New passport or changed details: updating a residence permit within 10 days

If the passport number or another registered item on your residence permit changes, you must apply for alteration within 10 days from the date of the change (Exit and Entry Administration Law, Article 33). The application goes to the exit/entry administration of the public security organ under the local people's government at or above county level in your place of residence.

Check which student visa you hold with the X1 or X2 visa check: it prints the after-entry steps for your study length, including the residence permit application step for X1.

Registered items that start the 10-day clock

Article 33 lists the registered items of a foreign residence permit: name, sex, date of birth, reason for residence, duration of residence, date and place of issuance, and passport number or other international travel documents number (Exit and Entry Administration Law, Article 33). A change to any of these items is a change to a registered item and starts the 10-day deadline.

How to apply for alteration

Fill out an application form. Submit your passport or other international travel documents, qualified photos, and material relating to the purpose of application (Regulations of the PRC on Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners, Article 17).

If the application meets the acceptance provisions, the exit/entry administration authority shall issue a receipt of acceptance valid for a period not exceeding 15 days. The authority shall make a decision on whether to issue the visa within the validity period of the receipt (Regulations, Article 18). If the procedure followed or material submitted does not conform to relevant provisions, the authority shall notify the applicant in a one-off manner of the procedure to be followed and the material to be supplemented and corrected (Regulations, Article 18). While the passport or other travel documents are retained for processing, the applicant may reside in China legally on the strength of the receipt of acceptance (Regulations, Article 18).

The National Immigration Administration service guide for issuing, extending, replacing and reissuing foreigners' residence permits (Chinese) states, in section 3 (三), that where a residence permit's registered items have changed, the applicant shall submit relevant proof materials or personal basic information and proof material on the change of residence reason, and may have the residence period extended or the residence permit reissued. The English wording for this guide is this site's translation of the Chinese text.

Keep the visa and the residence permit apart

A visa held before or without a residence permit is a separate document. The old-passport rules below are about a visa, not a residence permit.

A foreigner who starts using a new passport because the original is about to expire or is running out of visa pages may apply for a change of visa. Submit the original passport for the latest entry or relevant certificates issued by the embassy or consulate of the applicant's country in China (National Immigration Administration — Service Guide on visa extension, change and reissuance for foreigners, section h). A visa consistent with the original visas in type, validity period of entry, duration of stay and remaining valid entry times may be issued. The entry times of the new visa are decided in accordance with the remaining valid entry times of the original visa (same section h).

The Embassy of the PRC in the United Kingdom states, in its FAQ Q14, that the holder may travel to China on the expired passport containing a valid Chinese visa in combination with the new passport, provided the identity information (name, date of birth, gender, nationality) on both passports is identical. If there is a change to any of those details, a new visa must be applied for. This is the UK embassy's statement for applicants in the UK.

The NIA visa guide and the UK embassy address the old-passport situation from different standpoints; follow the instructions of the office handling your case.

Questions people ask

If I renewed my passport, does the 10-day rule apply?

Yes. The passport number is a registered item of the residence permit (Exit and Entry Administration Law, Article 33). A new passport changes that registered item, so you must apply for alteration within 10 days from the date of the change (Article 33).

What if I only hold a visa and do not yet have a residence permit?

Exit and Entry Administration Law Article 33 applies to a residence permit's registered items. A student who holds only a visa, before obtaining a residence permit, follows the visa rules above: the NIA visa guide section h and the UK embassy FAQ Q14.

Sources

• Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China — National Immigration Administration
• Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners — National Immigration Administration
• National Immigration Administration service guide for issuing, extending, replacing and reissuing foreigners' residence permits (Chinese) — National Immigration Administration
• National Immigration Administration — Service Guide on visa extension, change and reissuance for foreigners — National Immigration Administration (en.nia.gov.cn)
• Embassy of the PRC in the United Kingdom — Part Seven: FAQs and Answers — Ministry of Foreign Affairs mission

Checked 10 October 2026 and 11 October 2026.

This page is an unofficial summary, is not legal or immigration advice, is not published by the bodies named above, and the official text and the instructions of the body handling your application prevail if they differ.