Before you start
- Open the official NIA form and allow JavaScript; the service does not load correctly without it.
- Use the same passport you will present at immigration.
- Keep confirmed transport and accommodation details open in another tab or available offline.
- Enter your real plan. Do not choose a city, visa type or journey detail simply to make an error disappear.
This page explains how to complete the fields. For the separate question of who must file and who may be exempt, use the arrival-card overview.
1. Passport page and basic details
Current interface observation
The current web flow begins with the identity-document information page. Provide the requested image of the passport data page, then compare every recognized value with the physical document.
Check each passport field
- Last Name and First Name: reproduce the Latin-letter name fields from the passport. Keep the same order and spelling the form requests.
- Gender and Date of Birth: use the passport values, not a later booking profile.
- Country/Region of Citizenship: choose the citizenship shown by the passport used for entry.
- Type of ID Document and Passport Number: select the actual document type and copy the number carefully. Check letters that can be confused with digits.
If automatic recognition is wrong, correct the displayed value before continuing. A successful image upload is not proof that the extracted details are accurate.
Personal and contact information
The current form also presents fields for Chinese name, country/region and city of birth, contact number and email. Follow the required/optional markers on the live page. Do not invent a Chinese name; if the field is optional and you do not use one, leave it as the interface permits.
2. Entry category and transport details
Current interface observation
The official flow asks you to select the entry category that matches your trip. It may then request whether you hold a valid visa or entry permit, the visa type or number, or the entry policy you are using.
- Entry category: select the route you genuinely rely on. The form does not decide whether you qualify for a visa-free policy.
- Transportation mode: choose the mode by which you will cross the mainland China border.
- Arrival flight/train/vessel number: use the service that brings you to the port of entry, not an earlier domestic or connecting segment outside China.
- City and port/channel of entry: match the border checkpoint on your itinerary. This can differ from the city where you will stay longest.
If your eligibility route is unclear, stop and check the current NIA policy or contact 12367. Do not make the arrival-card selection into your own legal eligibility test.
3. Journey, address and accompanying persons
Current interface observation
The current form groups travel information around your purpose, entry date, cities, address in China, inviter details when applicable, and confirmed departure itinerary.
Purpose and date of entry
Choose the purpose that best reflects the trip and enter the date on which you expect to pass mainland immigration. Use the live form’s available options; interface date ranges can change.
Address in China
Use the real accommodation or host information requested by the form. Copy the property or residential address from a reliable booking or from your host. If the requested address does not match the facts of your stay, do not substitute an unrelated landmark just to proceed.
Departure itinerary
Where the form asks whether you have a confirmed departure plan, answer truthfully and enter the requested departure date, transport mode and flight/train/vessel, city and port details that you actually hold.
Accompanying persons
The current flow includes an accompanying-person stage. Enter only the people and details the interface requests, checking names and document data against their passports. Do not assume that listing someone as a companion replaces any separate filing the official service requires from that traveler.
4. Destination Cities in China
Current interface observation · 15 September 2026
The current official form presents Destination Cities in China as a required, single-choice field. Its on-screen prompt says: “Please select the city where you will stay the longest during this trip.”
Choose the available city option that corresponds to your longest planned stay in mainland China. Do not automatically enter your airport city: the city of entry and the destination city answer different questions.
One itinerary, three different city answers
The entry city is where you cross the border. The destination is the longest stay. Other mainland stops are the transit-city entries.
- City of entry
- Beijing
- Destination Cities
- Shanghai
- Cities of Transit
- Beijing, Chengdu
5. Cities of Transit in China
Practical reading · not an official legal definition
Based on its position beside the destination field and its current controls, Cities of Transit in China is best read as the other mainland China cities in your itinerary—cities you pass through or stay in apart from the one selected as your Destination City.
On 15 September 2026, the official form displayed this as an optional multi-select field with a maximum of three cities and prevented duplicate selections. If your entire mainland itinerary is only Shanghai, for example, select Shanghai as the destination and leave Cities of Transit blank.
This field is an itinerary description. It is not the list of cities where the 240-hour visa-free transit policy applies. For visa-free transit eligibility and permitted areas, use the separate transit policy checker.
6. Three itinerary examples
These examples apply the current interface prompt and the practical reading above. They illustrate the fields; they are not official eligibility decisions.
Swipe sideways to compare the itinerary fields.
| Actual itinerary | City of entry | Destination City | Cities of Transit | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shanghai only | Shanghai | Shanghai | Leave blank | There is no other mainland city in the itinerary. |
| Enter Beijing, stay 1 night; Shanghai, stay 5 nights | Beijing | Shanghai | Beijing | Shanghai is the longest stay; Beijing is the other mainland stop. |
| Beijing 2 nights → Xi’an 2 → Chengdu 5 → Shanghai 2 | Beijing | Chengdu | Beijing, Xi’an, Shanghai | Chengdu is longest; the three other itinerary cities fit the observed limit. |
7. Review, submit and save what appears
- Compare the name, passport number, entry route, transport, cities, address and departure plan with your documents.
- Read the declaration and correct any omission or mismatch before submitting.
- After submission, save the confirmation page, QR code or reference number that the system actually provides at that time.
- Keep the passport and itinerary accessible, and be ready to use the official electronic or paper process at the port if staff asks.
The confirmation is evidence of submission, not a visa or admission approval. Available download, QR or email options can change; this guide does not promise that an email will arrive, that a download will remain available, or that a receipt has a fixed validity period.
8. Errors and edge cases
The passport scan reads a field incorrectly
Compare every extracted character with the physical passport and correct it before continuing. If the image repeatedly fails, use a clear, evenly lit image of the requested data page or use the official port option on arrival.
Two cities are tied for the longest stay
The current prompt requests one longest-stay city but does not explain a tie. Do not present a guess as an official rule. Keep the exact itinerary and ask 12367 which city to select.
You have more than three other mainland cities
The interface observed on the review date accepts no more than three transit-city selections. Do not distort your route to fit the control. Contact 12367 or ask port staff how to record the full itinerary, and keep the complete plan available.
You only connect in a city on the same day
Whether a specific airside, landside, rail or road connection belongs in this itinerary field can depend on what you actually do. The current English interface does not settle every case. Describe the real journey and ask 12367 if the correct selection is unclear.
Your itinerary changes after submission
Return to the official service and follow whatever edit or new-submission instructions it currently displays. If there is no clear route, bring the updated itinerary and ask immigration staff to help you give accurate information at the port.
The website does not load
Confirm the official domain, enable JavaScript and try a reliable connection. Do not pay an imitation site. NIA says you may instead use the official QR code, a port smart device or a paper arrival card when you arrive.