If your passport is lost in China, deal with immediate safety or theft first, report the loss to the local police, and ask the local exit-entry administration which passport-loss certificate or record you need. Then contact your own embassy or consulate for a replacement passport or travel document, and return to the competent Chinese exit-entry authority to replace or regularize your visa, stay permit, residence permit, or departure document before travel.［1］

Key Takeaways

Call the police emergency number if theft, violence, stalking, or another immediate danger is involved; otherwise go to the appropriate local police station promptly.

Save the police loss report and obtain the certificate required by the local exit-entry administration.

Only your own country's embassy or consulate can explain which replacement passport or emergency travel document it can issue.

A new passport does not automatically recreate the Chinese visa, stay, residence, or entry record linked to the lost document.

Keep accommodation registration current and ask before booking transport with temporary documents.

City, nationality, visa-free status, document type, and itinerary can change the exact process and timing.

This guide is for a foreign visitor who loses a passport inside mainland China. It is not the procedure for a Chinese citizen who loses a Chinese passport abroad, and it does not cover ordinary passport damage. Digital preparation in the Best VPN for China guide may help you reach saved copies, but it cannot replace police, consular, or immigration documents.

What should you do first if your passport is lost in China?

Move to a safe place and reconstruct the last time you physically held the passport. Check the hotel safe, reception, transport lost-and-found, venue, bag compartments, and the route you just traveled without putting yourself at risk. Ask staff to preserve a found item or relevant record rather than handing over account passwords or unlocked devices.

Situation	First action	Then
Theft, threat, injury, or immediate danger	Call 110 and seek safe human help	Follow police instructions and preserve evidence
Passport misplaced in a hotel or venue	Notify responsible staff and check secure lost-and-found	Report promptly if it is not recovered
Passport lost in transit	Contact the official operator or station lost-and-found	Record route, vehicle, seat, and time for police report
Passport definitely lost without danger	Go to the local police station for the loss report	Contact local exit-entry administration
Departure is imminent	Inform police, embassy/consulate, airline, and exit-entry authority	Do not assume a booking can proceed with a copy

Use the China emergency numbers guide if urgent police or medical help is needed. Do not post a full passport scan, visa page, and travel itinerary publicly while asking strangers to search.

What records and identity evidence should you gather?

Prepare enough information to identify yourself and the lost document without circulating unnecessary personal data.

A passport scan or clear photo, if safely available.
Passport number, issuing country, issue and expiry dates.
Chinese visa, stay permit, residence permit, entry stamp, or electronic entry record copies.
Travel booking and the date, port, and method of entry into mainland China.
Current accommodation registration and hotel or host contact.
Another identity document such as a national ID or driving license where accepted.
Recent compliant photos if the local authority or embassy requests them.
A factual timeline and locations where the passport may have been lost.
Police case or incident number and every receipt issued during the process.

Keep copies in two controlled places, such as encrypted storage and a trusted offline backup. Send them only to the official police, exit-entry, embassy, consulate, airline, or accommodation channel that needs them.

How do you report the loss and obtain a local certificate?

Beijing's published process provides a useful local example: report the loss at the police station closest to where it occurred, keep the receipt, then go to the local exit-entry administration to obtain a passport-loss certificate.［1］［2］ Other cities may use different offices, forms, photos, appointments, or document names, so confirm locally.

Go to the appropriate police station or follow the emergency dispatcher's direction after a theft.
State that a foreign passport has been lost or stolen, and give the location and timeline.
Provide available identity evidence and a reachable contact method.
Read the recorded facts before confirming them, using an interpreter if needed.
Obtain the police incident or loss report and record the station and case details.
Contact the local exit-entry administration of the public security authority and ask which loss certificate is required.
Bring the police report, identity proof, photos, application, and minor-child relationship proof where applicable and requested.
Keep the original certificate and make controlled copies for the embassy and later immigration application.

