1. In order to prevent infection from long-distance travel after testing, starting from December 23, 2020, passengers traveling to China must get their samples for the nucleic acid rt-PCR and IgM serum antibody tests collected at the departure city of their direct flight to China. Passengers must allow for the time to take pharyngeal or nasopharyngeal swabs, venous blood and other sampling in the departure city and its vicinity of their flight and wait in place for the test results before the flight. Upon receiving the reports, passengers need to apply for health code from the Chinese Embassy or Consulate General (based on consular jurisdiction), travel before it expires and be prepared for checking by the airlines before boarding.
2. In light of the latest developments concerning COVID-19 , f or China-bound flight s departing from U.S. on and after April 1 , 2022, passengers will be re quired to present a negative result of antigen test on top of health code when check-in or boarding .
If your antigen test result is not negative, you are advised to take a nucleic acid test (NAT). If the NAT result is not negative, you need to follow the requirements of “ 10 .Passengers with infection history ” below before next application of health code. If the NAT result is nagative, you need to follow the requirements of “ 11 . Close contacts ” below before next application of health code.
3 . Foreign passengers can apply for health code at https://hrhk.cs.mfa.gov.cn/H5/ .
4 . You can find out below the diplomatic mission responsible for issuing health codes and their corresponding direct flights between China and the U.S.
AA 127 (Dallas→Shanghai) - Chinese Embassy
DL 283 (Detroit→Shanghai) - Chinese Consulate General in Chicago
DL 287 (Seattle→Shanghai) - Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco
UA 857 (San Francisco→Shanghai) - Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco
CA 988 (Los Angeles→Beijing/Tianjin) - Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles
CA 770 (Los Angeles→Shenzhen) - Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles
CZ 328 (Los Angeles→Guangzhou) - Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles
MF 830 (Los Angeles→Xiamen) - Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles.
MU 588 (New York→Shanghai) - Chinese Consulate General in New York.
5. Samples (nucleic acid, antibody and antigen) must be collected and tested at a laboratory institution on the list provided by the Chinese Embassy or Consulates General. See below for the latest list of laboratories accepted by the Chinese Embassy (for the Dallas flight). Please give consent to the sampling agency and testing laboratory to announce the test results and other personal information to the Embassy. The Embassy will contact the issuing agency to verify the authenticity of all the submitted reports and certificates. If any of them cannot be verified, or contain false information, or are deemed altered or forged, the health code will not be issued.
6. Please take corresponding steps according to your vaccination status:
(1) For those who are fully vaccinated with inactivated vaccine:
① Take a nucleic acid rt-PCR test at the departure city (Dallas) of the flight 7 days before boarding (e.g. If the flight departs on May 10, the sampling time should be anytime on May 3)
② Starting from the first nucleic acid rt-PCR test day, monitor your health for 7 days at the departure city (Dallas), and fill in the "Personal Health Monitoring Form" (see attachment)
③ Within 48 hours before departure (e.g. If the flight departs on May 10, the sampling time can be any time on May 8 or 9 ), take the second nucleic acid rt-PCR test at a listed laboratory, and the third one within 24 hours before departure at a different listed laboratory (e.g. If the flight departs on May 10, the sampling time must be any time on May 9 ).
④ After 14:00 the day before departure (e.g. If the flight departs on May 10, the sampling time can be any time after 14:00 of May 9), take the antigen test at the departure city (Dallas) .
⑤ If an individual who has been fully vaccinated with inactivated vaccines gets inoculated with non-inactivated vaccines later, please follow the steps for inactivated vaccine s .
(2) For those who are fully vaccinated with non-inactivated vaccines:
① Take a nucleic acid rt-PCR te st at the departure city (Dallas) of the flight 7 days before boarding (e.g. If the flight departs on May 10, the sampling time should be anytime on May 3) .
② Starting from the first nucleic acid rt-PCR test day, monitor your health for 7 days at the departure city (Dallas), and fill in the "Personal Health Monitoring Form" (see attachment) .
③ Within 48 hours before departure (e.g. If the flight departs on May 10, sampling time can be any time on May 8 or 9), take one S protein IgM antibody test and one N protein IgM antibody test at a listed laboratory, within 24 hours before departure (e.g. If the flight departs on May 10, sampling time must be any time on May 9) , take the second nucleic acid rt-PCR at a listed laboratory of the departure city (Dallas)
④ After 14:00 the day before departure (e.g. If the flight departs on May 10, the sampling time can be any time after 14:00 of May 9), take the antigen test at the departure city (Dallas)
(3) For the unvaccinated and the partially vaccinated:
① Take a nucleic acid rt-PCR te st at the departure city (Dallas) of the flight 7 days before boarding (e.g. If the flight departs on May 10, the sampling time should be anytime on May 3) .
② Starting from the first nucleic acid rt-PCR test day, monitor your health for 7 days at the departure city (Dallas), and fill in the "Personal Health Monitoring Form" (see attachment) .
③ Within 48 hours before departure (e.g. If the flight departs on May 10, sampling time can be any time on May 8 or 9), take one S protein IgM antibody and one N protein IgM antibody test at a listed laboratory, and within 24 hours before departure (e.g. If the flight departs on May 10, sampling time must be any time on May 9) , take the second nucleic acid rt-PCR at a listed laboratory of the departure city (Dallas) .
