The first weeks after landing: four filings in the order the rules give them

Sources checked 11 October 2026 · After arrival

Four filings may fall due after you arrive in mainland China: accommodation registration, a residence permit if your visa says one is needed, confirmation of your physical examination record or an examination at enrolment, and insurance. Two of them run on a clock that starts on arrival: 24 hours for accommodation registration outside a hotel (Exit and Entry Administration Law, Article 39), and 30 days for the residence permit where the visa requires one (Law, Article 30; Administrative Measures, Article 36).

The table gives the four filings in the order used below. Each row cites one provision.

Filing	Where	Time limit	Provision
Accommodation registration	Public security organs in the place of residence	Within 24 hours after arrival, for domiciles other than hotels	Law, Article 39
Residence permit (only where the visa says one is needed)	Exit/entry administration of public security organs under local governments at county level or above, in the proposed place of residence	Within 30 days from the date of entry	Law, Article 30; Order No. 42, Article 36
Confirmation of the Foreigner Physical Examination Record, or an examination	Health quarantine departments in China, or the examination at enrolment	At enrolment	Order No. 42, Article 39
Insurance	The school	The deadline the school sets	Order No. 42, Article 40

The Order No. 42 wording quoted below is this site's English translation of the Chinese text of the Administrative Measures for the Enrolment and Education of International Students by Schools.

1. Accommodation registration

The Law's rule for accommodation is in Article 39. It applies to foreigners who live in a domicile other than a hotel. Article 39 reads: "within 24 hours after the foreigners' arrival, go through the registration formalities with the public security organs in the places of residence." The registration is made by the foreigner or by the person who accommodates the foreigner.

Article 39 treats hotels separately. For a hotel stay, the hotel registers the accommodation and submits the information to the public security organs where the hotel is located.

Order No. 42, Article 24 covers international students who live outside school accommodation. It says such students "shall promptly go to the public security department at the place of residence to complete the registration procedures." Article 24 uses the word "promptly" and gives no number of hours. The 24-hour limit comes from Law, Article 39, not from Article 24.

2. Residence permit

The residence permit rule applies only where the visa says one is needed. Law, Article 30 states the condition: "Where visas held by foreigners specify that foreigners need to apply for residence permits after entry." In that case, the foreigner must apply "within 30 days from the date of their entry" to the exit/entry administration of the public security organs in the proposed place of residence.

Order No. 42, Article 36 sets the same 30-day clock for international students. Its wording is: within 30 days from the date of entry, the student applies to the exit/entry administration at the proposed place of residence for a study-type residence permit, if the study visa states that a residence document is needed after entry.

Law, Article 30 also says the administration "shall, within 15 days upon the date of receipt, conduct examination and make a decision." That 15-day period is the administration's processing time. It is a separate provision from the 30-day filing limit.

Suggestion, not a rule: write the arrival date on your visa page, then count 30 days from it when you plan the trip to the residence permit office.

3. Physical examination record or examination at enrolment

Order No. 42, Article 39 applies at enrolment. It says that an international student "shall, in accordance with the provisions of the health administrative department of China, go to the health quarantine departments in China to complete the confirmation procedures for the Foreigner Physical Examination Record, or undergo a physical examination."

The article uses "or". The student completes one of the two routes, as the health administrative rules provide.

Article 39 also covers a result from the examination. If the examination confirms a serious mental disorder, infectious pulmonary tuberculosis, or another infectious disease that may cause major harm to public health, as set out in the Exit and Entry Administration Law, the public security authorities handle the case according to law.

4. Insurance

Order No. 42, Article 40 says the school "implements a full-coverage insurance system for international students," and that students "must purchase insurance in accordance with relevant national regulations and school requirements."

The article sets no number of days for buying insurance. It says that a student who has not bought insurance as required is given a deadline to insure. Under Article 40, if the student is overdue and still not insured, the school does not admit the student. For a student already studying at the school, Article 40 says the school "shall expel" the student or not register the student.

Article 40 names the school as the body that sets the requirement and the deadline. The deadline itself is not fixed in the article.

Sources

Checked 11 October 2026

This page is an unofficial summary. It is not published by or affiliated with the Ministry of Education, the China Scholarship Council, the National Immigration Administration, any embassy or any university. It is not legal advice. If the official text and the current notice of the office handling your case differ, the official text and that notice prevail.