Comments on: Airbnb in China 2026 | Foreigner’s Guide to China Homestays

By: Josh Summers

Josh Summers — Tue, 06 Oct 2020 07:13:08 +0000

In reply to Kakashi. Thanks for the comment, Kakashi. The truth, however, is that no matter what visa you hold, every foreigner has to register their stay in whatever hotel they visit. You ALWAYS have to hand over your passport to be scanned and registered, even if you have a residence permit. Yes, a resident can exit and reenter the country without re-applying for a residence permit, but by law, if you stay the night in a location other than your home address, you are supposed to register your presence there or risk being punished.

By: Kakashi

Kakashi — Mon, 05 Oct 2020 14:53:12 +0000

There’s such a big misinformation as mentioned by josh summers.

First off, there’s a big diffERence in visa holders (tourist, Business, etc.) vs. ResIdent permit holders (students, working).

The requireD registration for Foreigners wherever they go Applies to visa holders, such as tourists.

The resident permit holders are not required, can freely go in and out of china (as long as Borders are AlrEady open, covid-19 over), move in most places/cities in china. Resident permit holders only need to re-registEr if they change informatioN such as address, etc.

Hope this helps claRifies such misinformation.

By: Josh Summers

Josh Summers — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 04:20:47 +0000

In reply to Luana. According to Chinese law, you must be registered in every place you stay while you're in the country.

By: Luana

Luana — Fri, 22 Nov 2019 16:33:57 +0000

Do we have to register in every city, or just the firSt one? We could spenD the fiRst day in a hotel and all the others on airbnb then?

By: C mcil

C mcil — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 11:37:54 +0000

We are staYing in an airbnb in beijing and insisted that the host helped us register at the local police station which we did no problem. We were issued with a certificate of temporary residence.

By: Ian Strawbridge

Ian Strawbridge — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 07:27:23 +0000

Interesting as we have stayed all over china many times (up to a month) including airbnb and we have never “registered” and have had no problems (not saying that you wont) so we will be a bit more causious next time, of more importance is now making sure you have (more) than adequate health insurance as it is now very (very) costly…

By: Josh Summers

Josh Summers — Thu, 10 Oct 2019 06:20:39 +0000

In reply to Ayelet Biran. Hi Ayelet, it doesn't matter if you live and work in China - you are still required to register your stay in a new city with the local police.

By: Ayelet Biran

Ayelet Biran — Wed, 09 Oct 2019 17:19:26 +0000

We live and work in china and we have visa, so i guess we can book airbnb apartment when we travel in china. What happens If we travel with Guests who come to visit us ? Is it enough to
Register them At our local police station When they land or we need to go the local police station at the city that we are going to visit ?

By: sandra

sandra — Tue, 08 Oct 2019 12:35:52 +0000

my Airbnb experience in Shanghai was excellent. I do not know whether the host registered us with the police. It was almost like a hotel with many rooms. A kitchen and large dining area were available for our use. It was against regulations for them to serve meals.
The hosts spoke English and the family owned the property and business. Going forward I will ask hosts to confirm that they register our residence. Thank you for this information.

By: Josh Summers

Josh Summers — Tue, 08 Oct 2019 01:50:08 +0000

In reply to Jules. That's a great point, Jules. A number of hosts won't register you because, frankly, they can't. Registration requires the homeowner to provide proof of ownership of the house. And to be clear - I know many people who have used Airbnb successfully in China and I'm glad your experience has been good. With the tense political climate and the ambiguity in the law, however, I can't in good conscience recommend short-term travelers use Airbnb.