Traveling Around China without a Passport? Possible? (Alread have a visa inside China)

[AlexanderH]

My university mistakenly told me they could get my visa changed 3 weeks before they actually can, and thus foiled my travel plans for my semester break. I'm stuck on campus, but I was thinking of maybe just taking the train around parts of China to do some traveling.

Do you need to have your passport on you all the time, if you are already legitimately inside China with a valid visa? I know sometimes Hostels ask for it, but I can just give them a passport copy. Other than that, I don't think anyone has ever asked me.

I want the "technically..." answer, not the "you will be deported straight away if found without a passport.." .

My university is currently changing it for me and thus I won't have my passport in my hands or a new visa until the 14th.

[roddy]

Hostels should always ask for it. I'd expect it to be a major hassle, and wouldn't be surprised if you end up spending large chunks of your days finding somewhere to sleep. It's going to be a busy time of year anyway, so there'll maybe be less inclination to look the other way.

[gato]

You should be able to get a temporary travel slip from the place (Exit/Entry Bureau) that's renewing your visa. You can either go get the travel slip yourself or ask your international affairs officer for assistance.

Strange that your school couldn't wait until after Chinese New Year and left you without a passport.

[aristotle1990]

It's not like Japan, where you need to carry it on you all the time -- so long as you're not getting into trouble, going around without a passport probably isn't such a big deal. But yeah, all hotels and hostels that are registered to admit foreigners (the vast majority are legally unable) are supposed to ask for your passport, so I don't see how you're going to get around that -- I'm sure some of them might be suspicious of or downright refuse a copy.

[AlexanderH]

Gato --

Good point, actually I think that may be possible. I have no idea if my university does or does not have that, but I am familiar with those. I guess that is my best option, otherwise I'll know Beijing really well by the time classes start again...

[xiaoxiaocao]

Decide where you will be travelling to and make a list of hotels/hostels in those places, then ring ahead explain your situation and ask if they can check you in with just a photocopy of your passport and visa, some will allow, some won't. I have done this before.

If they are currently processing your visa now, do as Gato said and ask your school for the receipt/travel slip.

[Yang Rui]

It's not like Japan, where you need to carry it on you all the time

Technically, you are required by law to carry identification (which if you're a foreigner, amounts to a passport) on you at all times. I remember chatting to a friend's aunt, who worked in the Entry-Exit Administration of the PSB, and on being introduced to her, I jokingly said, "Oh no, I don't have my passport on me" to which she replied that she could fine me for not carrying it. It's true that you're rarely asked for it as long as you stay out of trouble though.

Best solution is probably a combination of getting the slip that gato mentions and phoning ahead as xiaoxiaocao says - but even doing that, I would be worried that the person on the desk when I walked in wasn't the same person who had told me everything would be fine on the phone. I've tried to stay in a hotel with only a passport photocopy before - I would say 2 out of 3 times it didn't work.

[Lu]

I might be wrong, but I imagine it'll be easier to brush you off over the phone than if you're actually standing there about to pay for a room. Personally I would just show up and hope for the best. (Actually what I would do is stay in town and discover Beijing, but that's not your question.)

[JenniferW]

I was in this situation once - and looked for something to do on the doorstep instead. I ended up getting on all the local buses, and just going to wherever they were going to! Saw some strange sights. Walked a lot and met interesting people along the way. And it changed my view of where I'd been living.

[889]

For the last couple of years or so, China's been trying out a 实名 "real name" system for rail and bus tickets in various parts of the country. If you're unlucky enough to hit someplace that's conducting one of these trials, you might have problems buying a ticket without ID.

And though it's fairly rare, sometimes security staff on overnight trains do go through registering everyone in a logbook.

[roddy]

Hmmm, if it's Beijing you're in - there's a lot to see in Beijing if you haven't seen it already, and you could spend some time doing slightly out-of-the-city stuff - Cuandixia, more remote bits of the Great Wall, and the bottom-of-the-list tourist stuff, which is sometimes actually better than the big name items. Obscure museums and temples, lots of back street wandering.

Places like Cuandixia you could try and find places to stay and make a longer trip of it, but if you don't have any luck you can still get home. Although check last bus times. Even Qingdao - take an overnight train, arrive around 7am, if you haven't found anywhere to stay by 9am spend the day seeing the place and get an evening train back. Coastal resorts like Beidaihe, maybe Chengde.

Actually, you could try couchsurfing.com - as long as the host isn't worried about you registering at the police station, that would solve the problem.

It's an unfortunate time of year to be doing this though - accommodation will be busy and less inclined to help out, and the shortage of train tickets will mean last minute changes of plan will be harder.

[AlexanderH]

I've been in Beijing for 4 months,so I've been lucky enough to see quite a bit. I just really wanted to get out (originally planned to Thailand.. I wanted to smell some clean air and go for a run in a forest for once), but I have no qualms about sticking around and exploring. That may be my best option afterall, and the least amount of hassle.

[qiongan]

Hello

After applying for visa extenstion or change from L to X, could somebody know whether it is possible to travel within China during this 5 working days when the passport is in the office?

Normally each hotel asks for the passport to register each foreigner - if I dont have a passport, do you think that the receipt from the office is enough?

It would be really strange if we were not allowed to move around and required to just seat in one place and wait for visa one week

thanks for your help !

[roddy]

Merged with answer

[PanShiBo]

is possible to travel within China during this 5 working days when the passport is in the office

Possible. It can even add more fun if you are into adventure type of things.

All depends where you want to stay: 住宿,宾馆 or 酒店:

住宿 don't care.

宾馆 need to see your ID.

酒店 need to see your passport.

Occasionally, not very often, some places won`t take foreigners at all.

If everything is against you, train station is your friend.

To buy a train or bus ticket don't require ID, except extremely rare situations. I only needed it once (train Beijing-Taiyuan) in my 6,000 km journey by land from north to south.

I suppose you have enough RMB and don't need to go to the bank to do currency exchange.

[Matty]

I'd first try to go the the Entry-Exit office and see what they can give you, if not see if the local police will be willing to stamp anything for you.

A photocopy of both your passport id page and the visa page with a police stamp on them should be enough, but never give up that original stamped copy.

Some smaller places may be willing to allow you to live for a few days, though I was kicked out of one once when the police did a random inspection while I was out. The fine would have been abotu 1,000元 to the place as I recall. Though the owner was nice enough to put me up in a smaller more hidden place (quite nice actually) owned by her mum.

For trains which require ID, which are mostly "Dong Che" at the moment will require some Id, however my Hong Kong Id was enough for the trip between Shenzhen and Guangzhou since they started it. So a national Id card or drivers license with a photograph and numerical id (or mostly numerical) should suffice (my assumption) in most situations. A plastic official looking card would be better than anything laminated. The purpose of this system seems mainly to stop people scalping tickets from what I've seen, and preparing for a more electronic based ticketing and purchasing system.

From what I've found few people, including the police with argue with police stamps, but sometimes getting the police to do what you want can be difficult. It's taken me quite a lot of negotiating at times and now they know me quite well.

In theory you should also carry your passport on you at all times while in China, however I have never been checked up on this before. Be wary that if your visa has expired, hotels are required to contact the entry/exit department, but I don't know what the rules are if any of trying to stay without one. (probably nothing)