Security check

5. Relevant provisions on articles carried by the short-term passengers with foreign nationalities

The luggage and articles carried by the short-term passengers with foreign nationalities entering or exiting China shall be restricted to the articles necessary for the travelling. Short-term passengers with foreign nationalities who enter or exit China shall be required to make declaration to the Customs. Articles of daily use needed during the journey within the scope of a reasonable amount shall be released; 400 cigarettes and two bottles of wine (no more than 1.5 liters) shall be released free of duty within this limit; as to the personal belongings carried by the passengers entering China, one camera, portable tape recorder, compact camera, portable camcorder, portable word processor shall be released, and the articles that have exceeded the limit shall be declared to the Customs and go through the customs formalities. The personal belongings carried by the passengers entering China to be used during the journey may be approved upon examination by the Customs as temporarily imported goods. The personal belongings carried by the passengers released by the Customs shall be carried with them exiting China.

[Note] Passengers with foreign nationalities refer to all the passengers except the Chinese passengers, including the stateless persons, foreign nationals being invited to visit China, to conduct trade negotiation, to travel, to engage in activities in science and technology, cultural exchanges, and exhibitions, the permanent personnel of the resident offices in China such as foreign enterprises, news agencies and commerce organizations, as well as the foreign experts and foreign students, etc.

As to the primary management of the luggage and articles carried by the passengers with foreign nationalities, China Customs divides them into long-term passengers with foreign nationalities and short-term passengers with foreign nationalities according to their duration of residence in China. The long-term passengers with foreign nationalities generally refer to the travelers who reside continuously in China for more than one year upon approval of entry, such as the residence personnel of the foreign businesses; short-term passengers with foreign nationalities refer to the passengers being approved of entry but temporarily reside in China for less than one year such as the foreign travelers.

The main basis for the Customs to distinguish long-term and short-term passengers with foreign nationalities is whether they hold the long-term residence permits issued by the public security authorities of China.