You Lost Your Passport in China: Which Recovery Route Applies, and How Long It Can Take

ACT BEFORE YOUR STAY EXPIRES

Your stay may end before the documents are ready

Contact local public-security exit-entry today, before your authorised stay expires. Do not wait for the replacement passport. State your recorded entry basis, actual expiry date and the expected or unknown timing of the loss report, mission document and exit formalities. Call 12367 to identify the competent office.

Entered on an ordinary visa: the NIA visa guide requires an extension application 7 days before the visa stay expires. These are calendar days, separate from the processing clock. If less time remains or your passport is missing, contact the office immediately about the extension and reissuance requirements.
Unilateral visa-free or mutual exemption: ask about a stay permit before expiry for the applicable sufficient reason or emergency. See MFA question 11 and NIA mutual-exemption question III. The visa-extension seven-day rule is not a generic rule for visa-free visitors.
240-hour transit: contact local public-security exit-entry, border inspection and your embassy or consulate immediately if the documents may not be ready before your authorised exit time. Ask what stay-permit or other formal application and evidence your case requires before expiry. Keep within your permitted area unless authorised otherwise. The complete national lost-passport procedure remains an evidence gap; do not copy A1 or A2.

The stay-permit guide normally requires a valid passport or international travel document, application form, photo and supporting reason. Ask what the office can accept while the passport is missing and what formal document and dates establish your lawful stay. No universal missing-passport acceptance workaround was verified.

A loss report, consular appointment, phone call or rebooked flight does not extend your stay. Do not assume an application alone does either. Article 13 of the regulations provides lawful stay on an acceptance receipt specifically while the authority holds the passport or travel document for processing. Confirm whether that condition applies and the receipt dates. Approval is not guaranteed. The 7- and 30-working-day decision periods below are not extra days of authorised stay; Route C may finish sooner than its outer limit.

KEEP A PAPER BACKUP

Take a Chinese help card with you

Before departure, or while you still have internet and battery, copy the bilingual card into a local note and check that the note opens in airplane mode. Print a paper copy and keep it separately from your phone and passport. A saved note cannot help if your phone is lost or out of battery; show the paper card to hotel staff or police instead.

If copying is unavailable, select the card text below and copy it manually. You can also use your browser’s Print command. Check the preview includes the Chinese text and the reminder at the bottom before printing.

护照丢失求助卡
Lost-passport help card

Show this to hotel staff or police if you need help, including when your phone is lost or out of battery.

我的护照丢失了。我是外籍旅客，需要报失。请告诉我应该去哪里办理，以及需要携带哪些材料。

I have lost my passport. I am a foreign visitor and need to report the loss. Please tell me where to go and what documents to bring.

如果不清楚主管部门，请帮我拨打12367，询问当地公安机关出入境管理部门的联系方式。我还需要联系本国驻华使领馆。

If the correct office is unclear, please help me call 12367 to ask for the local public-security exit-entry office's contact details. I also need to contact my country's embassy or consulate in China.

请帮我写下已确认的办事地点、地址和材料要求。谢谢。

Please help me write down the confirmed office, address and document requirements. Thank you.

已确认的办事地点、地址和材料（请工作人员填写，可留空）：

Confirmed office, address and documents (staff may write here; optional):

这是一张求助用语卡，不是官方报失证明、身份证件或停留许可。请在获准停留期限届满前联系当地公安机关出入境管理部门，确认本人应办的手续；报失或预约使领馆不会延长停留期限。

This is a communication aid, not an official loss report, identity document or permission to stay. Contact local public-security exit-entry before your authorised stay expires to confirm the procedure for your case; reporting a loss or booking a consular appointment does not extend your stay.

FIVE RECOVERY ROUTES

The five recovery routes

Match the basis recorded at entry before taking any procedural advice. Mutual exemption, unilateral visa-free entry and 240-hour transit are not one legal bucket.

