Hotel check-in with a passport: registration, and what to do if a hotel says no

The short answer. Show your passport at the desk and the hotel registers your stay with the police for you. A hotel may not turn you away just because it lacks a special licence to take foreign guests. If you stay in a private home instead, you or your host must register with the police within 24 hours, and since 21 September 2026 that can be done online.

What happens at check-in?

You hand over your passport, and the staff scan it and file your details. The Shanghai Public Security Bureau says hotels handle this registration for you, so you do not need to visit a police station yourself.

Bring the passport itself, not a photocopy. Ask for it back once it is scanned and keep it with you, since you will need it for trains, museums and the airport. See also Booking sights with a passport.

Can a hotel refuse a foreign guest?

Not for lacking “foreign-related qualifications”. In May 2024 hotels were told they may not turn foreign guests away for this reason. In July 2024 the Ministry of Commerce and six other departments said accommodation businesses should not use qualification requirements as a threshold for taking foreign guests, that platforms and hotels should not advertise that they do not accept foreigners, and that registration should be made simpler. The People’s Daily published the notice on 26 July 2024.

In practice, some small hotels or front-desk staff may still be unsure how to process a foreign passport. That is a reason to ask first, not a rule you have to accept.

What if a hotel says no?

1. Stay calm and ask why. Often the staff simply do not know how to register a passport. Ask them to call the manager.

2. Show the rule. Staff can read this on your phone:

   根据规定，住宿经营者不得拒绝接待境外人员。请为我办理入住登记。 (Under the rules, accommodation providers may not refuse foreign guests. Please register my stay.)

3. Contact the booking platform’s customer service from the app you booked on, say the hotel is refusing a confirmed booking, and ask for a rebooking or refund.

4. Complain to 12315. This is the national consumer complaint hotline and platform run by the market regulator. You can call, use the 12315 website, or use its mini programs on WeChat and Alipay, mostly in Chinese. The Shanghai public service hotline 12345 answers in English among 18 foreign languages, takes complaints and suggestions, and is open 24 hours.

5. Book somewhere else. Do not argue at midnight. If you cannot settle it, move on and complain afterwards.

Better still, before you pay, message the hotel to confirm it accepts foreign passports. The hotels on our area pages are marked with whether they have confirmed this.

Staying in a friend’s flat or a homestay

If you do not stay in a hotel, the duty to register with the police at your place of residence falls on you or on the person who hosts you, within 24 hours of arrival.

• Online option. The National Immigration Administration announced that from 21 September 2026 registration of foreigners’ non-hotel accommodation can be done online across China. The channels are its government service website, the “移民局12367” (NIA 12367) app, and the NIA 12367 mini programs on WeChat and Alipay. Online registration has the same effect as registering in person, and registering at the local police station is still possible.
• Who does it. The host normally completes the first registration for an address. You can register by yourself only if you have already registered at the same address on the platform, or you live in your own home or your spouse’s.
• If you do not register, a warning or a fine is possible.
• Help. The NIA says you can read the guide on the platform, call the 12367 hotline, or go to a local immigration counter or police station.

Ask your host to register on the day you arrive. A host who says you do not need to is not following the rule above.

Small print

Policy details change, so check the notices behind this page if you rely on a date. If you are unsure which category you fall under, ask the hotel desk or the local police station. For which area to stay in, see Where to stay in Shanghai.