Living in China

Lost Your Passport in China? What to Do, in Order (2026)

By the 17Talk teaching team - certified Mandarin teachers, 8+ years of classroom experience, 3,500+ students in 40 countries
Last updated: 2026-10-15

Step 1: report the loss, the same day

Go to the nearest police station to where the passport was lost or where you are staying, and report it. If it was stolen rather than mislaid, report it as a theft - the paperwork matters later, and a theft report is what you want on file if the passport is used fraudulently.

Take whatever proves who you are: a photocopy or phone photo of the passport and visa, your entry stamp, the hotel registration slip, your flight booking. The police issue a loss report, and that document is not optional - both of the immigration procedures below name the passport loss report as an item you must submit.

Losing your passport in China: the order, at a glance

The order is what matters - skipping a step costs days. The immigration hotline and document rules are listed on China travel: the official numbers.

Step 2: your embassy or consulate

With the police report in hand, go to your own country's embassy or consulate for a replacement passport or a temporary travel document. This part is your government's service, not China's, so bring their requirements: the police report, photographs to their specification, proof of identity and usually a fee.

Ask them for a note (照会) confirming what they issued or what they cannot issue, and keep a copy. If they can replace the passport, you are on the easier path: you leave China on the new passport once your visa or stay permit is sorted out. If they cannot - because the consulate is far away, because the document they issue would take too long, or because your country has no representation here - China's own exit-entry permit is the route.

Step 3: if your embassy cannot help, apply for the exit-entry permit

The National Immigration Administration publishes a service guide for the foreigners' exit-entry permit (外国人出入境证), and the situation it is written for is exactly this one: a foreigner in China whose passport or other international travel document has been lost, damaged or stolen and who cannot have it replaced at their country's embassy or consulate.

The practical details from that guide: the office that can issue it is the exit-entry administration of the public security bureau at prefecture-city level or above (in municipalities, the district or county level). You apply in person and you attend an interview, so plan for that rather than sending a friend. The documents are the application form with a compliant photograph, plus the passport loss report, the embassy's note, or the destroyed or expired document itself. The decision is due within 30 working days of acceptance, and you collect the permit in person with your receipt.

Thirty working days is the official ceiling, not the average - but it is the number to plan around if you are deciding whether to wait here or to get a travel document from your embassy and leave sooner.

Step 4: sorting out your visa or stay permit

If you have a new passport but your visa or stay permit needs attention - because it was in the lost passport, or because your permitted stay is running out while you wait - the same exit-entry administration handles it. For a stay permit the official guidance is that the acceptance receipt is valid for up to 7 working days, and it also covers the case where the permit itself was lost, damaged or stolen: submit the loss report or your embassy's note together with the new passport, and a replacement can be issued.

Apply in person as a rule. The regulation allows a proxy visit in three specific situations - if the applicant is under 16, over 60 or unable to travel for health reasons; if they are a repeat visitor with a clean record; or if the inviting company or person has provided a financial guarantee. Everything else is an in-person errand. Do this before your permitted stay expires: overstaying turns a paperwork problem into a legal one.

Your document kit

Assemble this once and both offices become a single visit each rather than a loop.

The other half of this is prevention, and it takes five minutes today: photograph your passport data page, your visa or entry stamp, and your hotel registration slip, then email them to yourself. A copy you can open on any borrowed phone is worth more than any backup in your suitcase.

While you are without documents

Hotels can still register you: show the police report and your embassy document, and explain the situation at the desk rather than at midnight in reception. Long-distance travel is the harder part - domestic flights and trains are built around ID documents, so expect to need what you have plus the police paperwork, and ask the counter how to handle it rather than assuming.

If your phone went with the passport, the same day gets busier: borrow the hotel's phone or a stranger's, sign into your email on any device, and use that to contact your embassy and your bank. Your hotel card, with the address in Chinese, is the thing that gets you home in a taxi.

For anything you are unsure about - whether you need the permit or a visa replacement, whether your overstay is a problem, what to bring - 12367 is the immigration service line, and policy requires it to answer around the clock in Chinese and English. Calling it before you queue at the wrong office is the cheapest hour you will spend that day.

Common questions

What is the very first thing I should do?

Report the loss to the police the same day and get the loss report in writing. Both of the immigration procedures you may need list that report as a required document, so nothing else can move without it.

How long does the exit-entry permit take?

The National Immigration Administration's service guide sets the decision at within 30 working days from acceptance. If you need to leave sooner, ask your embassy about a travel document as well and compare the two timelines.

Do I have to apply in person?

For the exit-entry permit, yes - the guide requires you to apply in person and attend an interview. For stay permits there are three narrow exceptions where a proxy is allowed, including applicants under 16, over 60, or unable to travel for health reasons.

Can I still stay in hotels without a passport?

Yes. Hotels register guests against a passport, so in practice you show the police loss report and your embassy document and explain. Ask the front desk to note it rather than turning the conversation into an argument.

What if my visa was in the lost passport?

The same exit-entry administration office handles visa replacement and stay permits. Applications are in person except in the listed exceptions, and for stay permits the acceptance receipt is valid for up to 7 working days.

I also lost my phone - how do I contact anyone?

Use the hotel's phone or any borrowed device, sign into your email, and work from there: embassy first, then your bank. Keep your hotel card with the Chinese address - it is what gets you back in a taxi.

Read next

• Your First 24 Hours in China: An Arrival Checklist (2026)
• ATM in China: How to Withdraw Cash as a Foreigner (2026)
• Can Foreigners Stay in Any Hotel in China? (2026 Rules & Refusals)
• What to Do If You Get Sick in China: Pharmacy, Clinic or Hospital

Sources

• 国家移民管理局《外国人出入境证签发服务指南》(National Immigration Administration, s.nia.gov.cn) - applies to foreigners in China whose passport or other international travel document has been lost, damaged or stolen and who cannot have it replaced at their country's embassy or consulate; issued by the exit-entry administration of the public security organ at prefecture-city level or above (or county level where delegated); required documents include the passport loss report, an embassy note, or the destroyed or expired document; the applicant must apply in person and attend an interview; a decision is due within 30 working days of acceptance; the permit is collected in person against the receipt.
• 国家移民管理局《外国人停留证件签发、换发、补发服务指南》(National Immigration Administration, s.nia.gov.cn) - where a stay permit has been lost, damaged or stolen, the applicant submits the passport loss report or an embassy note together with a new valid passport and a replacement permit can be issued; applications are made in person, with proxy allowed only in three listed situations (under 16, over 60 or unable to travel for health reasons; repeat visitors with a clean record; or where an inviting entity provides a financial guarantee); the acceptance receipt for a stay permit application is valid for up to 7 working days.
• 12367 is the National Immigration Administration's service line for entry, exit and stay questions in mainland China, operating around the clock in Chinese and English; 110 is the police emergency number for reporting a theft.