How To Get the China E

Looking to cross the China border like a VIP? Then you need the China e-channel!

One of the biggest headaches for us as “cross border” business people, specifically those crossing the China and Hong Kong border on a regular basis, is the border! Here at Global From Asia we have an extensive guide covering Hong Kong border crossings and have met even more people in our shoes.

We have gotten tons of comments and emails from readers and friends to optimize this border crossing, and today we are sharing some new tips – getting the China E-Channel. Thanks to Cameron Walker who gave us the tip, as well as some others who gave hints on the comments section of our Hong Kong border crossing post.

Now let’s dig into getting this puppy!

Related: Looking to travel around all of Asia like a VIP? Check our guide on getting an APEC card.

Related: Just want a normal visa to enter Mainland China? Here’s our free guide on getting a visa for your passport to enter Mainland China with various options.

You may be in a rush (who isn’t), or with limited internet and want to have a PDF copy of this guide on your computer / mobile phone while you are applying for this Echannel access. Helpful to show them at the border, download yours now!

For those who have crossed the border a few times may have noticed that about half the border are these pods people are walking through. It’s a way to “skip” talking to a customs official and place your ID card or passport on the scanner. The door opens, and you then go inside the “pod”.

In the pod they take your fingerprint and scan your face. Once they see that these matches you on the file, the door to enter (or leave) China is complete.

No stamps, no talking to a customs official, and normally no line or a very fast moving line.

There is an e-channel on each side of the border, the Hong Kong side and the Mainland China side.

Today’s guide is for getting the Chinese side e-channel.

So, sounds pretty slick right? A couple of weeks ago, I started hearing rumors that this was open to foreigners now, but no one I knew got it yet. So, being the cross border guinea pig that I seem to have become, time to test it.

I travel across borders at night normally, so the first couple times I crossed, it was closed.

At Shenzhen Bay border, as well as at Huanggang border, they told me the hours to apply are between 8am and 6pm. And don’t get there at 5:45pm either, they wouldn’t let me apply when I arrived at that time because they said each application takes 10 minutes and there is a queue ahead of me already.

So you apply at the border, on the China side. At Shenzhen Bay it is on the departure side (Leaving China) floor, which is floor 2, BEFORE you leave China, inside of the building. I would put photos here, but they don’t allow photos or videos (or even phone calls) inside the customs building.

At Futian Checkpoint, it’s on the 3rd floor at the end of the hall (just follow the China echannel registry signs)

But you’re looking for an application office for the e-channel. They have decent signs, and if you ask a customs official before going into the line, they will point you to it.

If you want, you can read it direct from the sign in the e-channel registry (I had to bargain with a couple officials in order to let them snag me the photo!)

Chinglish included, enjoy!

Once at the application area, don’t expect to speak English to them! I practiced my Chinese and couldn’t make a call to Wendy to translate for me, as they don’t allow phone calls inside. So either bring a Chinese translator / friend, or have decent Chinese language skills to get by.

When I said I wanted to apply, it seems like this really is a new policy, as they all kind of looked at me like it wasn’t possible. But I insisted a bit and after talking to a few people there, they did say foreigners can now apply (this is August 2016, and the policy must have just come out).

Once they accepted that foreigners can apply, they then checked my passport. These are what they were looking for:

New passports have IC chips inside. You can’t see them, but they are in the cover of the passport. My USA passport has it, and at first they couldn’t feel it, but later found it.

This is something I’ll have to ask my friends on business visas since what I have is a residence permit. Mine is renewing in 4 months, so they deemed that enough time for me to apply. If you try to get it with a business visa and it works (or doesn’t), please let me know so I can update this post.

It worked for me with a US passport. But there were others there applying who weren’t allowed to go through the process because of their passports. I tried to sneak a peek at their passport but couldn’t see.

Once they confirm that, they let me into the application room.

We have received a question from a reader in South Africa:

In our experience this should work.

Once I was allowed to apply, I went into the room. There were about 5 stations with a chair, a camera, fingerprint pad, and a customs official. I sat down and gave them my passport. I thought I would also need to show them my work permit but they didn’t need it.

After filling out some information for me, they printed out a form. I just had to sign it – no need to enter any data (it was already there).

Once signing the paper, they took my photo. Then I had to get both my right and left thumbprint scanned in.

It was pretty fast, and then they said I was all set. They said tomorrow it would be updated.

