Arrival Card, Customs Declaration or Health Form: What You Actually Fill When Entering China

Key Takeaways

• Three different documents belong to three different checkpoints. The arrival card goes to the immigration officer, the customs declaration goes to customs staff after baggage claim, and a health form is only needed in specific situations.
• Almost every foreign national fills an arrival card on entry, including travelers arriving under a visa-free arrangement. The card is not a visa and does not replace one.
• A customs declaration is conditional, not universal. If you carry nothing beyond your allowances, you normally walk the green channel with no paperwork at all.
• The mandatory COVID-era health declaration for inbound travelers was withdrawn in 2023. What remains is narrower: yellow fever certification for arrivals from risk areas, and proactive reporting if you are unwell.
• Procedures and port practices change. Treat any guide, including this one, as a planning baseline and confirm details with your airline or the National Immigration Administration close to departure.

1. Introduction

If you search for information about China arrival card customs declaration requirements before a trip, you will quickly run into a confusing pile of terms: entry card, landing card, customs form, health declaration QR code, quarantine certificate. Airline emails mention one, a forum thread mentions another, and a YouTube video from a few years ago mentions a third that no longer exists.

The confusion is understandable, because these documents were never the same thing. They are issued by different agencies, collected at different points in the airport, and triggered by different conditions. Mixing them up causes two very practical problems: standing at the wrong queue filling out the wrong paper while your flight's passengers clear immigration ahead of you, and — more seriously — assuming a form is "no longer needed" when in fact only one of the three was ever retired.

This guide separates the three documents clearly. It explains what each one asks, who actually needs it, where you hand it in, and how the process physically unfolds from the aircraft door to the arrivals hall exit. It also flags the mistakes that most often slow travelers down, and the handful of situations where you genuinely must declare something rather than walk through.

2. The Three Forms at a Glance: Follow the Physical Route

The simplest way to understand these documents is to follow your own path through the terminal. Each form sits at a fixed point in that path, and nothing else at that point will accept it.

The typical inbound flow at a Chinese international airport looks like this:

1. Disembark and walk to the arrivals area — flight attendants may hand out arrival cards on board; some airports also stock them on racks near the queue.
2. Health quarantine screening (only if applicable) — temperature checks or targeted screening may occur; travelers from yellow fever risk areas must present a certificate.
3. Immigration inspection — you hand over passport, visa or visa-free eligibility, and the completed arrival card. Fingerprints are collected here for most foreign nationals aged 14 to 70.
4. Baggage claim — collect your luggage.
5. Customs inspection — red channel if you have goods to declare, green channel if you do not. This is where a customs declaration is submitted, on paper or as an electronic QR code.
6. Exit into the arrivals hall.

Document	Issued by	Purpose	Where you submit it	Who needs it
Arrival card (entry card)	Immigration authority	Records identity, flight, purpose and address in China	Immigration counter, before baggage claim	Essentially all foreign nationals entering, including visa-free arrivals
Customs declaration	Customs authority	Declares cash, goods, food, plants, animals or items above duty-free allowances	Customs channel, after baggage claim	Only travelers with something to declare, or those selected for inspection
Health form / certificate	Health quarantine authority	Screens for infectious disease risk	Health quarantine desk, before immigration	Travelers from yellow fever risk areas; anyone unwell or arriving from an outbreak area

Once you see the three documents as belonging to three separate agencies, the "which one do I need" question mostly answers itself.

3. The Arrival Card: The One You Will Almost Certainly Fill

If you are a foreign national entering China, plan on completing an arrival card — even if you are traveling visa-free. This is the single most common misconception: visa-free entry removes the visa, not the arrival record.

