Delta Law Expat Services Desk ｜ Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China（《中华人民共和国出境入境管理法》）, Presidential Order No. 57（主席令第五十七号）, in force from 2013-07-01, articles 39 and 76.
- Article 39 has two paragraphs and they impose duties on different people. Paragraph 1 is a duty on hotels. Paragraph 2 applies to every other kind of accommodation and puts the duty on the foreign national or the person providing the accommodation.
- The word that carries the analysis is 留宿人 — the person providing the accommodation. A landlord, an employer providing an apartment, a friend lending a spare room and a company running staff accommodation can each fall within it.
- Article 39, paragraph 2 sets the duty as alternative, not sequential. The Law gives no order of priority, so both the individual and the accommodation provider can be assessed as having failed to register.
- The sanction is a warning, with a fine of up to RMB 2,000 that may also be imposed — article 76, paragraph 1(6). A hotel that fails to report information faces a separate scale under article 76, paragraph 2.
- The Law is in a revision window: the revision draft is listed as item 11 of the annex to the 2026 legislative work plan of the State Council. It has not been published and is not law.
1. The document at a glance
| Item | Content |
|---|---|
| Full title | Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China（《中华人民共和国出境入境管理法》） |
| Document number | 主席令第五十七号（Presidential Order No. 57） |
| Adopted / promulgated | Adopted 2012-06-30 by the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People's Congress |
| Current version in force from | 2013-07-01 (article 93) |
| Issuing authority | Standing Committee of the National People's Congress |
| Official text | https://www.nia.gov.cn/n741440/n741547/c1013311/content.html |
| What this page covers | Where the accommodation registration duty falls when a foreign national does not stay in a hotel, and what follows if it is not performed. |
2. Two paragraphs, two different duty-bearers
第三十九条 外国人在中国境内旅馆住宿的，旅馆应当按照旅馆业治安管理的有关规定为其办理住宿登记，并向所在地公安机关报送外国人住宿登记信息。
外国人在旅馆以外的其他住所居住或者住宿的，应当在入住后二十四小时内由本人或者留宿人，向居住地的公安机关办理登记。
Article 39, paragraph 1: Where a foreign national stays at a hotel in China, the hotel shall handle accommodation registration in accordance with the relevant public security rules for the hotel industry and shall report the foreign national's accommodation registration information to the public security organ of the place where it is located. Paragraph 2: Where a foreign national resides or stays at a residence other than a hotel, registration shall be made with the public security organ of the place of residence, within 24 hours of moving in, by the foreign national or by the person providing the accommodation.
Unofficial translation; the Chinese text as officially published prevails.
Paragraph 1 is administratively invisible to the guest: the hotel registers and reports, and the guest does nothing. Paragraph 2 removes that intermediary and does not replace it with a single named person. It says the registration is to be made "by the foreign national or by the person providing the accommodation" — 由本人或者留宿人 — and it stops there. There is no order of priority, no default allocation, and no rule that one is discharged when the other acts first, beyond the practical fact that a single registration satisfies the duty.
That drafting choice is the reason this provision produces disputes. Where neither party registers, each of them is within the class of persons on whom the Law imposed the duty. Neither can point to the text and say the obligation belonged to the other. For a foreign national the takeaway is that relying on a landlord or an employer is a commercial arrangement, not a legal transfer of the duty; for an accommodation provider it is that hosting is not a neutral act.
3. Who is the person providing the accommodation
The Law does not define 留宿人. What can be said from the text is that the class is defined by the fact of providing accommodation, not by a contractual label, and that paragraph 2 is expressly not limited to tenancies — it applies wherever a foreign national "resides or stays at a residence other than a hotel". Four configurations therefore deserve separate assessment.
A landlord letting to a foreign tenant. The letting is what brings the tenant to the residence, so the landlord is the natural candidate. Because the duty is not transferred by contract, a tenancy clause allocating it between the parties is a matter of contractual risk allocation between them and does not change who the Law addresses. It is nonetheless worth having, because it fixes responsibility and notice obligations as between landlord and tenant.
An employer providing an apartment. Here the accommodation is an element of the employment package, and the company — not merely the individual manager who arranged it — is providing the residence. A group with several foreign employees housed this way should treat the article 39, paragraph 2 duty as a recurring compliance item triggered by each move-in, not as a one-off at the start of the assignment.
A friend lending a spare room. The most commonly overlooked case, precisely because nothing commercial is happening. Paragraph 2 draws no distinction between paid and unpaid accommodation, and the 24-hour clock runs from moving in either way.
Company staff accommodation or a dormitory. The entity operating the accommodation is providing it. Where a building is operated by one company for the staff of several group entities, identifying which entity is the accommodation provider is a question to settle in advance rather than after an inspection.
None of this displaces the individual's own duty, which paragraph 2 states in the same breath. The safe assessment for both sides is that each is exposed unless the registration has actually been made, and how a particular public security organ handles the registration is subject to the current published requirements of the accepting authority.