Ok, so here’s where I got confused. I believe I understand Chinese enough – they said tomorrow I can come back and it’s OK.

Wouldn’t I get a card?

Nope, you will not get any kind of card or receipt or slip of paper. It’s on your passport now.

So they showed me how to use it (after a lot of broken Chinese language efforts talking to them).

Simply go to the China e-channel in an open teller machine. Scan your passport – placing the photo page on the scanner. Then the door will open and you walk in. After you’re inside, use your thumbs to scan in, and then it will take your photo / scan your face. Once the process is done, the door exiting (or entering) China will open and you are in.

Viola! You are now in the VIP express lane to enter and exit Mainland China.

Already getting questions sent to me privately- My buddy Chris Moore asks the following:

Yes, I have used the e-channel. Though only one time since blogging this (as I wanted to get you this information as soon as possible). But I am sure it will keep working (of course unless some policy changes).

No, free! As far as I am writing this post, anyway.

(clarification on the question) Meaning, from the time you entered Shenzhen Bay port to when you left. And, were you able to go into the Shenzhen Bay customs apply then go back into Shenzhen? Or, did you have to cross the border into Hong Kong then come back?

Answer: I applied while I was already in China. I didn’t exit China (as I didn’t have a need to go to Hong Kong). They told me it would take 1 day (I applied on a Saturday, they said Sunday it would work).

You don’t need a card / don’t need to go back to that station, it will just automatically work at the e-channel line terminal when you go there next. This was hard for me to believe, and that is why the customs official had to take me there myself the first time and show me!

Hi Antonino,

If you’re on a tourist visa then you will not be able to get the eChannel. You need a work permit.

Tax regime? If you’re on a tourist visa in China, you should not be earning any income here, so you should be filing taxes where you are a resident.

This question is quite similar to the one immediately preceding, but posting it anyway for more insights:

Answer: Sorry it is not possible. While I do understand your interest and requirement to visit often…. I’d suggest having a piece of paper in English and Chinese explaining your situation to avoid the regular confusion that, I am sure, happens in your case. Best of luck!

Something I have just learned – when you renew your Chinese visa, your e-channel is deactivated. Not exactly sure what the reason is, but when I got my US passport back with another 1 year residence visa, I took my trip over to Hong Kong. Excited to skip lines in the foreigner area, I went to the e-channel.

Scanning my passport, it popped up an error. Maybe the kiosk isn’t working, hopped over to another “pod”. Still got the same error. Called over a customs official and he was confused as well. A few Hong Kong travelers tried to explain to me e-channel isn’t for foreigners and I need to go to the foreigner line. Trying to explain myself to them that it has worked for me for months, I finally realized it must be something to do with getting a new visa.

I talked to the official and she said yes, now that I have a new visa, I need to update my e-channel. It was late at night, so the e-channel office was closed (closes at 6pm) – so I had to go to the APEC line (APEC rocks – here’s how to get yours).

So I just went during business hours to the e-channel registry and yes, if you get a new China visa, you need to reapply to the e-channel. It is like I didn’t have it. I told them I already had it before, but I needed to take a new photo, new fingerprints, and wait another business day for it to activate – same as if I applied for the first time.

I have had friends nickname it as such. A China e-channel is for foreigners in China who have “been here a while” and have the proper documentation to work and reside in Mainland China. Maybe we can start this trend “China foreigner” as there are more and more people (myself included) calling China their long term home. So this is a perk for those of us who have filed the proper long term documentation to remain in China.

So what makes this blog much more helpful to me (and others) is your comments below. Please let us know if this process worked for you. I did this at the end of August 2016 and who knows what will change with the policy.

I’d love to know what passports you have, and what visas you have to get it (or get rejected) so that we can all figure out the rules and make life crossing this border more effective and helpful.

If you want to read some other popular border crossing guides, as mentioned earlier in the post, we have the Hong Kong border crossing post as well as the APEC card application process.

To your success in international business, and border crossing!

I’m in Sean Weisbrot’s Wechat group for Expats in Shenzhen – and today (Sept 5, 2017) he filed for China eChannel for the first time. He reported he did it at the Futian Checkpoint. Even though most in his group said to do it from Huanggang border. He said it was a short line, a photo, fingerprints – and tomorrow (they said in 24 hours) he will be good to go.

Seems that border is OK – but also because he did it in the middle of the afternoon and not during rush hour full of commuters. Thanks Sean!

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