You have the X1 visa, the ticket and the admission notice. One small form still stands between you and the immigration counter in China: the Foreigner Arrival Card. It takes about ten minutes, it is free, and forgetting it means standing at a kiosk or a paper desk after a long flight. This guide explains who has to fill it, how to do it online field by field, what to carry, and what comes next once you are on campus.
One note on sources. China's National Immigration Administration (NIA) has published the rules for the card, but not every detail. Where the official notices are silent, I say so and tell you what to check. Nothing below replaces the live form or your university's international student office.
Related guides: Pre-departure checklist ยท MBBS in China guide ยท China scholarships 2026-27
What Is the Foreigner Arrival Card?
The arrival card is the entry form every foreign visitor gives to border police when entering China. For years it was a paper slip handed out on the plane. Under NIA Notice No. 4 of 2025, issued on 3 November 2025, foreigners could start filling it in online before travel from 20 November 2025. The measure applies at ports of entry nationwide.
The card is separate from your visa. Holding an X1 or X2 visa does not exempt you, because the visa is permission to apply for entry and the card is the declaration you make when you actually arrive. It is also not the same as the customs baggage form or the health forms that older guides mention. More on that below.
Who Must Fill It, and Who Is Exempt
Every foreigner entering China needs the card unless they belong to one of seven groups listed in the NIA notice and repeated by the Chinese Consulate General in Karachi:
- Holders of a valid PRC Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card
- Non-Chinese holders of a Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents
- Holders of a group visa, or travellers eligible for group visa-free entry
- Travellers in direct transit for up to 24 hours who stay inside the port's restricted area
- Cruise passengers who enter and leave on the same ship
- Travellers entering through the E-channel (the English NIA notice says "fast lanes")
- Foreign crew and staff of exit-entry transport vehicles
For a Pakistani student this list is short news: you are almost certainly not exempt. Two cases deserve a warning. First, a student returning after winter or summer break holds a residence permit, and a residence permit is not on the exemption list, so you should expect to file again. Second, the E-channel is not something to rely on in your first semester; do not skip the card because a friend did.
How It Works: Online, QR Code or Paper
The quickest way on your phone is the official NIA page: s.nia.gov.cn/ArrivalCardFillingPhone. It is free. Use only this official address and ignore paid look-alike sites.
The NIA lists four online routes, all free:
- The NIA website: arrival card filing page for phones or filing page for computers
- The "NIA 12367" app (็งปๆฐๅฑ12367)
- The NIA WeChat or Alipay mini program
- Scanning the official filing QR code on your phone
If you do not file in advance, the same notice says you can complete it at the immigration inspection site: scan the QR code, use the smart devices provided, or fill in a paper Arrival Card. Paper cards remain available at ports. Queues for the kiosks can be long when several flights land together, so filing at home is still the better plan.
Beware of fake sites. The NIA has warned that overseas fraudsters copy the filing site and charge travellers fees. The service is free. Use only the official channels and the web address in the notice.
Returning students. A press report from the Nanjing immigration inspection station says travellers entering again can reuse their personal filing record from the previous year. This comes from a news report, not from NIA text, so treat it as a convenience that may vary.
How Far in Advance Can You File?
This is the point where guides disagree, and the official notices do not settle it. The NIA notice says only that foreigners can file "before coming to China". I found no official number of days. Travel-site guides quote windows of 24, 48 and 72 hours. I could not verify any of them.
My practical advice: file in the last two or three days before you fly, once your flight and your university address are fixed. If the form refuses a date that is further away, that tells you the window. Do not file weeks ahead and assume it still holds. If your flight changes, check whether your submission needs updating.
