Entry Requirements

Prohibited Items from Entry

(1) Various weapons, simulated weapons, ammunition and explosives;

(2) Counterfeit currency and counterfeit securities;

(3) Printed materials, films, photographs, records, films, audio tapes, video tapes, laser discs, computer storage media and other items that are harmful to China's politics, economy, culture or morality;

(4) Various strong poisons;

(5) Opium, morphine, heroin, marijuana and other addictive narcotics and psychotropic substances;

(6) Animals, plants and their products that carry dangerous germs, pests and other harmful organisms;

(7) Food, medicine or other items that are harmful to human and animal health, come from epidemic areas or can spread other diseases.

Restricted Items from Entry

(1) Radio transceivers and communication security equipment;

(2) Cigarettes and alcohol;

(3) Endangered and precious animals and plants (including specimens) and their seeds and propagation materials;

(4) National currency

(5) Other articles restricted from entry into the country by customs.

Tips | Cigarettes, Alcohol, and Currency

You can bring in 400 cigarettes (2 cartons), 100 cigars, or 500 grams of pipe tobacco duty-free; and 2 bottles (1.5 liters) of liquor duty-free.

You can bring in no more than RMB 20,000 and cash no more than the equivalent of USD 5,000. If the amount exceeds the prescribed amount, you shall declare it to the customs.

Tips | Items Requiring Quarantine Examination and Approval

According to the List of Animals and Plants, Their Products and Other Quarantine Items Prohibited from Being Carried or Sent into the People's Republic of China, animals and animal products such as dried meat, fresh milk, butter, etc. (excluding milk powder), bird's nests (excluding canned bird's nests that have been commercially sterilized), plants, seeds and seedlings, fruits and vegetables, fungi, soil, etc. are all prohibited items from being carried or sent into China. They shall go quarantine examination and approval procedures before entry, and they can only enter the country after passing quarantine inspection.

Tips | Endangered Species and Their Products

China implements protection for endangered species and their products. Travelers should be careful to distinguish when buying handicrafts or souvenirs abroad. For protected species listed in the Appendix of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), such as ivory, giant clams, and agarwood, any trade method or carrying or mailing of endangered species and their products into or out of the country is illegal, except for those who legally hold import and export permits and go through customs formalities in accordance with regulations.

[For other items restricted from entry, please refer to Decree No. 43 of the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China]

Health Inspection and Quarantine

(1) Foreign nationals intending to settle or reside in China for one year or more (including those studying in China for one academic year) are required to undergo a health check at the International Travel Healthcare Center (hereinafter referred to as the Healthcare Center) under the China Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau within one month after they enter China. They shall obtain a health certificate before they can apply for residence and employment;

(2) Foreign nationals who have not obtained a residence permit in China or are studying in China on a student visa, or those who have obtained a valid residence permit but engage in employment with entities other than their employer, are required to present a health certificate issued by the China Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau before they can go through the employment application procedures at the competent labor employment management authorities;

(3) Foreign nationals may submit their original health examination records from local public hospitals or notarized records from private hospitals. For authentication, such records must be verified by China's embassies or consulates abroad. The certification is valid for six months from the date of issuance. Foreign nationals who submit health examination records should bring the original records (which shall include the original examination results, the signature of the chief physician, and the hospital seal), their passport, and one photocopy of their passport to the designated health centers for verification. If the records meet the requirements, the verification procedures will be completed within 3-4 working days, and a Certificate of Verification for Physical Examination Record for Foreigners or Overseas Chinese will be issued. This certificate is valid for six months from the date of issuance.

Bringing Pets into China

The only live animals that can be brought into the country are dogs or cats (hereinafter referred to as "pets"). Each person is limited to bringing one pet at a time.

Any person carrying a pet into the People's Republic of China shall submit to the customs authorities a valid quarantine certificate and a vaccination certificate issued by the official animal quarantine authorities of the exporting country or region. Pets shall be equipped with a microchip or other valid identification documents.

Incoming pets shall be quarantined for 30 days (including the detention period).

Pets from countries or regions where rabies occurs shall be quarantined for 30 days in a quarantine facility designated by the customs.

Pets from countries or regions where rabies does not occur shall be quarantined in a quarantine facility designated by the customs for 7 days and isolated at other places designated by customs for the rest 23 days.

Any person entering China with working dogs (such as guide dogs, search and rescue dogs, etc.) shall be exempted from quarantine if the owner provides official training certification.

Customs supervises and inspects the pets under quarantine.

Any person bringing a pet into the People's Republic of China who fails to provide the customs authorities with a quarantine certificate and a vaccination certificate issued by the official animal quarantine authorities of the exporting country/region, or if the number of pets exceeds the limit, the customs will either return the pets within a specified period or euthanize them.

For working dogs that cannot provide vaccination certificates, the customs can vaccinate them against rabies upon application by the owner.

If the pet is subject to mandatory return by customs authorities, the owner must retrieve the pet and exit China within the prescribed time limit with the detention voucher issued by the customs; any pet not retrieved by the owner within the specified period shall be deemed automatically abandoned.

[For details, please refer to the Regulations for the Implementation of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Entry and Exit Animal and Plant Quarantine and the Administrative Measures on Quarantine of Articles Carried by Entry and Exit Passengers (Decree No. 146 of the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, and the Annex to the Announcement No. 5 of the General Administration of Customs in 2019)]

Source: National Immigration Administration