Your first weeks in China: three clocks and one order
Within 24 hours to the police, within 15 days the work permit, within 30 days the residence permit — and after that everything builds in one order: SIM card, bank account, payment apps. The registration slip from day one is the key at every step.
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Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
Arriving in China isn't chaos but a chain: every registration is the key to the next. Three clocks are running:
- Within 24 hours your address is registered with the police.
- Within 15 days your employer converts your work permit.
- Within 30 days you apply for the residence permit, your Chinese permit to stay.
Whoever knows the order is sorted in three weeks. Whoever doesn't finds out at the next counter that they first have to go back to the police station.
Which clocks run in your first month?
| Clock | What | Who | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 hours | registration of your address | you or your landlord; in a hotel the hotel | the local police station, or online where possible |
| Right after arrival | medical examination | you | a customs health centre |
| 15 days | the work permit itself | your employer | online |
| 30 days | the residence permit, also for your family | you | the police exit-entry department |
Clock one: 24 hours — how do you register your address?
Within 24 hours of arrival your address must be registered with the police. In a hotel this happens automatically at check-in. If you live on your own straight away, you register at the local police station with passport and tenancy agreement, or your landlord does it.
Beijing has its own online system for this. Since 20 March 2026 the immigration agency has also been piloting a national online service, for now in seven regions: Hebei, Liaoning, Zhejiang, Hubei, Guangxi, Chongqing and Sichuan. The extension to the whole country is to follow.
The slip you receive, the registration slip, is something you need more than once in your first months: when converting your driving licence, for example. If you move, you register again. Once you have a residence permit and return to the same habitual address after a trip, that is not necessary. How it works and what a forgotten registration costs is in residence permit and registration in China.
Clocks two and three: 15 and 30 days
Right after landing you plan the medical examination at a customs health centre. For a residence permit of a year or longer a health certificate is compulsory, and it is valid for six months. In Beijing you can also have an examination done abroad in the last six months checked, provided it comes from a public hospital or is notarised.
Meanwhile your employer converts the notification into the work permit itself within fifteen days. The notification is the provisional approval with which you applied for your Z visa, the work visa. There is no separate card: since 1 December 2024 the work permit is on the social security card, physically and digitally.
Then the big one: within thirty days you apply at the police exit-entry department for the residence permit. You do this for yourself and for family members on their S1 visas, the visa for family members.
- You give fingerprints.
- The decision follows within fifteen working days of acceptance.
- You collect the permit yourself with the receipt.
The fees are ¥ 400 for up to a year, ¥ 800 for one to three years and ¥ 1,000 for three to five years. Plan no trips abroad in those weeks.
In which order do you arrange SIM, bank and apps?
For paying, everything hangs together:
- First the SIM card, in your own name.
- Then the bank account, which you open on your passport.
- Then WeChat Pay and Alipay, linked to that Chinese account.
According to the government's payment guide you can also link your Dutch credit card, with a limit of USD 5,000 per payment and USD 50,000 a year. That gets you through the first days.
Finally, keep every stamp and every contract: China asks for paperwork, and rewards whoever has it in order. How digital life works beyond that is in internet, WeChat and paying.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the clocks watched. See the whole journey to China.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Exit and Entry Administration Law — the 24-hour duty (Art. 39) — en.nia.gov.cn
- NIA — the online registration, piloted in seven regions since 20 March 2026 — en.nia.gov.cn
- NIA — the residence permit: deadlines, documents and fees — s.nia.gov.cn
- Beijing — the medical examination at the ITHC — english.beijing.gov.cn
- State Council — the payment guide for foreigners (2024) — english.www.gov.cn
- Decree 814 (2025) — health certificate for a residence permit of one year or more — gov.cn
- MOHRSS — the work permit on the social security card, since 1 December 2024 — gov.cn
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