Border control at Chinese airports: what happens to travellers and their data

Arriving: the steps at the border

Foreign nationals must carry valid travel documents and complete and sign an arrival card before border clearance. Cards are available on board or at the port. Holders of a Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card, group tourist visa holders and people on some tour group lists are exempt ³.

From 20 November 2025 foreigners can file their arrival details before travel through the National Immigration Administration (NIA) website, the NIA 12367 app, WeChat or Alipay mini programs, or a QR code. People who cannot file in advance can do so at the port by QR code, smart device or paper card. Seven groups are exempt ¹.

The Exit and Entry Administration Law took effect on 1 July 2013 ⁵. Under Article 25, foreigners are refused entry if they lack valid documents, refuse or evade border inspection, may carry out activities that do not match their visa, or fall under some of the visa refusal grounds. Border officers are not required to give reasons for refusing entry ⁵.

From 5 November 2025, travellers in 24-hour direct transit at 10 more airports, including Tianjin, Nanjing, Wuhan and Kunming, are exempt from immigration inspection if they stay airside with onward tickets ¹.

Entry permission: visa-free entry and transit

In November 2025 China's foreign ministry extended 30-day visa-free entry for citizens of 45 countries to 31 December 2026 and added Sweden from 10 November 2025, for 46 in all. The policy covers tourism, family visits and business. Examples include Argentina, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Switzerland ⁴.

The NIA home page lists the addition of Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam to the 240-hour transit and 30-day visa-free policies. The page does not date this item ⁹.

The 240-hour visa-free transit policy covers citizens of 55 countries travelling on to a third country or region. Five ports in Guangdong were added on 5 November 2025, for 65 in total. Travellers need a document valid for at least three months, an onward ticket within 240 hours and an arrival card. The stay is counted from midnight after the day of entry. Work, study and news reporting need a visa ¹.

A Shanghai government page describes the 240-hour rule as allowing travel within designated areas of 24 provincial regions ¹⁰. Visa fees apply to people who need visas, under Article 92 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law ⁵.

Biometrics and face lanes

Article 7 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law lets the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with State Council approval, set rules to collect and keep fingerprints and other biometric data from people who enter or leave China ⁵.

Fingerprints are taken from foreign nationals aged 14 to 70 inclusive at entry. Exemptions cover diplomatic passport holders, people covered by bilateral or reciprocal arrangements, foreign officials of vice-ministerial rank and above with their delegations, people whose ten fingerprints are incomplete, and others approved by the Ministry of Public Security ^2,3.

Fast clearance lanes are open at some ports to registered users. Eligible foreigners include holders of a Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card, and holders of an electronic passport with a Chinese residence permit valid for more than six months. Border inspection decides final approval ³.

From 5 November 2025 the NIA added face recognition clearance at more ports, including Shanghai Hongqiao Airport and Xiamen Gaoqi Airport. The lanes are for mainland residents with permits for Hong Kong and Macao, Hong Kong and Macao residents with Mainland Travel Permits, and Taiwan residents aged 14 and over with five-year permits. Users must agree to have their face and fingerprints collected and verified. Foreign passport holders are not listed as a general group ¹.

Passenger data: API and PNR

Article 51 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law requires people in charge of transport vehicles to report to border inspection in advance on arrival and departure times and to declare information on staff, passengers and goods truthfully ⁵.

Article 52 requires carriers to cooperate with border inspection and to report any breaches of the law they find ⁵.

Airline guidance lists both API and PNR as required for flights to and from China, and asks passengers to give passport details when booking ⁸. We could not open an official Chinese text setting the data fields, timing or receiving agency for API and PNR as of 19 October 2026.

Watch lists and checks

Article 21 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law bars visas for people under a no-entry period after deportation, people who may endanger national security or interests or disrupt public order, and people who commit fraud in visa applications, among others ⁵.

Article 28 bars foreigners from leaving China in some cases. These include people serving criminal sentences, suspects and defendants in criminal cases, people in unsettled civil cases barred by a court, and people who owe wages and are barred by the authorities ⁵.

Article 85 provides for discipline of officials who leak personal information gained in exit and entry work ⁵.

Your data: the law and how to ask for records

The Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) took effect on 1 November 2021. It applies to state organs, with special rules in its section on state bodies ⁶.

People have the right to consult and copy their personal information held by a data handler. Handlers must set up ways to receive requests and explain refusals. A person whose request is refused may sue in a People's Court ⁶.

State organs must give notice of processing, but not where notice would impede their statutory duties. Notice can be skipped where laws require confidentiality. These limits apply to the right to consult and copy ⁶.

Data should be kept for the shortest period needed for the purpose, except where other laws say otherwise ⁶. The Cyberspace Administration of China plans and coordinates personal information protection, and other State Council departments cover their own sectors ⁶. The NIA notices we opened did not set retention rules for arrival card or face lane data ¹.

Who runs the systems

The National Immigration Administration runs exit and entry policy, the arrival card, face lanes and transit rules ¹. Fingerprint and other biometric rules come from the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with State Council approval ⁵. Visa-free entry lists are announced by the foreign ministry ⁴.

The NIA reported a record 369 million cross-border trips in the first half of 2026 ⁹. The official sources we opened did not name contractors for China's border systems.

Security screening on departure

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) banned power banks without valid 3C certification, with unclear 3C labels or under product recall on domestic flights from 28 June 2025 ⁷.

The CAAC told airlines and airports to tighten inspections, publicise the rules at checkpoints and check-in counters, and train staff for lithium battery fires. It cited a rise in fire and smoke incidents involving lithium batteries on aircraft ⁷.