Information Needed for the Arrival Card into China
Filling out an arrival card into China fully and without blanks is crucial to entering the nation without any questions from border officers. Having entered this Asian country over 10 times in the past five years, I have mastered how to fill out this information required by the arrival card. So have a look below at the information you will need to know for this form and you'll be entering China with ease.
1. Personal Information: you are going to be asked to write down your family name, given name, nationality, passport number, gender, and date of birth. Most times a stewardess or steward on the plane will hand this card mid-flight. I always make sure to write down my exactly as it is written down on the passport. Be sure the info is correct. The officer will typically check your passport info against it. The first time I went through I wrote down my family name as my given name and my given name as my family name. I was asked to get another card and it wasted nearly 15 minutes of my time as I had to get back in line. Make sure to avoid such lazy mistakes!
2. Visa Information: the card will require you to write down your visa number, which can be found in the top right corner of your China visa page, and the place of visa issuance.
3. Transport Information: the Chinese border security wants to know how you entered the country and the number or name of the vessel upon which you entered. For the most part, I have entered China via plane, so I just write down the flight number for this. I have entered by bus though, and once had no idea the name of the bus company that drove me to the border. This created a few additional questions; luckily, though, someone behind me was on the same bus and was able to tell me the name. You just can't hike into the country!
4. Purpose of Visit: do not lie about this. Your visa should explain what your purpose in China is. You must only choose one. If you are traveling, choose Sightseeing/in Leisure. If you are going to a conference, choose Conference/Business. The last time I crossed into this nation it was for a job, so I chose Employment. Make sure you check the right box for this.
5. Signature: sign your name at the bottom of the page
