From China, With Love

[Methersgate]

Yes. You are required to do so in many countries; it is not an unusual thing.

[not so old china hand]

But you didn't answer the question: Were you required to show your Passport to stay at the Inn?

 

The short answer is "Yes".

 

To be more specific:

 

Whenever a person checks into a hotel in China they are required to produce ID. For Chinese nationals their China ID card is proof of citizenship. Foreigners are not issued with an ID card, even if they are residents, so they need to show their passport. The hotel copies the passport and visa details and forwards them to the local police.

 

I was in a Catch 22 situation. If I didn't show ID I couldn't stay in the hotel. If I showed my passport as ID I wouldn't be allowed to stay in the hotel.

 

Even today there are hotels which refuse to accept foreigners because they don't want to go through the process of registering them with the police.

 

In some ways things are even tighter today than they were then. In those days your registration was kept at a local level. Now it's entered into a national database.

 

BTW the first provision below means that every time I return to Beijing after travelling I have to report to the local police station and get a new "temporary residence registration".

 

The following is from the US Sate department advisory on China.

 

"Upon Arrival:  Whether you are traveling to or living in China, you must register with the police within 24 hours of your arrival in the country.  Even foreigners with residence permits are required to register after each re-entry.  If you are staying in a hotel, the staff will automatically register you.  However, if you are staying in a private home with family or friends, you should take your passport to the local police station to register.  Failure to do so could result in fines and detention.  Chinese law requires that you carry your valid U.S. passport and Chinese visa or residence permit at all times.  If you are visiting China, you should carry your passport with you, out of reach of pickpockets.   If you live in China and have a residence permit, you should carry that document and leave your passport in a secure location, except when traveling."

 

BTW the last sentence is out of date. China no longer issues a separate residence permit document. The residence permit is affixed to a visa page in your passport. So one is legally required to carry one's passport at all times.

 

China's entry and exit regulations state:

• For foreigners who reside or stay in places other than hotels: They, or the persons who accommodate them, shall within 24 hours after the foreigners’ arrival, go through the registration formalities with the appropriate public security bureau near to the place of residence.
• For foreigners who stay in hotels: Such hotels shall process check-in formalities for them in accordance with the regulations on the public security administration of the hotel industry, and shall submit foreigners’ check-in information to the appropriate local public security bureau.

Edited August 7, 2014 by not so old china hand

[Americano]

Now I can see why Hong Kong doesn't want to come under Beijing rule. There's too much unnecessary BS in China. When my wife and I went to Hong Kong on vacation we didn't have to go through all that crap. The hotel employees let us chose which room we wanted to stay in and we paid for a few nights rent. I don't even think they asked to see an ID.  China doesn't sound like a place I want to visit and especially not live there.

 

I'm sure I was never required to show my Passport at a hotel in the Philippines because I never carry it with me when I travel.

 

One time my wife and I were taking a flight from Cebu to Mindanao. At the Cebu Airport she handed her Ticket and her Postal ID to one of the employees.  He looked at us and then said, let me have your Passport talking to my wife like her Postal ID wasn't good enough.  I replied, she is not required to have a Passport for a Domestic Flight. He didn't say another word but he motioned for us to go ahead. Sometimes its good to know the laws and rules or you can get screwed.

Edited August 7, 2014 by Americano

[Methersgate]

Now I can see why Hong Kong doesn't want to come under Beijing rule. There's too much unnecessary BS in China. When my wife and I went to Hong Kong on vacation we didn't have to go through all that crap. The hotel employees let us chose which room we wanted to stay in and we paid for a few nights rent. I don't even think they asked to see an ID.  China doesn't sound like a place I want to visit and especially not live there.

 

I'm sure I was never required to show my Passport at a hotel in the Philippines because I never carry it with me when I travel.

 

One time my wife and I were taking a flight from Cebu to Mindanao. At the Cebu Airport she handed her Ticket and her Postal ID to one of the employees.  He looked at us and then said, let me have your Passport talking to my wife like her Postal ID wasn't good enough.  I replied, she is not required to have a Passport for a Domestic Flight. He didn't say another word but he motioned for us to go ahead. Sometimes its good to know the laws and rules or you can get screwed.

You have just put your finger on why so many Chinese people don't want to live there! Which is why more than half the babies born in Hong Kong are born to Mainlanders, and why property prices in HK are insane, and why property prices in London are insane, 

[afathertobe]

 

 

 

Americano - China is not the Philippines. These events were a few years ago when China was still in the earlier stages of "opening up", but one must remember that China INVENTED bureaucracy!

 

Unlike the Philippines, China is awash with foreigners, especially tourists, and as a matter of fact, in some respects, such as business ownership, China is more "foreigner-friendly" than the Philippines is.

 

 

But you didn't answer the question:  Were you required to show your Passport to stay at the Inn?

 

Why yes of course. You can't stay anywhere in China without showing your passport even today. Simply out of the question, the hotel has to report your stay to the local police. 

Edited September 2, 2014 by afathertobe