China’s National Immigration Administration (NIA) says its paper-less ‘Foreigner Arrival Card’—introduced six months ago—has already been used more than 15.5 million times, slashing processing times at major airports to well under one minute per passenger at off-peak periods. The figures were released through an article in Legal Daily on 28 May, highlighting the government’s technology push to make border control both smarter and greener. The e-card lets travellers pre-submit passport details, flight numbers and health declarations via the NIA website, the “NIA 12367” mobile app or WeChat/Alipay mini-programs. A QR code generated on completion is scanned by border officers, eliminating the need to fill out the old blue paper form.
![Online ‘Foreigner Arrival Card’ Cuts Airport Queues as Usage Tops 15 Million]()
Travellers looking for extra support with Chinese entry requirements can turn to VisaHQ, whose dedicated China portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/) offers up-to-date visa guidance, document checklists and real-time application tracking. Using the service alongside the NIA’s new e-card ensures that both the visa process and the on-arrival QR code step are handled smoothly and well in advance of departure.
According to Beijing Capital Airport data, the change saves 5–8 minutes per foreign passenger and frees frontline officers to handle peak loads. Airports in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen have now installed dedicated e-card kiosks and multilingual ‘roving teams’ to help less tech-savvy visitors. Carriers including Air China and Lufthansa have embedded the e-card link in online check-in flows, while leading TMCs are updating traveller-management platforms so assignees receive automatic reminders 24 hours before departure. For employers, the main compliance point is that the e-card must be submitted individually; group submissions are permitted only for minors travelling with parents. Mobility teams should incorporate the QR code step into pre-trip briefings and ensure travellers keep a screenshot or print-out in case of phone battery failure. Those arriving without an e-card can still complete the form on site, but may be diverted to slower manual lanes. The NIA says the next upgrade—due later this summer—will allow travellers to save profiles for repeat visits and to auto-populate address fields from hotel-booking data, further shortening processing. Observers note that China’s rapid uptake of digital border tools could serve as a template for other Asia-Pacific hubs eyeing contactless clearance.
Travellers looking for extra support with Chinese entry requirements can turn to VisaHQ, whose dedicated China portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/) offers up-to-date visa guidance, document checklists and real-time application tracking. Using the service alongside the NIA’s new e-card ensures that both the visa process and the on-arrival QR code step are handled smoothly and well in advance of departure.
According to Beijing Capital Airport data, the change saves 5–8 minutes per foreign passenger and frees frontline officers to handle peak loads. Airports in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen have now installed dedicated e-card kiosks and multilingual ‘roving teams’ to help less tech-savvy visitors. Carriers including Air China and Lufthansa have embedded the e-card link in online check-in flows, while leading TMCs are updating traveller-management platforms so assignees receive automatic reminders 24 hours before departure. For employers, the main compliance point is that the e-card must be submitted individually; group submissions are permitted only for minors travelling with parents. Mobility teams should incorporate the QR code step into pre-trip briefings and ensure travellers keep a screenshot or print-out in case of phone battery failure. Those arriving without an e-card can still complete the form on site, but may be diverted to slower manual lanes. The NIA says the next upgrade—due later this summer—will allow travellers to save profiles for repeat visits and to auto-populate address fields from hotel-booking data, further shortening processing. Observers note that China’s rapid uptake of digital border tools could serve as a template for other Asia-Pacific hubs eyeing contactless clearance.
