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Comment by mstaoru | Hacker News Reader

It is a classic example of "rule by law" which is in full effect in PRC. You're required to register within 24 hours at the "police station", no details of the said station, no opening hours or any further information is given. The process is quite slow, the queues are long, and the officials are visibly irritated every time you come and wake them up from their slumber. Then there are people flying 3-4 times per week to Hong Kong or Seoul on business, technically they are required to register every single time they enter China. Of course, nobody is doing that. So that's a #1 easy to reach tool to exercise any kind of control over foreigners.

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> no details of the said station, no opening hours or any further information is given

If you are staying in a hotel, you don't need to go to a police station. Otherwise, the person you are staying with should be able to help you find it.

> The process is quite slow, the queues are long, and the officials are visibly irritated every time you come and wake them up from their slumber.

Not my experience, but maybe I just got lucky.

> Then there are people flying 3-4 times per week to Hong Kong or Seoul on business, technically they are required to register every single time they enter China.

Those people presumably have some kind of permanent residence. It would be news to me if that required re-registration after each re-entry.

> Those people presumably have some kind of permanent residence. It would be news to me if that required re-registration after each re-entry.

M-visa holders, business visa holders are required to register with each entry, which is surprisingly misaligned with the purpose the visa entails (visiting fairs, business meetings etc).

I have lived in China for six years and I first met a foreigner with permanent resident status/ a green card last weekend. He said around 800 people have it and whenever he crosses the border the immigration officers call colleagues over to look at the card because they’ve never seen one before. It is very, very unlikely those people have permanent residency.

Even if you have a resident permit and work permit and own companies in China where you are the "legal representative" and lease your own home. If you are a foreigner, every single time you exit China and re-enter, even for one-day turnaround, you need to notify the local police station that you have left and have returned. Now, we have got this down to a We-Chat message with a picture of the entry stamp. Of course, better than the physical visit but it still must be done.

Your hotel does it for you

For immigration purposes, Hong Kong is not in China, and doesn't have the same registration requirements as the mainland.

I meant they're living in China and flying to HK / Korea. Every time you get back, you need to go re-register.

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