Route	Entry basis or condition	Supported action	Official clock or boundary
A1 — mutual exemption	Entered under a mutual visa-exemption agreement	Border inspection may process exit after identity, entry record or loss report, and mission documents are verified	No national processing-time promise; blocked by overstay or travel outside the permitted stay area
A2 — unilateral visa-free	Entered under China's unilateral visa-free policy	Border inspection may process exit after the same categories of evidence are verified	No national processing-time promise; blocked by overstay or other illegal act
A3 — 240-hour transit	Entered under the 240-hour transit-without-visa policy	Contact 12367, local public-security exit-entry, border inspection and your embassy or consulate	Evidence gap: no equivalent national lost-document procedure was found in the reviewed materials
B — entered on a visa	The lost passport carried your visa	Obtain a new passport, then apply for visa reissuance at the competent public-security exit-entry authority	Decision within the acceptance receipt's validity; no more than 7 working days from acceptance
C — mission cannot reissue	Embassy or consulate in China cannot issue a replacement	Apply for an Exit-Entry Permit for Foreigners	Within 30 working days of acceptance; CNY 100

ROUTES A1, A2 AND A3

Keep the three visa-free branches separate

A1 · MUTUAL

Mutual visa-exemption agreement

Border inspection may process exit after verifying identity, entry record or loss report, and mission documents, provided there is no overstay and no travel outside the permitted stay area. A violation is handled first.

A2 · UNILATERAL

China's unilateral visa-free policy

MFA FAQ question 14 gives a separate route after the same evidence categories are verified, provided there is no overstay or other illegal act. It does not add the mutual answer's out-of-area condition.

A3 · 240-HOUR TRANSIT

Evidence gap — do not borrow A1 or A2

No equivalent national lost-document procedure was found in the materials reviewed. This does not mean exit is impossible. Contact 12367, local public-security exit-entry, border inspection and your embassy or consulate immediately.

ROUTE B

The lost passport carried a visa

A replacement passport does not carry the visa forward. Visa reissuance is handled by public-security exit-entry at prefecture level or above, or county level where authorised. A proxy may be possible if the applicant is under 16, over 60, ill or unduly inconvenienced, has a good prior stay record, or has an inviting guarantor.

No more than 7 working days

The authority decides within the validity of the acceptance receipt. The official guide says that receipt is valid for no more than 7 working days from acceptance.

For nationals of non-reciprocal countries, the listed fees are zero-entry CNY 160, single-entry CNY 168 and double-entry CNY 252, with higher multiple-entry bands.

ROUTE C · EXIT-ENTRY PERMIT

Your embassy or consulate cannot reissue

The Exit-Entry Permit for Foreigners applies where a traveller has no valid international travel document because of loss, damage, theft or robbery and cannot obtain reissued documents from their embassy or consulate in China.

FEECNY 100

DECISION LIMIT30 working days

Bring and expect

The Visa/Stay Permit/Residence Permit Application Form and a compliant photo
A passport loss report certification, a mission note, or invalidated/expired documents plus a temporary identity document
Attendance in person and an interview
An on-the-spot acceptance receipt when materials are complete
Collection in person with the acceptance receipt

The official outer limit is 30 working days from acceptance; the authority may decide sooner. Do not treat it as a guaranteed six-week minimum, and rebook against case-specific timing.

FIVE-QUESTION ROUTE CHECK

Which route are you in? Five questions

01
What exact entry basis is in your record: mutual agreement, unilateral visa-free, 240-hour transit or a visa?
02
Have you overstayed or committed another illegal act? For a mutual agreement, did you leave its permitted stay area?
03
Can your embassy or consulate in China issue a replacement or emergency travel document?
04
Did you use 240-hour transit, whose national lost-document route remains an evidence gap?
05
What is your authorised stay expiry, and could the loss report, replacement document or exit formalities take longer? Contact public-security exit-entry before that deadline; the 7/30-working-day decision clocks do not add lawful stay.

Seven worked cases

DEFAULT

Unilateral visa-free tourist; embassy can help

Conditions: German passport, day 9 of a 30-day unilateral visa-free stay; emergency document issued; no overstay or illegal act.
Result: Route A2. MFA question 14 supports border-inspection processing after the required evidence is verified.

REVERSAL

Mutual and unilateral are not interchangeable

Conditions: A mutual-agreement entrant copies the German traveller's conditions.
Result: Route A1 has separately scoped wording, including no travel outside the permitted stay area. Use the source attached to the actual entry basis.

FAILURE

Overstay plus loss

Conditions: Passport lost on day 33 of a 30-day unilateral visa-free stay.
Result: The overstay is handled before exit formalities. The lost passport is now the smaller of two problems.

