Test & Vaccine History No Longer Required for Overseas Arrivals

By Lars James Hamer, August 26, 2022

The General Administration of Customs announced on Thursday that China is removing requirements for overseas arrivals to report previous nucleic acid test results, infection status and vaccination dates, as reported by Global Times.

The new rule will come into effect on August 31.

As shown in the picture below, previously foreign nationals coming to China had to declare whether they have been infected with COVID-19 in the past and whether they have had a COVID-19 vaccine.

Screengrab via The General Administration of Customs WeChat.

Now, those coming to China will only need to declare whether they have tested positive during the past 14 days.

International arrivals to China will still need to undergo two PCR tests 48 hours before departure, with the last test being conducted within 24 hours of departure.

Despite China still pursuing its zero-COVID policy, which looks to eliminate the spread of the virus rather than ‘living with it,’ there have been a number of relaxations throughout 2022.

Most recently, as of August 24 foreigners holding APEC Business Travel Cards or study residence permits from certain countries are now allowed to enter China.

On August 20, it was announced that foreigners who reside on the Chinese mainland can now visit China’s Macao Special Administrative Region without the need for prior authorization from the Region’s health authorities.

Furthermore, more direct flights to China have resumed operations.

Earlier in the year, the country changed its policy around suspending flights from specific places if passengers from the said flight tested positive for COVID-19 when arriving in China.

READ MORE: Flight Suspension Rules Updated

Arguably the biggest change came when China reduced its quarantine time for overseas arrivals.

Anyone arriving on the Chinese mainland from abroad will now undergo 7-days of centralized quarantine plus 3-days of ‘health monitoring’ at home (the ‘7+3’ policy).

Hong Kong also reduced its quarantine time for overseas arrivals, now operating a 3+4 system (three days of hotel quarantine plus four days of health monitoring).

[Image via Wikimedia]