No entry stamp in passport
May 23, 2019, 3:11 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 15
No entry stamp in passport
Arrived into PEK for a first time visit to China on an L visa and I did not get an entry stamp in my passport. My wife does have one in hers. When checking into the hotel the staff looked weirdly at it, but in the end checked us in. We have a couple of domestic flights and hotels stays in Zhangjiajie and Xian before we leave, is the missing stamp going to be a problem for these or leaving the country?
Any advice about what to do about this, should I head back to the airport?
Any advice about what to do about this, should I head back to the airport?
May 23, 2019, 6:50 pm
#4
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 3,097
“. . . got the feeling they ended up using my wife’s info."
Not sure I understand. I can understand how an official might just forget the stamp, but did they put your passport through the scanner? Did you give fingerprints? If for some difficult-to-accept reason you are not in the system, then I think you're going to have a very long day.
My suggestion would be to find a Chinese speaker, at the front desk if no place else, who can call Airport immigration and ask how you should proceed and -- very importantly -- what documents you should bring, like your boarding pass and hotel registration.
Not sure I understand. I can understand how an official might just forget the stamp, but did they put your passport through the scanner? Did you give fingerprints? If for some difficult-to-accept reason you are not in the system, then I think you're going to have a very long day.
My suggestion would be to find a Chinese speaker, at the front desk if no place else, who can call Airport immigration and ask how you should proceed and -- very importantly -- what documents you should bring, like your boarding pass and hotel registration.
May 29, 2019, 3:06 am
#9
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,037
I have a stamp from ~5 months ago (I encountered a checkpoint without eChannel), which I show to hotels, if they ask, but most of the hotels I stay in know me quite well, and don't care.
May 29, 2019, 9:22 pm
#11
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: HKG
Posts: 1,315
May 29, 2019, 9:36 pm
#12
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 3,097
Not the first time it's happened.
And as I've mentioned before, when you stay in a hotel it's the hotel's responsibility to register. You're responsible when you don't stay in a hotel. And booking online gives you proof where you stayed if there were a question.
(I remember a notice at one hotel a couple of years ago from the local PSB: If a hotel doesn't register you properly, contact us and we'll pay you a reward.)
And as I've mentioned before, when you stay in a hotel it's the hotel's responsibility to register. You're responsible when you don't stay in a hotel. And booking online gives you proof where you stayed if there were a question.
(I remember a notice at one hotel a couple of years ago from the local PSB: If a hotel doesn't register you properly, contact us and we'll pay you a reward.)
May 30, 2019, 9:15 pm
#13
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: HKG
Posts: 1,315
Not the first time it's happened.
And as I've mentioned before, when you stay in a hotel it's the hotel's responsibility to register. You're responsible when you don't stay in a hotel. And booking online gives you proof where you stayed if there were a question.
(I remember a notice at one hotel a couple of years ago from the local PSB: If a hotel doesn't register you properly, contact us and we'll pay you a reward.)
And as I've mentioned before, when you stay in a hotel it's the hotel's responsibility to register. You're responsible when you don't stay in a hotel. And booking online gives you proof where you stayed if there were a question.
(I remember a notice at one hotel a couple of years ago from the local PSB: If a hotel doesn't register you properly, contact us and we'll pay you a reward.)
May 31, 2019, 3:07 am
#15
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,037
I'm sure legally you'd be OK. But it could result in significant delays at the border should they raise a fuss. I have heard of a recent case where the traveller was delayed by two hours due to a missing registration from a hotel on a trip two years ago. They were sure that they had registered at the hotel but apparently it wasn't in the border force's system.