EVIDENCE GAP

Passport lost during 240-hour transit

Conditions: The passport disappears before the onward flight.
Result: Do not borrow A1 or A2. Call 12367, local public-security exit-entry, border inspection and the embassy or consulate immediately.

EDGE

Entered on a visa; new passport issued

Conditions: A US traveller on an L visa receives a replacement passport in three days.
Result: The visa did not transfer. Apply for reissuance at prefecture-level exit-entry. A US traveller must use the reciprocal-country fee schedule and confirm the current amount with the accepting authority.

EDGE

No embassy able to reissue

Conditions: No consular presence in China can issue a replacement or emergency document.
Result: Route C: Exit-Entry Permit, CNY 100, decision within 30 working days, in person with an interview. Confirm the case-specific timing and lawful-stay position before rebooking.

BEFORE EXPIRY

Five days left; replacement timing unknown

Conditions: Day 25 of an authorised 30-day unilateral visa-free stay; the passport is lost and the mission has not confirmed when a replacement will be ready.
Result: Contact local public-security exit-entry today about the stay-permit route and missing-document requirements. Give the actual authorised expiry date. Do not wait for the mission appointment or treat a rebooked flight as permission to stay.

Failure recovery

Passport gone; departure booked

Trigger: Loss is discovered with a flight or train still booked.
First action: Establish the exact entry basis using the five triage questions.
Alternative: Contact the embassy or consulate immediately; its ability to reissue changes the route.
Escalation: For 240-hour transit call 12367 and competent authorities; for every route check the authorised stay deadline before rebooking.

Your embassy cannot reissue

Trigger: The mission confirms it cannot issue a replacement or emergency document.
First action: Gather a passport loss report certification or mission note plus any invalidated document and temporary ID.
Alternative: Attend the competent exit-entry authority in person with the form and compliant photo.
Escalation: Confirm the authorised stay deadline separately from the decision period of up to 30 working days; contact exit-entry immediately if the documents may not be ready in time.

A violation also exists

Trigger: There is an overstay or another illegal act; for A1, out-of-area travel also blocks the route.
First action: Accept that the violation is resolved before exit formalities.
Alternative: None; border inspection handles its jurisdiction and refers the remainder.
Escalation: Public-security exit-entry or the relevant department.

You do not know the authority

Trigger: You cannot identify the correct office.
First action: Start with the exit-entry administration of the public security organ at prefecture level or above.
Alternative: For visa matters, a proxy may be possible for specified age, illness, inconvenience or prior-record cases.
Escalation: Call 12367, the national immigration service line.

Your stay may expire before the documents are ready

Trigger: The loss report, replacement passport or exit formalities may run past your authorised stay.
First action: Contact competent local public-security exit-entry today, before expiry. State the recorded entry basis, actual expiry and pending document timing.
Alternative: Ask which formal visa-extension or stay-permit application applies, what to bring while your passport is missing, and what document and dates establish lawful stay if accepted.
Escalation: Call 12367 for the competent office. Approval and a missing-passport workaround are not guaranteed; a loss report, consular appointment or rebooked flight does not extend stay.

What we could not settle

How to obtain the local police report: the official service guide requires a certification of passport loss report but does not publish the local procedure.
Any fixed validity period for a loss certificate: no official source was found, so none is stated here.
Embassy timing: replacement procedure and timing belong to the traveller's own government.
Extra departure processing time: no official basis was found for a universal number.

DO THIS NOW

Start the supported route

Check your authorised stay expiry now. If documents may not be ready before it expires, contact local public-security exit-entry today; call 12367 for the office.
Answer the five triage questions and write down the recorded entry basis.
Contact your embassy or consulate in China.
Gather the loss-report evidence or mission note you can obtain.
Use prefecture-level public-security exit-entry when Route B or C requires it.
For Route A3 call 12367 and all competent authorities; for Route C confirm both document timing and lawful stay before rebooking.

Sources and verification boundary

Key guidance checked on 3 September 2026. Recheck the linked authorities before relying on this page. Conditions, authorities, fees and clocks come from the listed official guides and answers. The A1 and A2 routes remain separately scoped; the A3 gap is routed, not guessed. Individual cases remain subject to border inspection and the competent exit-entry authority.