eChannel using passports
 

While I realize this program is pretty new, I'm curious to hear experiences wrt to enrollment, and how it works in practice at various entry/exit points.

I'm not planning on availing of it myself until my current visa expires (at which point, I will get a new passport).

For those who may not be aware, the eChannel program was recently expanded to allow foreigners who satisfy the following conditions to use the automatic gate after registration:

- a foreign national holding an electronic passport
- a residence permit valid for more than 6 months
- 7 years old and more

Foreign Passengers Meeting Certain Conditions Able to Use Self-Service Channels at Ports in China
http://www.sh-immigration.gov.cn/lis...?lx=40&id=4688

I have a friend who was able to register in Shenzhen but have yet to hear if there were any wrinkles in using it at the gate.
I also tried registering at Shanghai Hongqiao T1 but was told there that they couldn't do it there; I'm planning to try checking Pudong later in the week.

I'm pretty sure you can only enroll in Shenzhen (including SZX) and Zhuhai at present.

8/20
The immigration inspection station at Shanghai Pudong International Airport yesterday expanded its self-service entry inspection channels to foreigners holding electronic passports who have residence permits for six months or longer.
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/metro/p.../shdaily.shtml

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/newsima...0819230244.jpg

I asked at Pudong a few days ago after getting my passport stamped. The immigration officer told me that I should have asked before going through immigration so that they could have set me up then and there. Now I need to wait until the next time I go through Pudong to get registered. There is a one page form you need to fill in which the immigration dude was happy to give to me.

That's good to know. I'll try it out next time I pass by Pudong too.

Had a reason to be at Pudong (landslide) and checked around where the registration area was, unfortunately seems to be after boarding pass check (and I suppose before passport check). Looks like I'll have to wait a bit more before I can try registering.

I tried to register last time going through PVG on arrival. I went to the desk and they took all my info and my fingerprints and told me I was good to go and to use the machines to go through the border. I put my passport into the reader and a message popped up saying I wasn't registered. I went back to the desk that helped me and they told me it must not have updated in the system yet and to go through the immigration desks the normal way this time and try and use the echannel next time I'm arriving in PVG as they believe the system will have updated by then. I'm not too confident but I'll post an update:D

By the way the echannel is only on arrival, there is no echannel on departure, even for Chinese.

From a friend I heard it may take 24hrs for the registration info to be recognized in their system.

BTW there's a registration desk before entering China through PVG too? In case I miss the desk on my way out of China next time, I'll try finding that on on my way back in.

Just walk over to the gates and tell the guard there you want to register.

Checked at PVG before exiting China today and the staff there said the registration gate for PVG is only before the passport check before entering China. Staff seemed to think that only Chinese could use the automatic gates though; you wish they were more briefed about the situation, also that there would be more explanation posters, public information etc about where to go to for registration.

Updated experience today. I had previously registered and it didn't work and they told me perhaps the computer hadn't updated and to try it again next time I entered PVG. Well, today was "next time". I went to the empty e gates and tried to use my passport. A message came up saying I wasn't in the system, which was the same message I got last time. I had to go over to the registration booth again and tell the immigration guy there that I registered before and he looked up my passport info in the system.

At first he said there was no record of me, then after a few more minutes of checking, he said that indeed I was in the system but for some reason it wasn't working. The guy then re-input all of my information into the computer and told me to try again. He walked my passport over to one of the gates and put it on the reader. The gates opened and I walked through by putting my thumbprint on the reader. The agent then took my passport to another group of agents to have them type more information into the system. Those agents seemed to have no clue what was going on and looked at my passport and typed into the computer for a few minutes before giving me back my passport and telling me, "I'm not sure if it will work next time or not".

All in all I'm beginning to think it is not worth the effort. Another thing is that you don't get a passport stamp which will no doubt drive some clerk at a hotel in Beijing nuts when they try to locate your "entry date". I will have to see how this works in practice when I venture to the capital again.

I arrived early morning today and was one of the first off the plane. If I'd just gone through the normal passport processing line, I'd have been out of the airport in 5 minutes. This ordeal took 25 minutes.

That has never been a problem so far. I have had no Chinese stamps in my passport for a few years because I always cross from HK driving a car. Just tell the clerk you used the e-gate with the fingerprint. Your details get send to the PSB anyway and the system has your entry record, so it will go through. Only hassle is renewing your visa, because you need to have the Entry/Exit bureau print out the record to show your last entry. Usually takes some time to find an officer who actually knows what to do.

Finally got to register at PVG airport, but as usual staff on hand were a bit unsure at the start as to whether foreigners could register or not.
At T1 where I did my registration, the registration booth is one of those normal passport stamping booths right beside the automatic gates at the left side of the immigration hall. Registration is done landside. Before having passport stamped for entry into China, staff at the automatic gates had me fill up a form for agreement to use personal details. Needed info was basic, like name, bday, passport no. etc.
Then I was instructed to go to the foreigner gates and do regular entry into China (passport stamping) after which I had to come back to the registration booth next to the automatic gates (landside area).
There, a staff member at the booth next to the automatic gates made some confirmation calls to someone, probably to see if I satisfied requirements for registration, after which he scanned my passport, took my thumbprints and facial picture.
He said I should be able to use the gates next time, looking forward to trying it out.

Auto gates worked for me today when I came into GZ from HK :)

One thing that hasn't been mentioned so far though, is how long the validity period of the auto gate registration is. I suppose it's linked to the expiry date of the visa you have, but that wasn't brought up by staff when I did my registration.

which US Passport page to have scanned?
 

I attempted to enroll in the Echannel program. The employee just tried to scan the picture page and it did not work. Can anyone confirm which page on a new US passport has the chip that needs to be scanned?