The card is short, usually a single sheet, and asks for:

• Full name as printed in your passport, plus nationality and passport number
• Date of birth and sex
• Flight number or vessel/train number used to enter
• Purpose of visit (sightseeing, business, visiting relatives, study, transit)
• Intended address in China and expected duration of stay
• Signature and date

Practical advice that saves real time:

• Carry a pen. Cards are distributed on board, but supplies run out and seatback pens are not guaranteed.
• Save your first hotel's name and address in Chinese characters on your phone. Writing an English hotel name that the officer cannot match to a record invites follow-up questions.
• Fill one card per traveler, including children. Parents normally complete cards on behalf of young children, but each passport should have its own record.
• Write in block capitals and keep it legible. Ambiguous handwriting is one of the most common reasons a traveler is asked to redo the card at the counter.
• Do not fold, laminate, or stuff it into a pocket with your boarding pass. You need it at the counter, not in the overhead bin.

Where to get one depends on the airport. Most long-haul flights to China still distribute cards before landing. Larger hubs provide racks or self-service kiosks in the immigration hall, and a growing number of ports offer online or in-terminal pre-filling. Paper remains the reliable fallback, so do not board a flight assuming a digital option will be available at your specific terminal.

Two boundary conditions are worth remembering. First, the arrival card is free — nobody at an airport should be charging you to fill it in, and unsolicited "helpers" who want payment should be declined. Second, the card is an entry record, not an authorisation: a completed card does not guarantee admission, and the immigration officer may still ask about your itinerary, onward ticket, or proof of accommodation.

4. The Customs Declaration: Conditional, and Easy to Get Wrong

Most travelers never touch a customs form. You need one only when you are carrying something that must be declared.

China uses a red channel / green channel system. Green means "nothing to declare." Red means you have goods, cash, or restricted items to report — and walking into the green channel with declarable goods is treated as a false declaration, not an honest mistake.

The table below is a practical planning reference for common items. Thresholds and rules can be adjusted, so treat it as orientation rather than legal text.

Item	Typical declaration trigger
Foreign currency cash	Amounts exceeding the equivalent of USD 5,000
RMB cash	Amounts exceeding RMB 20,000
Alcoholic beverages	More than about 1.5 litres of alcohol above 12% ABV per adult
Tobacco products	More than 400 cigarettes, 100 cigars, or 500 g of cut tobacco per adult
Gold and silver	Items above the small personal-use allowance (roughly 50 g)
Meat, dairy, fresh fruit and vegetables	Generally prohibited for entry, not merely dutiable
Live animals and plants, seeds, soil	Require permits or are prohibited
Personal prescription medicine	Fine in personal-use quantities; declare controlled substances and carry the prescription
Commercial samples, excess electronics, gifts	Declare if quantity suggests trade rather than personal use

Two operational details matter. First, many ports now accept an electronic customs declaration generated through the China Customs app or WeChat mini-program, which produces a QR code you scan at the channel. This is faster than paper if you have connectivity on landing, but paper forms are still available at the inspection area. Second, packing decisions made at home determine your customs experience: put declared items where you can reach them without unpacking a whole suitcase, and keep receipts and prescriptions together in one pouch.

The consequence of getting this wrong is not a stern look. Undeclared goods can be confiscated, fined, or in serious cases referred for further handling, and the record follows your passport. When in doubt, choose red. Declaring a borderline item costs a few minutes; not declaring it can cost considerably more.

5. The Health Form: What Still Applies and What Does Not

The blanket health declaration requirement that defined travel to China between 2020 and 2023 no longer applies to routine arrivals. China withdrew the mandatory inbound health declaration in August 2023, and most travelers now walk through without presenting any health paperwork.

What remains is narrower and more targeted:

• Yellow fever vaccination certificates. Travelers arriving from countries with a yellow fever transmission risk are required to show a valid certificate under international health regulations. If this applies to your route — including some multi-stop itineraries where you transited through a risk country — carry the yellow card with your passport rather than in checked baggage.
• Symptom-based screening. If you arrive with a fever, persistent cough, vomiting, diarrhoea, or a rash, declare it to health quarantine staff or mention it to the cabin crew before landing. Ports retain quarantine desks for exactly this purpose, and proactive reporting is treated as cooperation, not suspicion.
• Situational screening. If an outbreak is active in your origin or transit region, authorities may reintroduce targeted measures at short notice. This is the main reason to re-check requirements in the final week before departure rather than months ahead.

