Travel
China – Customs Declaration
&
Entry Regulations of China
Before
arriving China destinations, on the flight you will be handed an entry
card and customs declaration to be filled in. These will be shown along
with your passport and visa to a customs agent upon arrival. You will
have to fill out a duplicate for departure.
Customs
Declaration
There are two channels in China Customs, red and green. Take the red
one if you have something to declare, otherwise the green one. If you
are uncertain which channel you should take, then take the red one.
If you take the red channel, the customs officer will check to see whether
you have to pay duty, deposit the items at Customs, or allow you to
take them into China but take them out on your departure. If you take
things such as computers, cameras, video cameras, gold and silver, printed
or recorded materials, or anything more than you need during your travel
in China, you have to fill in the Customs Luggage Declaration Form".
Similarly, if you are planning to leave any sort of significant item
behind, you should also fill out the form.
A copy of the form must be retained by the traveler and be submitted
to Customs when leaving the country. All the items declared on the form
must be brought out of China or else import duty will be charged on
them.
Visitors
are allowed to carry into China a limited quantity of duty-free goods
including:
- 2 liters of alcoholic beverages
- 400 cigarettes
- 50g (2 ounces) of gold or silver
- US dollar less than $5,000
- Chinese RMB with a total value less than 6000 Yuan
- Reasonable amount of perfume
- 1 still camera and reasonable amount of film
Prohibited imports include: fresh fruit, arms, ammunition and explosives,
printed matter, films or tapes "detrimental to China", narcotic
drugs, animals and plants.
Remember to keep all the receipts of the valuable articles, such as
jewelry, jade, gold and silver ornaments, handicrafts, artifacts, paintings
and calligraphy, you bought in China should be kept for the exit check.
Antiques are not permitted to leave China without the proper "Certificates
for the Export of Cultural Relics" from the Chinese Authorities.
Entry
Regulations
On arrival in China from abroad, foreigners have to go through the following
procedures, just as in other countries.
Health Check
On arrival, the first check you have to pass is the Quarantine Check.
At the checkpoint, you will be required to show your visa and passport
and fill in a Health Declaration Form. Anyone with listed diseases such
as yellow fever, cholera, VD, leprosy, infectious pulmonary tuberculosis
or AIDS will be prohibited. Those coming from areas with epidemics yellow
fever must show their valid certificates of inoculation against this
disease. Those with symptoms of fever, diarrhea, vomiting or rashes
must declare this information accurately.
Frontier Inspection
During this procedure, you are required to fill in Entry Registration
Cards, and present your passport, visa and quarantine certificates for
inspection.
The frontier inspection station has the right to forbid the personnel
with any of the following circumstances to enter China:
- Those who hold no exit-entry certificates
- Holders of invalid, false, altered exit-entry certificates
- Holders of other persons' certificates
- Those who refuse to receive the health check and the frontier inspection
- Those who fail to pass through the port specified
- Those who are forbidden to enter by the Ministry of Public Security
of the State
Council and the Ministry of State Security
- Those who are not permitted according to the Chinese laws and administrative
regulations
Luggage Check
For the sake of maintaining public safety, the frontier inspection station
has the right to check all luggage brought into China.
Old and waste materials, food, micro-organisms, biological products,
portions of human body, blood or its products, or animals that may spread
infectious diseases among humans are forbidden to enter. Any printed
material, film, tapes that are 'detrimental to China's politics, economy,
culture and ethics' are also forbidden to bring into China. Each traveler
is recommended to take no more than one Bible into China.
Also during this process, customs declaration will be made. And only
when you pass all the procedures above you now can legally enter China.