Do not assume a police report and an exit-entry passport-loss certificate are interchangeable. Beijing publishes them as separate steps.［1］ The authority where you are physically located should tell you the current local sequence.

Watch the validity period as well. Beijing says its passport-loss certificate is valid for 30 days and warns that a foreigner who has not obtained a replacement passport within that time may be penalized for illegal residence, so contact your embassy as soon as you hold the certificate.［2］

How do you obtain a replacement passport or travel document?

Contact the embassy or consulate of the country that issued your passport. Use contact information from its official government site, not a number supplied by an unverified agent. Tell the consular team where you are, whether the passport was lost or stolen, your planned travel, and which Chinese loss records you have.

The embassy or consulate decides whether it can issue a full passport, temporary passport, emergency travel document, or another document. It also controls identity evidence, photos, fees, appointments, collection, and processing time. Beijing's local guide expressly sends the traveler to their own embassy and leaves the time and fee to that embassy's published information.［1］

Ask three practical questions:

Which document will be issued, and for which destinations is it intended?
Will it support the Chinese immigration document you need next?
Must an airline, transit country, or destination authority confirm acceptance before travel?

An emergency travel document is not automatically accepted for every route or transit. Do not buy a non-changeable itinerary solely because someone informally says the document “should work.”

How do you replace the Chinese visa or obtain departure permission?

After receiving the new passport or travel document, return to the competent local exit-entry administration. Article 35 of China's Exit and Entry Administration Law allows a foreigner whose ordinary visa, stay permit, or residence permit has been damaged, lost, stolen, or robbed to apply for reissuance according to regulations.［3］

The exact result depends on your original status and new document. It may involve replacement of a visa, stay permit, or residence permit, transfer or confirmation of entry information, or an exit-entry permit for a specific departure situation. Beijing's replacement instructions require the new passport or international travel document, loss certificate or consular note, and valid accommodation registration among the core materials for a lost document case.［4］ Shanghai publishes a separate exit-entry permit route with its own scope and materials.［5］

Ask the local exit-entry authority which application matches your original entry and present status.
Bring the new passport or travel document, original loss certificate or accepted consular note, police record, current accommodation registration, photos, and copies of the old visa or entry record.
Disclose an upcoming departure, transit, visa-free entry, residence permit, or overstay concern accurately.
Submit the application through the current appointment or service-center process.
Keep the acceptance receipt and ask whether it can support identification or domestic travel while the application is pending.
Do not leave the city, book a new route, or attempt departure based solely on an old blog's processing estimate.
Collect the issued document and verify the name, passport number, status, validity, entries, and permitted action before leaving the counter.

What about accommodation, trains, flights, and daily identity checks?

Tell your hotel or host that the passport was lost and provide the police, exit-entry, or replacement document the local accommodation process accepts. The hotel check-in and accommodation registration guide explains the separate registration responsibility, but staff must follow the current public-security instructions for your temporary situation.

Before taking a train or domestic flight, ask the operator which original temporary record it accepts and whether an in-person identity check is required. A photo of the old passport may help staff locate a booking, but it is not automatically a valid travel credential.

Keep the police and application receipts accessible without surrendering the originals to an unofficial helper. If a hotel, airline, or station cannot recognize the document, ask it to contact the competent authority rather than editing or translating the document yourself.

What if the lost passport is found later?

Do not resume using it automatically. A passport reported lost may have been canceled or invalidated by the issuing authority, and the Chinese loss and replacement records may already be tied to the new document. Contact the issuing embassy or consulate and the local exit-entry authority for instructions.

Do not travel with both passports while hiding the loss report. Keep the found document secure until the issuing authority tells you whether to surrender, destroy, or retain it as a canceled record.

