The requirement applies to every foreign national in China, on any visa or visa-free entry. The window is 24 hours in cities, extended to 72 hours in some rural areas.
In a hotel: already done#
This is what the receptionist is doing when they scan your passport and pause at the terminal for a moment. Licensed hotels file the registration with the local Public Security Bureau electronically.
You should receive a Registration Form of Temporary Residence, a small printed slip. Photograph it. It is occasionally requested when applying for a visa extension or a Tibet permit, and it is far easier to have than to reconstruct.
Note that not every Chinese hotel is licensed to register foreign guests — which is why some will turn you away regardless of vacancy. Booking through Trip.com, Booking.com or Agoda, or sticking to national chains like Atour, Ji Hotel and Hanting, avoids the problem almost entirely.
In a private home or apartment: your responsibility#
You go in person to the neighbourhood police station — the 派出所 (pài chū suǒ) — with:
- Your passport
- Your host, who needs their own ID
- Proof of the address: the property ownership certificate or the lease
It takes about twenty minutes and costs nothing.
This situation is less common than it used to be, because Airbnb closed its domestic mainland listings in 2022. Chinese homestay platforms — Meituan, Tujia, Xiaozhu — still operate, and registration there is patchier, so assume it falls to you.
What happens if you skip it#
Enforcement is inconsistent and most short-stay tourists in hotels never think about it, because the hotel has handled it. The requirement is nonetheless real, and gaps in your registration history create friction later: visa extension applications and Tibet permit applications both look at it.
If you are stopped and asked for registration you cannot produce, the usual outcome is a warning; fines are possible.
Moving around#
The 24-hour clock restarts in each place you stay. A trip through Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai means three registrations — all of them automatic if you are in hotels, which is the ordinary case.
More on which hotels can legally take you, and the domestic chains worth knowing, is in our accommodation guide.