For most leisure and business travelers, the practical takeaway is simple: no QR code is needed at check-in, and no health form is collected at immigration. But keep your vaccination records accessible and do not hide symptoms to avoid a delay. A short conversation at a quarantine desk is a far better outcome than being flagged later.

6. Common Mistakes, Timing, and Port-by-Port Variation

The forms themselves are simple. The friction almost always comes from timing and sequencing.

Allow more time than you think. Completing three separate steps — health screening if applicable, immigration, customs — at a large hub during a peak arrival window can add 30 to 90 minutes after landing. Travelers with tight onward connections should complete the arrival card on board, not in the queue.

The five most common mistakes:

1. Assuming visa-free entry means no arrival card.
2. Walking the green channel while carrying cash or goods above the allowance.
3. Writing an address in China that cannot be matched to a booking — for example, a booking platform's internal property code instead of the hotel's actual name.
4. Losing the arrival card between the aircraft and the immigration counter.
5. Presenting an expired or screenshot-only electronic declaration from a previous trip.

Port practice genuinely varies. Smaller regional airports may have limited kiosks and rely entirely on paper; some land border crossings and ferry terminals handle the same forms in a different physical order. If you are arriving by land from Hong Kong, Macao, or a neighbouring country rather than by air, expect the same three categories of document but a different room layout.

A pre-landing checklist that actually helps:

• Passport valid well beyond your planned stay, plus visa or proof of visa-free eligibility
• Hotel name and address saved in Chinese characters
• A pen in your carry-on
• Cash, medicines, and food packed accessibly and documented
• Yellow fever certificate, if your route requires it
• Airline app or website checked once more for entry requirements in the 72 hours before departure

7. FAQ

Q1. Do I need an arrival card if I enter China visa-free?

Yes. Visa-free arrangements remove the visa requirement, not the arrival card. Foreign nationals entering China are still asked to complete an arrival record for immigration, and the officer will typically also check your onward or return ticket and accommodation details.

Q2. Can I complete the customs declaration online before I land?

In many cases, yes. China Customs offers an electronic declaration through its official app and WeChat mini-program, which generates a QR code you present at the customs channel. Availability and acceptance vary by port, so treat the electronic route as a convenience and the paper form at the inspection area as the guaranteed option. Note that the electronic customs declaration is separate from the arrival card and does not replace it.

Q3. Do I still need a health declaration QR code to enter China?

Not for routine arrivals. The mandatory inbound health declaration introduced during the pandemic was withdrawn in August 2023. Health-related requirements now apply mainly to travelers arriving from yellow fever risk areas, who must show a vaccination certificate, and to anyone arriving unwell, who should proactively report symptoms at the quarantine desk.

Q4. What happens if I use the green channel but should have declared something?

Using the green channel with declarable goods is treated as a false declaration rather than a simple oversight. Depending on the item and amount, consequences can include confiscation, a fine, additional inspection, or referral for further handling, and the incident is recorded against your passport. If you are unsure whether an item crosses a threshold, choose the red channel and ask.

8. Conclusion

The three documents are not variations on the same requirement — they are separate checkpoints operated by separate authorities, and understanding that structure removes most of the confusion. For the overwhelming majority of foreign travelers, the practical answer is: you will fill an arrival card at immigration, you will skip the customs form unless you are carrying something above the allowances, and you will need no health paperwork at all unless your route or your health makes it relevant.

Plan around three habits rather than three forms: keep your hotel address in Chinese on your phone, carry a pen and declare anything borderline, and re-check entry requirements in the final days before departure, since the only genuinely unpredictable element in this process is how often it changes.

For readers who want to keep this kind of practical detail organised alongside visa rules, itineraries, and cultural context, HelloChina (hellochina.fans) publishes English-language guides on travel to and life in China, produced by an editorial team with human review before publication. Used as a starting point and paired with a check of official sources close to your travel date, it is a reasonable place to build your pre-trip checklist.

Related reading

• China travel requirements 2026
• Seeing a doctor in China
• China Visa Guide 2026