Staying outside a hotel? Register within 24 hours

Choose the right person to file

1. Hotel: ask reception to complete your passport check-in and accommodation registration.
2. Friend’s home or rented apartment: for the first registration through the national platform at that address, your host uses the host-registration route.
3. Repeat stay at the same address: if the host previously registered you there on the NIA platform, you can use the saved address. The platform sends a verification code to the host’s recorded phone.
4. A home you own: use the platform’s self-registration route and its document checklist.

Start with the official service

1. Open s.nia.gov.cn, or search for 移民局12367 in WeChat or Alipay and choose the official NIA mini-program. A mini-program is a small service that opens inside the app; it is not another app to install.
2. Choose accommodation registration / 住宿登记. Have your passport, entry details, full Chinese address and host contact ready; the live form determines the required uploads.
3. Check the result and save the completed electronic record. A saved draft is not a completed registration.

If the form fails

Call 12367 and ask which local police station handles your address. Ask your host to go with you, taking your original passport and the address details; confirm any additional documents before leaving. Use the police-station route within the deadline rather than repeatedly retrying the form.

Online filing is available nationwide from 21 September 2026 and has the same effect as in-person registration. Keep the electronic record; if you need paper, go to the police station named in it.