Dubai: Starting August 30, 2023, China will no longer require a negative Covid-19 test result for incoming travellers, foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin announced in a press conference on August 28, 2023. This is good news if you are planning to go to China for tourism, work or to visit family.
Health declaration still needed
However, you will still need to fill in and submit the health declaration form - ‘Health Declaration Card for Entering / Exiting the People’s Republic of China’ - online, before your flight. You can find this card through these channels:
- Website - https://htdecl.chinaport.gov.cn. Then click on ‘declare’.
- WeChat applet – ‘Fingertip Service for Travelers at the Customs’, which you can locate within your WeChat Application by searching the name directly in the search bar. Then, tap on “fill in /amend information on ‘entry/exit health declaration card of China’”.
- The ‘Chinese custom’ app - you can download this app from the Apple AppStore and Tencent App Store (which can be used on Android phones), by typing ‘Chinese customs’ in the search bar. Afterwards, tap on ‘health declaration’ on the front page of the app.
In the card, you will be asked the information below:
Personal information
- Exit or Entry - Choose Entry.
- Your name, gender, nationality and region, occupation, date of birth, passport type and passport No.
Exit/Entry information
- Flight (ship/train/vehicle) No.
- Seat No.
- Select the mobile number type – Chinese or overseas, then fill in your mobile phone/landline number.
- Contact person in China and their mobile phone/landline number.
- Address in China.
- The countries (regions) you have visited during the past 14 days – for Chinese address, specify the county/county level city/district, with details including starting date, ending date, the name of the countries and regions.
- Declaration of these symptoms: fever, chills, fatigue, cough, difficulty breathing, running nose, headache, sore throat, chest pain, muscle pain or joint pain, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, rash, flush, congestion or ecchymosis, lymphadenopathy, yellow stain of scleral skin and mucosa and others. If you have any of them, check the box located in front of each symptom.
Captcha and submission
- You will then be asked to fill in the captcha area and check the box of “I hereby certify that all the above information is true and correct. I will take the legal responsibility in case of false declaration”
- Then click ‘submit’ at the bottom of the page.
A scan code will appear afterwards, you should save this scan code on your phone, as you will need to scan it at the customs in China, to enter the country.
This story was first published on January 16, 2023, and has been updated since.