④ After 14:00 the day before departure (e.g. If the flight departs on May 10, the sampling time can be any time after 14:00 of May 9), take the antigen test at the departure city (Dallas) .
7. The following documents are to be uploaded for health code applicati on:
(1) Nucleic acid rt-PCR, S protein IgM antibody, N protein IgM antibody tests results, Personal Health Monitoring Form (based on different requirements mentioned above);
(3) Passport, Chinese visa or resident permit.
(4) If you are vaccinated, please also upload the Letter of Commitment on COVID-19 Vaccination (see below) and vaccination certificate.
(5) If you have infection history / are a close contact / show symptoms, please upload supplementary documents according to the requirements below.
(6) Antigen test result is not required when applying the health code. A ir lines will inspect the original reports when check -in or boarding in either printed or digital form, and only negative results are accepted.
8. For the health code, the “ blue code ” status will be introduced. Passengers will received a “ blue code ” when all their test results excluding the 12-hour antigen test are verified. Before boarding, p assengers will be re quired to present a negative result of antigen test on top of “ blue code ” . “Green code” will be issued less often, and those issued are still valid. Passengers holding a “green code” can still be accepted for boarding.
9. If you are fully vaccinated, you should apply for health code 14 days after the last required shot. For example, if you take the last required shot on May 10, application on or before May 24 will be declined.
(1) If you were diagnosed with COVID-19 or tested positive for nucleic acid rt-PCR or antibody (not due to vaccination), you are considered as having an infection history.
(2) You can apply for a health code if you meet the following requirements:
- Take two nucleic acid rt-PCR tests with a sampling interval of over 24 hours in any laboratory in the U.S. and both tests return negative results.
- Take a self-quarantine for at least 6 weeks and record your daily body temperature and health conditions after the second nucleic acid rt-PCR test. If you develop any symptoms such as fever, cough, diarrhea during the self-quarantine, take another nucleic acid rt-PCR test. If the result is negative, start a 6 weeks quarantine again. If the result is positive, you will need to wait until you recover and redo the whole process.
- After completing the above procedures, follow this notice to perform nucleic acid rt-PCR testing 7 days before boarding, monitor your health for 7 days, and perform corresponding tests within 48 hours before boarding. If the test result is still positive, you will need to complete the previous steps again until you meet all the requirements.
(1) Passengers who have had unprotected contact with confirmed, suspected or asymptomatic cases are considered as close contacts. Passengers withe an positive antigen result are con sidered as close contacts as well.
(2) Close contacts or passengers showing suspected symptoms are expected to self-quarantine for at least 14 days. Please monitor your health conditions and take nucleic acid rt-PCR tests on the 1st, 4th, and 7th day of self-quarantine. After completing the above procedures, follow this notice to perform nucleic acid rt-PCR testing 7 days before boarding, monitor your health for 7 days, and perform corresponding tests within 48 hours before boarding.
(1) The Embassy does not issue health code for passengers who fly from the U.S. to China by transiting in a third country (region) .
(2) For passengers who transit in the U.S. and then f ly directly to China:
- H ealth code will not be issued by the Embassy to passengers whose departure country has a direct flight to China.
- For those whose departure country has no direct flight to China, please follow the requirements of the Chinese Embassy / Consulates General of that country and apply for the health code before coming to the U.S. When transiting in the U.S., please follow the requirements of the Chinese Embassy / Consulates General in the U.S. and apply for the health code for the direct flight for China. The requirement of nucleic acid rt-PCR testing 7 days before boarding and 7 - day self-health monitoring could be exempted.
1 3 . When should I be tested?
For example, if you are fully vaccinated with non-inactivated vaccines , and you your flight date i s May 10, the sampling time for the first nucleic acid rt-PCR testing is 7 days before boarding, which is any time on May 3; the 7-day self-health monitoring should be from May 3 to May 9; the sampling date for S and N protein IgM antibody tests should be any time on May 8 and 9 ; the second nucleic acid rt-PCR test should be any time on May 9 . Antigen test sampling time should be after 14:00 of April 9 .
When fill ing in the "test sampling date" in health code application , use whichever comes first between the second nucleic acid rt-PCR test and S and N protein IgM antibody tests . D o not fill in the date of the first nucleic acid rt-PCR test .
1 4 . Do babies and toddlers need to be tested?
Babies and toddlers under the age of 3 do not need to be tested or apply for a health code.
1 5 . Am I sure to get the health code if I apply as required?
Not necessarily. To ensure the health and safety of international travel and reduce the risk of cross-border transmission of COVID-19, the Chinese Embassy / Consulates General will decide based on a comprehensive review. Please plan your trip accordingly.
1 6 . The Chinese Embassy will implement the updated requirements and issue “ blue code ” starting from April 21. In the event of any inconsistency between the previously released information and this n otice, this notice shall prevail.
Download the Letter of Commitment on COVID-19 and Personal Health Monitoring Form here.
Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America 3505 International Place, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20008 U.S.A. Tel: +1-202-495-2266 Fax: +1-202-495-2138 E-mail: chinaembpress_us@mfa.gov.cn
Visa Office Address: 2201 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W. Suite 110, Washington, D.C. 20007 Tel: +1 202-855-1555 Fax: +1 202-238-0380 Email for Passport and Travel Document Application: passportoffice.dc@gmail.com Email for Authentication Application: authenticationoffice.dc@gmail.com Email for Visa Application: visaoffice.dc@vip.163.com