The short version: China scrapped the yellow paper arrival card and replaced it with an online form — the China Digital Arrival Card (CDAC) — on November 20, 2025. Almost every foreign visitor now needs one, including travelers entering visa-free. You fill it in up to 72 hours before you land, save a QR code, and show that code at immigration. It is free, it takes a few minutes, and it is quickly becoming the single most common reason a well-prepared traveler gets held up at the border. This guide covers exactly how to do it — and the one mistake that costs people money.
For decades, flight attendants handed out a paper Foreigner's Arrival Card that you scrambled to complete with a borrowed pen while the plane descended. Since November 20, 2025, that form has gone digital. The National Immigration Administration (NIA) now runs an online system that applies to foreign travelers arriving in mainland China by air, land or sea, for tourism, business or family visits.
The completed card generates a unique QR code. Immigration officers scan that code at passport control instead of reading your handwriting off a paper slip. Done properly, it shaves real time off your arrival.
Two things the CDAC is not:
One more rule people miss: you need a new card for every entry. If your trip includes China → Hong Kong → China, or China → Macau → China, fill in a fresh card before each re-entry, not just the first one.
The rule applies to almost every foreign national entering mainland China — tourists, business visitors, people visiting family, and anyone using the 30-day unilateral visa-free scheme or the 240-hour transit scheme. Each traveler needs their own card, including children and infants; a parent or guardian can complete them together.
Exactly seven categories are exempt:
| # | Exempt category |
|---|---|
| 1 | Holders of a valid Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card of the People's Republic of China (China "green card") |
| 2 | Non-Chinese nationals holding a valid Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents |
| 3 | Holders of a group visa, or those eligible for group visa-free entry |
| 4 | Passengers in 24-hour direct transit who stay within the restricted area of the port and clear no immigration |
| 5 | Passengers entering and departing on the same cruise ship |
| 6 | Travelers entering through the E-channel / fast lane |
| 7 | Foreign crew members of exit-entry transport vehicles (planes, ships, trains) |
Visa-free travelers are NOT exempt. If you qualify for 30-day unilateral visa-free entry or the 240-hour visa-free transit — and you plan to clear immigration — you still need the Digital Arrival Card. The transit exemption (category 4) only applies to travelers who remain airside the entire time and never pass through border control.
The service is completely free. Fill it in through any of these official channels:
The form is available in English, French, Japanese and Korean. Arabic and Urdu are not currently supported, so travelers from the Middle East and South Asia should use the English version.
Timing: submit it within the 72 hours (3 days) before arrival. Do it before you board, on a stable home connection — not in the immigration queue, where airport Wi-Fi often requires a Chinese phone number you do not have.
The accommodation address must be complete. Immigration requires the address of your first night's stay — province, city and street, in Chinese characters or Pinyin. If you have not booked yet, make a cancellable hotel reservation first so you have a valid address to enter. If you are staying with friends or family, use their exact home address. A missing or vague address is one of the most frequently cited causes of delays at the border.
Missing the online form is not a disaster and, on its own, will not get you denied entry. Every major Chinese port of entry has fallbacks:
Expect to add 5–15 minutes, more at peak arrival times. If several international flights land together, that queue is the last thing you want to join after a 12-hour flight — which is the entire argument for doing it in advance.
The digital arrival card did not appear in isolation. It sits inside a broader tightening and modernizing of China's border administration — most visibly the new Regulation on Exit and Entry Administration, issued by the State Council in July 2026 and effective September 15, 2026.
For ordinary tourists, the practical change is small but worth knowing:
The consistent takeaway is simple: make your documents, visa, itinerary and arrival card all match. If everything lines up, the border is a passport, a QR code and a stamp. For the full breakdown, see our guide to China's new entry-exit regulations.
The arrival card is free. Anyone charging you for it is a scam. China's National Immigration Administration has publicly warned that overseas fraudsters are setting up counterfeit websites that mimic the official arrival-card platform and demand a fee. The CDAC service costs nothing, ever. Access it only through s.nia.gov.cn, the "移民局12367" app, or the WeChat/Alipay mini-program "移民局12367". If a site asks for your card details to "process" an arrival card, close it.
The same principle applies to visas and eSIMs: use official or well-established channels, and be suspicious of anything that pressures you to pay quickly for a form you can get free.
Yes. The CDAC is required for almost all foreign nationals entering mainland China, including those using the 30-day unilateral visa-free scheme and the 240-hour transit scheme (provided they clear immigration). Only the seven listed categories are exempt.
Up to 72 hours (3 days) before your arrival. It is best to do it before you fly, on a reliable connection, and to save the QR code offline before boarding.
Yes — every traveler, including children and infants, needs a card. One person can submit on behalf of accompanying travelers within the same form flow, but the details are individual.
Small timing changes rarely matter, but if your entry date, port or flight changes materially, fill in a fresh card within the 72-hour window. Never travel with a card that no longer matches your actual arrival.
Yes. If you cannot complete the form online, paper arrival cards remain available at ports of entry, and self-service smart kiosks let you file digitally on arrival. The digital route is simply faster and less stressful.
No. It is an entry declaration form only. It does not grant entry, and it does not replace a visa or the eligibility check for visa-free entry.
Immigration procedures, official websites and exemption categories can change. Details here reflect official NIA and embassy notices as of September 2026. Always confirm current requirements on the National Immigration Administration's official channels before you travel.