Hotel registration rules for foreigners in China
Your hotel registers you with the police; you do not go to a police station, and a hotel cannot turn you away for lacking a "foreign-related licence." You show your passport at check-in, the front desk records your details, and the hotel files a temporary accommodation registration form with the local public security office within 24 hours of your arrival. Article 39 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law puts that duty on the hotel, not on you.
At check-in
Book a property whose listing states its guest policy. Chinese-language listings carry a note when a hotel takes only guests holding a mainland ID card, and the same listing on an international site often does not. If you are weighing platforms, compare the main booking sites before you commit.
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- Show your original passport at the desk. Every guest in the room needs one — the hotel registers from the original document, not a copy.
- Check what the clerk types in: your name as printed in the machine-readable zone, your passport number, your visa or visa-free entry date, and the number of nights. Errors sit in the police system until someone notices.
- Keep whatever the front desk hands you. A temporary residence registration form can be requested later, when you extend a visa or apply for a residence permit.
- Nothing else is required of you. The hotel submits the form; you do not carry it to a police station yourself.
Hotel stay versus everywhere else
| Hotel, or homestay licensed and run as a hotel | Rental flat, guesthouse, friend's home | |
|---|---|---|
| Who registers | The front desk, at check-in | You or your host |
| Deadline | Within 24 hours of arrival | Within 24 hours of arrival |
| How | Passport scanned; form filed with the local public security office | Online through the National Immigration Administration service website, the NIA 12367 app, or its WeChat and Alipay mini-programs, or in person at a police station |
| If it is missed | The hotel gets a warning, or a fine of 1,000 to 5,000 yuan in serious cases | You get a warning and a fine of up to 2,000 yuan |
Online registration of non-hotel stays went nationwide on 21 September 2026, after a pilot in Hebei, Liaoning, Zhejiang, Hubei, Guangxi, Chongqing and Sichuan. It carries the same legal weight as registering at a station counter. It covers short-term rentals, urban and rural homestays and daily rental apartments; homestays licensed and managed as hotels are excluded because they register guests themselves.
If a hotel refuses you
In May 2024 the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Commerce and the National Immigration Administration said hotels must not refuse foreign nationals on the grounds that they lack foreign-related qualifications. A notice from seven departments on 1 July 2024 went further, telling local authorities and booking platforms not to use qualification requirements to block hotels from hosting foreign guests, and not to publish notices saying they do not accept them.
The rule is national; enforcement is not uniform. Travellers still report refusals at budget hotels and in smaller cities, so ask before you pay. If you are turned away at the door, call 12367 — the immigration service line answers in Chinese and English around the clock — or 12345. Both accept complaints.
Last checked: 2026-09-25
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