4. The penalty side
第七十六条 有下列情形之一的，给予警告，可以并处二千元以下罚款：……（六）未按照本法第三十九条第二款规定办理登记的。
旅馆未按照规定办理外国人住宿登记的，依照《中华人民共和国治安管理处罚法》的有关规定予以处罚；未按照规定向公安机关报送外国人住宿登记信息的，给予警告；情节严重的，处一千元以上五千元以下罚款。
Article 76, paragraph 1: In any of the following circumstances, a warning shall be given and a fine of up to RMB 2,000 may also be imposed: … (6) failing to make the registration required by article 39, paragraph 2 of this Law. Paragraph 2: A hotel that fails to handle accommodation registration for a foreign national as required is punished under the relevant provisions of the Public Security Administration Punishments Law of the People's Republic of China; a hotel that fails to report a foreign national's accommodation registration information to the public security organ as required is given a warning, and where the circumstances are serious a fine of RMB 1,000 to RMB 5,000 is imposed.
Unofficial translation; the Chinese text as officially published prevails.
| Conduct | Consequence | Provision |
|---|---|---|
| No registration for accommodation outside a hotel | Warning; a fine of up to RMB 2,000 may also be imposed. The fine is discretionary, the warning is not | Art. 76, para. 1(6) |
| Hotel fails to handle accommodation registration | Punished under the Public Security Administration Punishments Law | Art. 76, para. 2 |
| Hotel fails to report registration information | Warning; where the circumstances are serious, a fine of RMB 1,000 to RMB 5,000, both figures inclusive | Art. 76, para. 2 |
| A foreign national refusing to let the public security organ inspect their exit and entry documents | Warning; a fine of up to RMB 2,000 may also be imposed | Art. 76, para. 1(1) |
| A foreign national refusing to hand over the residence permit for inspection | Warning; a fine of up to RMB 2,000 may also be imposed | Art. 76, para. 1(2) |
| Failing to record a change in residence permit particulars | Warning; a fine of up to RMB 2,000 may also be imposed | Art. 76, para. 1(4) |
| Harbouring a foreign national who is residing unlawfully | Individual: RMB 2,000 to RMB 10,000, rising to detention of 5 to 15 days plus RMB 5,000 to RMB 20,000 where serious; entity: RMB 10,000 to RMB 50,000, with the responsible individuals also punished | Art. 79 |
The amounts are modest and that is exactly why the provision is underestimated. What matters is not the fine but the record: an administrative penalty under article 76 is a recorded finding that a statutory duty was not performed, and it attaches to whichever party the public security organ identifies.
There is also a much heavier provision nearby, and an accommodation provider should know where the line between them runs.
第七十九条 容留、藏匿非法入境、非法居留的外国人，协助非法入境、非法居留的外国人逃避检查，或者为非法居留的外国人违法提供出境入境证件的，处二千元以上一万元以下罚款；情节严重的，处五日以上十五日以下拘留，并处五千元以上二万元以下罚款，有违法所得的，没收违法所得。
单位有前款行为的，处一万元以上五万元以下罚款，有违法所得的，没收违法所得，并对其直接负责的主管人员和其他直接责任人员依照前款规定予以处罚。
Article 79, paragraph 1: Whoever harbours or conceals a foreign national who has entered or is residing in China unlawfully, assists such a person in evading inspection, or unlawfully provides exit or entry documents to a foreign national residing unlawfully, is fined RMB 2,000 to RMB 10,000, both figures inclusive; where the circumstances are serious, detention of 5 to 15 days is imposed together with a fine of RMB 5,000 to RMB 20,000, both figures inclusive, and any unlawful gains are confiscated. Paragraph 2: An entity committing an act referred to in the preceding paragraph is fined RMB 10,000 to RMB 50,000, both figures inclusive, any unlawful gains are confiscated, and the directly responsible person in charge and other directly responsible persons are punished under the preceding paragraph.
Unofficial translation; the Chinese text as officially published prevails.
Article 79 is not about registration. It is about providing accommodation to a foreign national whose stay is itself unlawful, and its scale — a fine on an entity of RMB 10,000 to RMB 50,000, with the responsible individuals separately liable — is an order of magnitude above article 76. The two provisions are separated by the status of the person accommodated, not by the accommodation. That is why an employer or landlord should verify that a foreign occupant holds a valid stay or residence status at the outset and when it is renewed, and not treat the article 39, paragraph 2 registration as the whole of the exercise. Article 78 is the counterpart on the individual's own side: unlawful residence attracts a warning and, where the circumstances are serious, a fine of RMB 500 for each day of unlawful residence up to a total of RMB 10,000, or detention of 5 to 15 days.
5. What a registration record connects to
第三十八条 年满十六周岁的外国人在中国境内停留居留，应当随身携带本人的护照或者其他国际旅行证件，或者外国人停留居留证件，接受公安机关的查验。
在中国境内居留的外国人，应当在规定的时间内到居留地县级以上地方人民政府公安机关交验外国人居留证件。
Article 38, paragraph 1: A foreign national aged 16 or over staying or residing in China shall carry a passport or other international travel document, or a foreign national's stay or residence permit, and submit to inspection by the public security organ. Paragraph 2: A foreign national residing in China shall present the residence permit for inspection, within the prescribed time, to the public security organ of a local people's government at or above county level in the place of residence.