Field by Field: What to Enter
The NIA notices do not publish a field list. The fields below come from published walk-throughs of the live form and may differ in wording or order, so treat the left column as typical, not official. The right column uses a made-up sample student. Do not copy the sample values; use your own documents.
| Typical field | How to fill it | Sample entry (made-up student) |
|---|---|---|
| Passport photo page | Upload a sharp, glare-free photo of the page with your photo. The form usually reads it and pre-fills several fields. Correct any mistake it makes. | Photo of passport data page |
| Family name / given name | Exactly as printed in the passport, in capital letters. No nicknames, no "Muhammad" shortened. | KHAN / AYESHA ZAHID |
| Nationality | As on the passport. | Pakistan |
| Date of birth, gender | As on the passport. | 14 March 2007, Female |
| Passport number and dates | Check every character against the passport; letters and zeros are easy to mix up. | AB1234567 (sample only) |
| Visa number | The number printed on your China visa sticker. Copy it exactly. | Number from visa label |
| Visa type | X1 for study over 180 days, X2 for 180 days or less. Match the visa, not your wish. | X1 |
| Purpose of visit | Choose study or the closest option available. Do not choose tourism or business. | Study |
| Transport and flight number | Mode of travel, then the number of the flight that lands in China, not your first leg. | Air, flight CA 946 (sample only) |
| Port of entry / arrival date | The airport where you pass immigration. If you connect in China, this may be the connecting city. | Guangzhou, 28 August 2026 |
| Address in China | Your university and dormitory address as on the admission paperwork. Use the format the form asks for, Chinese if requested, English if allowed. Copy it from your university's arrival notice, not from memory. | Dormitory of Sample Medical University, [street and district], Guangzhou |
| Phone and email | A number and email you will actually use. Add the country code. | +92 300 0000000 / sample@example.com |
| Declaration and signature | Read the statements, tick, and sign electronically. | Confirmed |
The address is the field students most often get wrong. Use the actual address your university gave you in the admission or arrival instructions. If the university only gave you a name, ask the international student office for the full address and keep their reply.
Step-by-Step: Filing Online
- Open an official route. Type the address from the NIA notice yourself, open the NIA 12367 app, or use the official mini program. Do not follow links from ads or unknown social media posts.
- Keep your documents open. Passport, visa sticker, admission notice with the university address, and your flight booking.
- Start a new filing and read the privacy and instruction screens.
- Upload your passport page and check every pre-filled item.
- Enter visa details. Visa number and X1 or X2 as printed.
- Choose purpose: study, then enter your transport mode and arrival flight number.
- Type your China address and your contact details.
- Review everything once more against the originals. One wrong digit in the passport or visa number can cost you time at the counter.
- Submit and save the confirmation. Take a screenshot of the QR code or confirmation screen and save it offline in case the signal is poor at the airport.
- Correcting a mistake: the official notices do not explain editing. Walk-throughs say you can submit a new form and the latest one is the one border officers scan. Check the screen after you submit and ask a border officer if anything looks wrong.
Arrival Card vs Health Declaration vs Departure Card
Health declaration. China's customs authority stopped requiring the Entry/Exit Health Declaration Card for travellers from 1 November 2023. The same announcement says people with symptoms of infectious disease, such as fever, cough or breathing difficulty, or with a diagnosed infectious disease, must still declare it to customs and cooperate with checks. I could not load the customs authority's own page when researching this, and I did not find a newer official notice for 2026, so confirm on the customs website or your airline before you fly. Some travel sites say the new online arrival card also covers customs and health declarations. The NIA notice does not say that, so do not rely on it. You will still pass customs; bring nothing you must declare and follow the signs if you do.
Departure card. I found no official notice about a paper departure card for foreigners and could not confirm whether one is still used. Nothing in the NIA arrival card notice covers departure. When you leave, follow your airline's and the airport's instructions and ask if unsure.
At the Immigration Counter
At the border counter the officer checks your passport and visa against your arrival card and takes your photograph and fingerprints. I did not find an official page describing this step, but it is widely reported for foreign arrivals, so expect it. Answer clearly: you are a student, you are going to study at your university, and you will be living in the dormitory.
The officer may ask for papers that prove the purpose of your visit. Students are expected to hold the same documents their visa application was based on. Keep these in your hand luggage, not in checked baggage.
