Yes. Since 20 November 2025, foreigners coming to China can fill in the arrival card online before departure — through the National Immigration Administration's government website, its government service platform, the “12367” app, or the WeChat or Alipay mini-programme — or by scanning the arrival-card QR code on a phone. If you cannot do it online, the paper card has not gone away: you can fill it in at the border, or scan a code or use the devices there.
What the arrival card is
It is the short form every arriving passenger fills in before passing immigration: who you are, which flight brought you, and where you will be staying. For most of its life it was a piece of paper handed out on the plane and filled in with a pen. Since 20 November 2025 it can also be done online, before you leave home.
This page tells you where to do it, what to do if you cannot, and who does not have to. It is a form, not a permit: filling it in is not the same thing as being let in.
Where to fill it in online
The announcement names these channels:
- the National Immigration Administration's government website
- the government service platform
- the “12367” app
- the WeChat or Alipay mini-programme
- scanning the arrival-card QR code on a phone
The official address given in the announcement is s.nia.gov.cn/ArrivalCardFillingPC.
If you cannot fill it in online
The announcement covers this too. Foreigners who cannot fill it in online can do it on arrival at the border checkpoint: scan a QR code with a phone, use the smart devices at the checkpoint, or fill in the paper arrival card.
So the paper card still exists. If the form will not load, or your phone will not work, or you are landing somewhere new at midnight — the old way is still the fallback, and it is the one that has always worked.
Who does not need to fill it in
The announcement lists seven cases where the arrival card is not required:
- holders of a People's Republic of China foreign permanent residence ID card
- holders of a Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan resident travel permit who are not Chinese nationals
- holders of a group visa, or those entering under a group visa-free arrangement
- direct transit within 24 hours, without leaving the port's restricted area
- cruise passengers entering and leaving on the same ship
- those entering through the fast-track channel
- foreign crew members of transport vehicles entering or leaving China, and cases of that kind
What the announcement does not say
It does not say what happens if your address changes after you have submitted, and it does not say whether someone else may fill the card in for you. I am not going to guess at either. If one of them matters to you, settle it at the border, or call 12367.
Before you fly
Two things worth doing, and one number worth keeping:
- Do it while you still have your own internet and your passport in your own hand — not on airport Wi-Fi at the end of a long flight.
- The immigration service hotline is 12367, and it takes questions in English.
An arrival card is not what a trip turns on. Do it once, before you go, and forget about it.
Questions I get on this one
Since when can it be filled in online?
Do I still have to fill it in if I enter visa-free?
What if I have no internet before I land?
Who does not have to fill it in?
Is there anyone to ask if I get stuck?
Compiled from the National Immigration Administration's Announcement No. 4 of 2025 (issued 3 November 2025; the tenth measure in effect from 20 November 2025), checked October 2026. I do not fill in the card for anyone, and I do not arrange it — you do it yourself, for free, on the official site. Related: visas and entry · paying for things · all essentials