowing before you land. Beijing's 2024 online-registration guide says only mainland-registered phone numbers work. The same portal's service guide says no phone number is needed at all, only an email address. Assume you may need a mainland number and keep the police-station route as the fallback.

The listing says foreigners welcome. Is that worth anything?

Nothing official. No page we opened publishes a register of properties able to take foreign guests, and no authority we read endorses a platform label. The checkable question is whether the property files the registration, or whether you and your host will have to.