Checklist: What to Keep in Hand
- Passport, with at least six months of validity and blank pages
- Your X1 or X2 visa (the sticker in the passport)
- Arrival card QR code or confirmation, saved on the phone and printed as a backup
- Admission notice (original)
- JW201 or JW202 form (original) if you are a government-scholarship or similar student
- University address and the international office contact number, in English and Chinese
- Flight itinerary showing your arrival flight number
- Physical examination record, if your university or visa process asked you to complete one before travel
- Passport photos for the residence permit application
- A charged phone, a power bank and a pen, in case you need a paper card
Check the full list in our pre-departure checklist, and the medical and police papers explained in our police certificate and medical report guide.
Common Mistakes
- Using a fake or paid site. The official service is free.
- Name does not match the passport. Abbreviations, missing middle names and swapped surname order cause delays.
- Wrong visa number, or copying the passport number into the visa field.
- Selecting tourism or business because the study option was hard to find. Purpose must match your X visa.
- Putting your transit airport flight number instead of the one that lands in China.
- Vague address such as only the city name or "university". Border police and the later registration both need a real address.
- Relying on mobile data. Save the confirmation offline.
- Assuming a residence permit exempts you on a return trip. It is not on the exemption list.
- Forgetting that the card is not the visa. A rejected or expired visa cannot be fixed with this form; see our guide to visa rejection reasons.
After You Land: The Next Steps
Register your address within 24 hours
Under Article 39 of China's Exit-Entry Administration Law, a foreigner staying outside a hotel, or the person hosting them, must register with the local police within 24 hours of moving in. Hotels do this themselves online. Failure can lead to a warning and a fine of up to RMB 2,000 under Article 76. I found no source that says whether a university dormitory counts as a hotel or a private dwelling, so ask your international student office on day one. Most universities walk new students through this process, but do not assume it is done for you. Keep the Registration Form of Temporary Residence you receive; you need it for your residence permit.
Residence permit within 30 days (X1)
The X1 visa is for study of more than 180 days. After entering, the Shanghai government's guidance for international students says you must apply in person to the local exit-entry bureau for a residence permit within 30 days of arrival. Documents listed there include your passport and visa, the application form, a photo that meets NIA requirements, a school letter and admission notice, and the temporary residence registration form. X2 covers study up to 180 days and normally does not need a permit. Rules and fees vary by city, so follow your university's schedule.
Physical examination
University international offices say X1 students need a health check record verified at the local health centre before the residence permit is issued. Some accept the examination done in Pakistan if it is verified locally; others ask you to repeat it. University pages suggest the verification certificate is needed for the permit and that records stay valid for about six months, but the details differ by city. Ask your university what to bring and do not do duplicate tests until they confirm.
For the bigger picture, see our MBBS in China complete guide, and for scholarship holders the CSC complete guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the China arrival card mandatory for Pakistani students?
Yes, unless you fall into one of the seven exempt groups. Student visa holders are not among them. You can file online beforehand, or fill it in at the airport.
Does it cost anything?
No. The NIA says the service is free and warns about fake websites that charge fees.
Can I fill it in after I land?
Yes. The NIA notice allows filing at the immigration inspection site by QR code, smart device or paper card. Expect a queue.
How many days before arrival can I file?
The official notices do not give a number. Guides quote 24 to 72 hours. File shortly before you fly and check what the form accepts.
Do I still need a customs health declaration?
The routine health declaration card was dropped in November 2023, but people with symptoms of infectious disease must still declare them. I did not find a 2026 change. Check customs guidance before you fly.
Do I need to fill a departure card when leaving?
I could not confirm this from official sources. Follow airport signs and airline instructions.
I made a mistake after submitting. What do I do?
Walk-throughs say you can submit a new form and the latest one is used. The official notices do not explain editing, so check the screen after you submit and ask a border officer if anything looks wrong.
What must I do after arriving at the university?
Register your address with the police within 24 hours, complete the physical examination verification if your university requires it, and apply for the residence permit within 30 days if you hold an X1 visa.