The chip is in the back cover.

The OCR stuff is on the picture page.

They might use both to make sure they match.

thanks
 

I will go back to the enrolling agency and try again.

Entered China through CAN airport using the automatic gate yesterday and it worked OK, but had problems with the staff there insisting that the gates were only for Chinese and physically trying to block me from going to the auto gates.
In the end they let me through and were shocked (as in literally gasping with surprise) when the gates opened for me.

Moral: don't let the staff at the airports see the passport you're carrying, just take it out once you get to the auto gate.

I don't think the staff will need to see my passport to tell that I'm not Chinese :D

Anyhow, I was finally able to use the gates at PVG with absolutely no problems yesterday. Made it through in about 10 seconds. Even though I had to register 2 times and I'll no doubt have to do it again in a few months when I renew my visa and passport, that 10 second journey through PVG immigration whilst there was a huge line for foreigners made it all worth while!

For the residence permit, is this something outside whatever visa you have in your passport, or does your work visa suffice?

RP's used to be separate booklet, but since 2005 are in the passport. This is what takes the place of the Z visa after you enter China and go through the hoops to get fully registered. The Z is cancelled. The "Residence Permit for Foreigners" takes its place.

Registered for E-Channel at PVG T2. Registration is at passport control booths 79 and 80 and is a quick 10 minute process after which E-Channel can immediately be used.

Hi gang. Does anyone know if it's possible to register at PEK?

Mine has worked a few times coming into PVG but I tried to use it at PEK the other day and it didn't work. I asked the guard there what was up and he told me "Maybe your's only works in Shanghai, go to the normal line". Basically gave me the old, "I don't want to deal with it so I'll make up an excuse".

So the system still has bugs. I'll see if it works when I next enter at PVG. Supposedly they are instituting it for exits now as well although we'll see if that comes about.

Got registered for this in January at PVG. Pretty smooth process for me. Only delay was that I had a family of four in front of me getting registered, so it took a while as the officer did their applications one by one. Could use the eChannel gates straight away and it worked first time.

I haven't seen a clear answer on this either. Since they use the chip in your passport to store the fingerprint information, I'm hoping that it should last as long as your passport (assuming you also have a valid qualifying visa, of course). It'd be pretty disappointing/pointless if you had to re-register every 12 months.

Update on validity of registration, it seems like the use of auto gates is linked to the expiry date of the visa you have when you do your registration.

I tried entering using the auto gates a few days back, just after the expiry date shown on my previous visa (but having a new and valid visa), and the gates wouldn't open for me. Same thing happened to a friend under the same circumstances. I'll go about doing the registration again next time I come back from some trip overseas.

That's ridiculous. Makes the whole thing a waste of time for many who could use it. Why couldn't the PSB just update the passport chip when the visa gets renewed? Indeed, they could just do it automatically for all Z/qualified visas without messing about registering people at the airport.

A potentially great idea ruined by the execution.

It's still a great idea, nothing wrong with re-registering every year. It only takes a few minutes and gives you line-skipping privelages for a year. I'm glad China has implemented this and can't wait for them to implement it upon departure as well!

Depends. I'd only be traveling overseas maybe twice a year on average. If one of those times is having to be spent registering for eChannel (which may take about as long as just going through the regular queue anyway), it's hard to see why it's worth the bother.

Like I said, they should just do the registration process as part of the visa renewal process at the PSB. Basically just automate the process. No airport registration required. Much better.

Has anyone registered at PEK? I've got a new passport and residence permit, and would love to be able to take advantage of this.

I'm flying out of terminal 2 in 2 weeks. If someone knows the procedure there, I would appreciate advice.

I think you can only register on entry, not on exit. Next time you enter China ask at the border where you can register. They'll help you out.

I have registered at PEK. You have to do it on entry - right after passport control there is a raised desk. Ask there - takes 10 minutes - short form, thumbprints, etc. It is easy.

It should work on entry AND exit from China, which is huge (for those of us who often wait in the line to exit). Having said that, I have tried it twice and it did not work - yet. On exit last week, they told me my passport was fine, but that my boarding pass was not. I think my error - I printed the BP at home and should have done it at the check in so that my papers could be validated by someone. Will try that again this Saturday.

On entry couple of days ago, the eChannel machines were out of order - oh well. I will keep trying, it should work and will be very valuable.

(One note - when it did not work on exit, the guard was nice enough to take me to the front of the APEC line for the person to handle ASAP, so it still saved me a boatload of time).

Best of luck with this, it is big.

I am not sure e-channel avail for exit - too many people have told me not yet - I will try tomorrow and have one other person checking as well. I will update....

Not yet available for exit at SHA T1

I can confirm that e - channel does NOT work on EXIT from PEK. Two of us tried, they say not "yet". Keep hope alive for the future. It is supposed to work....one day.

There is no exit echannel yet. They keep saying "soon" whenever I ask. Seems to be the same meaning as 马上到。:)

Oh, I thought that mean "I am on the train, we are not at the station but it may be the next one or two, but given the traffic you might as well leave now and we will make it to the station at the same time :)

Just saw this thread.

I enrolled in the China eChannel program and it is great. Save my previous passport pages.
I have only used it in PEK and SZX at both entry and exit terminals.

Unfortunately on exiting the country I can't use the machines because my name has an ' in it and boarding passes don't show those. If your name in the passport isn't exactly the same as it is on the boarding pass they machine won't accept you. This isn't a problem for Chinese names but I gather it's a problem for many foreigners with apostrophes, Jr., Sr. III, etc in their names. Hopefully they will fix this. As an aside, I can use the exit machines at the land border crossings in Shenzhen as there is obviously no ticket to match names with.