A replacement passport does not automatically update the Chinese visa or residence permit linked to the old passport. Identify the document you currently hold and the reason the passport changed, then contact the responsible public-security exit-entry office promptly.
If you hold a residence permit
Passport number is a registered item on a Chinese residence permit. Article 33 of China's Exit and Entry Administration Law requires the holder to apply for alteration within 10 days from the change when a registered item changes. The NIA guide gives the same 10-day rule for a change of passport number. This is a national rule, not a deadline set independently by each city. Ask the exit-entry office in your place of residence what evidence of the old and new passport it requires. Do not wait for your next residence-permit renewal or an international trip.
If you hold a visa or stay permit
A visa in an old passport follows a different procedure. The NIA visa guide describes a visa change when a person starts using a new passport because the old one is expiring or has run out of visa pages; it also describes separate reissuance steps after loss or theft. Ask the exit-entry office which route applies to your document. Do not apply the residence-permit 10-day rule to every visa or stay-permit situation without confirmation.
A record-update checklist
- Keep the old passport, if returned, and the new passport. If the old one was lost or retained, keep the loss report or issuing authority's evidence available.
- Read your current Chinese visa, stay permit or residence permit. Note the document's number, purpose and expiry, without assuming that it remains usable unchanged after the passport replacement.
- Contact the local exit-entry authority about alteration, visa change or reissuance, as appropriate. Ask for the exact application materials and whether you must attend in person.
- If you have a Foreigner's Work Permit, tell the employer and check its separate record-change process. The State Council's work guide says a change in passport number for that work-permit record is submitted to the work-permit authority within 10 working days. This is separate from the residence-permit rule's 10 days.
- Before international travel, check that your passport and immigration documents reflect a consistent record and ask the competent authority if the documents are unclear.
For a lost passport, the State Council guide says to report the loss to the local police promptly. The NIA guide describes reissuance evidence; requirements depend on the document lost and the office receiving the application. No fee, appointment method or individual travel clearance is promised here.
Official references: Exit and Entry Administration Law, Article 33; NIA visa change and residence-permit alteration guide; State Council guide, document-change sections.