Thursday, June 26, 2008

How to... register with your local police station

Foreigners in China need to register with their local police station. While this won't apply to most tourists as hotels automatically register them upon check-in, it is crucial to register yourself if you're staying at private accomodation or live here permanently, within 24 hours upon your arrival in China.

There are local police stations or 派出所 (pàichūsuo) all over the country; if you ask anyone on the street I'm sure they can point you to the nearest one.

If you rent an apartment, this is what you'll need to take along:
  • your passport
  • the lease contract with your name on it
  • your landlord's contact details
  • a copy of your landlord's ID card

The final "registration form of temporary residence" should look something like this:
Now, different police stations seem to have very different opinions about what is and what is not necessary when you register with them. Some of them will require that your landlord comes with you to the police station when you register for the first time. Others ask for a letter from your compound management that confirms that you live where you live. Others again might even ask you to provide a statement about tax being paid by your landlord. Some speak some English, some don't; some will need five minutes to print out the registration, some fifty.

Don't let this mess discourage you from registering! It is your responsibility to always be in possession of a valid police registration, and with the Olympics approaching quickly, police check-ups in residential compounds have increased dramatically. Also, in case you ever want to extend your current visa or apply for a new one in China, you will have to provide a copy of your police registration.

A police registration will usually be issued for the same duration as your visa and is strictly tied to it. This means that whenever you extend your visa, get a new one or have it changed (for example from a Z visa to a residence permit), you will need to register again!

There are alsoa number of police stations which will require that you register with them not only when your visa changes, but every time you travel back to China from abroad. Some of them are satisfied if you just give them a quick call; some ask you to drop by saying you're back; and some (very, very rare ones) have even been reported to issue only 30 days registrations that will force you to extend them on a monthly basis. My advice would be to ask your police station what their specific requirements are and hope for the best.

If you don't register in time and are caught, you might face any punishment between a warning, writing of a self-accusing note and a hefty fine of up to 5000 RMB. It's not worth running this risk!

For tourists staying short term at a private accomodation, there is no need to provide any lease agreement. Just ask your host to take you to the nearest station, bring your passport and tell them for how long you're staying, and you should be out of there in no time.

Please also note that by law, you are required to carry your original passport and original police registration with you at any time in China. Police checks are frequent and might occur anywhere. Copies are often not accepted.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting this information.

I have a query:
My friends will be staying with me soon. They arrive in the afternoon and then the next day we will be flying out of Beijing to another city in China.

Do you know what times the local PSB's are open to foreigners to register? I'm worried that my friends will arrive too late in the afternoon to register and then we'll leave too early (flight at 9am) the next day.

We will be doing a tour when we leave Beijing, so do you think it will be fine for them to register when we arrive back to Beijing a week later?

Thanks for the help!

Coeurdelion said...

If you stay in Beijing for only 12 hours, I really don't think it's necessary to register. Police stations can have different opening times, and it's perfectly fine for you to assume yours closes too early to register your friends. I heard once you need to register if you plan to stay for at least ten days, but I can't find the source right now.

As long as you register with the police when you come back to Beijing (and stay a bit longer), you'll be ok!

Anonymous said...

This is a real problem, like is said, regulations are variable and haphazard. If you are just passing through this is no problem, but if you are staying longer than a few days and staying at a friend's place, or if you are a resident, then best go the the local police station to register. The problem being that one station will say 'you don't need to do this' and another will be very fussy.
This requirement to reregister when you come back from abroad is the most unclear of them all, however as when you need to extend a visa, your last entry date is taken into account to calculate the start date of your new visa, you may find someone asking you for the registration slip to prove you went to the police as well. Best be cautious and go and register.

Anonymous said...

Hello,

I have a question. My company rent an apartment for me and my assistant. I did not sign the contract, my Chinese assistant did it for me. We live there together. I never registered, because I stay there only short time.

Now I want to stay in the apartment for Olympic games, alltogether for 4 weeks. My family is coming over too. So what should I do now? Which documents should I bring for registration?

Thanks for your help.

Unknown said...

The picture of the registration form is the old A5 size form. There is now a new A4 size form.