China Travel Restrictions 2022

China further shortens mandatory hotel quarantine period for international arrivals, cancels the circuit breaker mechanism for inbound flights, and requires only one negative PRC test within 48 hours before boarding. 

According to a circular released by the National Health Commission (NHC) on Friday, November 11, 2022, China will ease some of its COVID-19 rules to better balance COVID-19 prevention and control with economic and social development. Among others, the below adjustments have been introduced:

1. For close contacts and inbound travelers, the quarantine requirement will change from “7 days centralized quarantine + 3 days home health monitoring” to “5 days centralized quarantine + 3 days home quarantine”. Upon the completion of the quarantine at the first point of entry, the quarantine at the destination will not be repeated for inbound travelers.
2. Secondary close contacts will no longer be traced.
3. For people passing through high-risk areas, the quarantine requirement will change from “7 days centralized quarantine” to “7 days home quarantine”.
4. The three categories of “high-risk areas, medium-risk areas, low-risk areas” will be simplified to two categories—”high-risk areas and low-risk areas”.
5. Areas that are not experiencing outbreaks are discouraged from mass testing.
6. The circuit breaker mechanism for inbound flights will be abolished, and the requirement of “two negative nucleic acid tests within 48 hours before boarding” will be adjusted to “one negative nucleic acid test within 48 hours before boarding”.
7. Important inbound business personnel, sports groups, and other groups will be exempted from quarantine by staying within a “closed-loop bubble” throughout the duration of their stay in China, which means “point-to-point” transfer to the isolation-free closed-loop management area.
8. China will intensify efforts to address the “one-size-fits-all” problem of COVID-19 prevention measures. It is strictly prohibited to arbitrarily close schools and classes, suspend production, block traffic without approval, arbitrarily adopt “static management”, arbitrarily impose lockdowns, and so on.
9. During a COVID-19 outbreak, China shall make every effort to ensure the smooth flow of logistics. It is prohibited to arbitrarily ask key enterprises that are engaged in the overall industrial chain or provide services or products that affect people’s livelihoods to suspend production.