Troubleshooting and escalation decision tree

Problem	Check first	Next action
No passport copy is available	Other ID, booking, hotel record, embassy registration	Ask police and embassy which alternative proof they accept
Loss happened in another district or city	Last confirmed location and police jurisdiction	Follow the police or exit-entry routing instruction
Embassy is in another city	Official consular jurisdiction and appointment options	Ask about remote intake, honorary consuls, or required travel before moving
Departure is within days	Police report, embassy document timing, immigration process, airline rules	Notify all four official parties and make the booking flexible
Entered visa-free	Entry record and current permitted stay	Ask exit-entry which departure or stay document applies
Accommodation cannot update registration	Current police/exit-entry receipt	Ask the hotel to verify with local public security
Temporary document rejected for transport	Operator's written rule and issuing authority	Request official verification; do not alter the document
Passport is found	Whether it was reported or canceled	Stop using it and contact embassy and exit-entry authority

If a deadline is approaching, keep a written record of attempts and instructions. That record does not extend status by itself, but it helps the competent authority understand the timeline.

Summary

Put safety first and report theft or loss to the appropriate local police.
Obtain the local exit-entry passport-loss certificate or record required in that city.
Use your own embassy or consulate for a replacement passport or travel document.
Return to the competent Chinese exit-entry authority to regularize the visa, stay, residence, entry, or departure document.
Keep accommodation registration and transport plans aligned with the temporary documents actually accepted.
Protect passport copies and share only the minimum information through official channels.
Do not use a found passport again until the issuing and Chinese authorities confirm its status.

FAQ

Should I call 110 for every lost passport?

Call 110 when theft, danger, or urgent police assistance is involved. For a non-emergency loss, promptly attend the appropriate local police station or follow local police guidance.

Is a police report enough to leave China?

Usually not by itself. You may also need a replacement passport or travel document and a reissued Chinese visa, stay or residence document, or exit-entry permit appropriate to your status.

Can my embassy replace the Chinese visa?

No. Your embassy or consulate handles its country's passport or travel document. The competent Chinese exit-entry authority handles Chinese immigration documents.

How long will replacement take?

There is no safe universal estimate. Police, local exit-entry, embassy, document type, identity verification, nationality, appointment availability, and immigration status all affect timing.

Can I fly or take a train with a passport photo?

Do not assume so. Ask the operator which original police, exit-entry, consular, or replacement document it accepts and whether an in-person identity check is required.

What if I entered China without a visa?

Tell the local exit-entry authority exactly how and when you entered. It will determine which stay, entry-record, or departure document applies; a general visa-replacement instruction may not fit.

Must I update my hotel registration?

Keep accommodation registration current and tell the hotel or host about the document change. Ask local public security what temporary record should be used.

Should I pay an agent who promises same-day documents?

Use official police, exit-entry, embassy or consulate, and authorized service channels. No private agent can guarantee that several independent authorities will issue documents on a promised schedule.

Can I use the passport if it is found after I reported it lost?

Not without confirmation. It may have been canceled or linked to a completed loss process. Ask the issuing embassy or consulate and Chinese exit-entry authority what to do with it.

Disclaimer: This guide provides general visitor information, not legal, immigration, consular, airline, or identity advice. The local police, competent exit-entry authority, passport-issuing embassy or consulate, and transport operator control the current process and document acceptance.

Sources

Beijing Municipal Government, Reissuance of Lost Passports and Visas for Expats in Beijing — https://english.beijing.gov.cn/quickguideservices/foreignerswholostpassportinbeijing/
Beijing Municipal Government, Proof on Loss of Foreigners' Passports — https://english.beijing.gov.cn/livinginbeijing/lossofpassports/
National Immigration Administration, Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China — https://www.nia.gov.cn/n794014/n1050181/n1050479/c1013311/content.html
Beijing Municipal Government, Reissuance of Visas, Stay Permits and Residence Permits for Foreigners — https://english.beijing.gov.cn/mostrequested/list/202406/t20240606_3706609.html
Shanghai Municipal Government, Exit-Entry Permit — https://english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-Individuals-ImmigrationandVisas-Exit-entrypermit/index.html

Sources checked 4 October 2026.

What to Do If Your Passport Is Lost in China: Step by Step