Unofficial translation; the Chinese text as officially published prevails.
Articles 38 and 39 work together: article 38 makes the individual inspectable, and article 39 makes the place of residence known. Two further provisions sit downstream. Article 76, paragraph 1(4) penalises failure to record a change in the particulars of a residence permit, so a move that triggers a fresh article 39, paragraph 2 registration may also trigger a permit particulars change. And article 32 requires an application to extend a residence period to be made no later than 30 days before the permit expires, with the application assessed on whether the reasons are reasonable and sufficient. A registration record is information the authorities hold about a foreign national's residence; where an assessment of residence is being made, it is available to be considered. This page does not speculate about how any particular application is weighed.
6. What has already changed, and what is being revised
单位或者个人为出境入境人员出具邀请函件或者其他申请材料的，应当对邀请内容和证明事项的真实性负责，并配合移民管理机构、签证机关核实有关信息。
Article 3, paragraph 3: Where an entity or an individual issues an invitation letter or other application materials for a person exiting or entering China, it shall be responsible for the authenticity of the content of the invitation and of the matters certified, and shall cooperate with the immigration administration authority and the visa authority in verifying the relevant information.
Unofficial translation; the Chinese text as officially published prevails.
State Council Order No. 841（《国务院关于出境入境管理的规定》）was adopted at the 90th executive meeting of the State Council on 2026-06-29, dated 2026-07-22, published 2026-07-31 and has been in force since 2026-09-15. It matters here because it is part of a pattern: an administrative regulation has moved first on authenticity and cooperation duties for the entities and individuals around a foreign national, while the Law itself has not been amended. An employer or landlord who supports a foreign national's applications should read that provision alongside the registration duty in article 39, paragraph 2, since both point at the same class of supporting party.
7. Who runs into this, and how it is used
- Misconception: the landlord always handles it. In fact: article 39, paragraph 2 names the foreign national or the person providing the accommodation, in the alternative and without priority; neither is discharged by the other's inaction.
- Misconception: an unpaid stay with friends is outside the rule. In fact: paragraph 2 applies to residing or staying at any residence other than a hotel, and draws no distinction based on payment.
- Misconception: a tenancy clause moves the duty onto the landlord. In fact: a contract allocates risk between the parties; it does not change who the Law addresses.
- Misconception: the fine is automatic. In fact: article 76, paragraph 1 provides for a warning and says a fine of up to RMB 2,000 may also be imposed.
- Identify, for each residence used, who is the person providing the accommodation under article 39, paragraph 2 — and whether that is an individual or an entity.
- Treat every move-in as a fresh 24-hour trigger, and check whether the same move also engages a residence permit particulars change under article 76, paragraph 1(4).
- Where a company houses foreign staff, assess whether the accommodation provider is the employing entity or another group entity, and record the answer before an inspection raises it.
- Verify that each foreign occupant holds a valid stay or residence status on move-in and on renewal: article 76 and article 79 are separated by that status, not by the accommodation.
- In tenancy documents, allocate the registration and notification duties expressly between landlord and tenant, on the basis that the allocation is contractual and does not bind the public security organ.
- Keep the registration records with the permit history; article 32 puts the sufficiency of the reasons for an extension in issue, and the residence record is part of what the authorities hold.
- Laws and Regulations for Foreign Nationals in China — the provision-by-provision index.
- Entry, Stay, Residence, Permanent Residence: The Four Legal Statuses a Foreign National Holds.
- The Six Prohibited Acts in State Council Order No. 841.
- Own · Buying Property in China as a Foreigner.
- Born or Died in China as a Foreign National: Two Registration Duties Most People Miss (forthcoming in this batch) — article 40, the other registration duty in the same chapter.
- 《中华人民共和国出境入境管理法》, Presidential Order No. 57, in force from 2013-07-01: https://www.nia.gov.cn/n741440/n741547/c1013311/content.html （articles 32, 38, 39, 40, 76, 78, 79, 93）
- 《国务院关于出境入境管理的规定》, State Council Order No. 841, adopted 2026-06-29, dated 2026-07-22, published 2026-07-31, in force from 2026-09-15: https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/202607/content_7077172.htm （article 3）
- 《国务院2026年度立法工作计划》, 国办发〔2026〕14号, dated 2026-05-08, published 2026-05-11: https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/202605/content_7068346.htm （annex, item 11）
- Status and timing note 效力与时点提示：Verified on 2026-09-07; timing note updated 2026-09-15. The Exit and Entry Administration Law is in force. State Council Order No. 841 has been in force since 2026-09-15. The revision draft of the Law has not been published. Every procedural matter is subject to the current published requirements of the accepting authority.
This article is general legal research and does not constitute legal advice; by law, a law firm may not guarantee case outcomes. 本文为一般性法律研究，不构成法律意见；依据法律规定，律所不得承诺办案结果。
