Leaving China: The Pre-Departure Checklist

Once you decide to study, work or settle abroad, the visa is often not the hardest part. What catches people out is the long list of domestic formalities around it: whether your passport is still good enough, where to get a police clearance certificate, whether documents need notarisation and an apostille, how to move money out legally, what happens to your hukou and social insurance, and whether your phone number and WeChat will still work. These matters belong to different authorities (exit-entry, police, notaries, foreign affairs, foreign exchange, tax and social security), take very different amounts of time, and some can only be done in person in China. Fixing them after you have left is painful.

This checklist puts everything you need to do before leaving China into one timeline. First work out which kind of move you are making, then work through the schedule from six months before departure to the day you fly. For each item we say where to go and roughly how long it takes, and link to a detailed guide. Written in October 2026; always check the latest announcements of the relevant authority.

The big picture

What you need depends on how long you are going for and why. A short trip needs a passport and a visa. Study and work add degree verification, medical checks and police certificates. If you plan to settle, you also need to think about your hukou, social insurance, tax and nationality. Sorting yourself into a category first saves wasted trips and keeps you from missing a key step.

Timeline: from six months out to departure day

The timeline below assumes you are settling or working long term; students and short-term travellers can skip steps. The lead times are our own recommendations, not official requirements. Start early. Notarisation, police certificates and pet export in particular take longer than most people expect.

1. 6+ months before: decide and check documentsPick your destination and visa category and check its passport-validity rules. If your passport is close to expiry or nearly full, renew it first. Start collecting original birth, education, marriage and employment records.
2. 4–6 months before: certificates and authenticationGet your police certificate and degree verification, have documents notarised, then obtain an apostille or consular legalisation as the destination requires. Book any required medical exam.
3. 2–4 months before: visa and petsSubmit your visa or residence application. If you are taking a pet, start microchip, vaccination and antibody testing. Plan staged currency purchases and an overseas bank account.
4. 1–2 months before: status and daily lifeIf you are settling, deal with hukou, social insurance and tax clearance. Get your driving licence translated and notarised. Keep your Chinese phone number and check WeChat and Alipay verification settings.
5. 1–2 weeks before: cash and copiesBuy a small amount of foreign cash. Scan your passport, visa and notarial certificates and save them to the cloud. Confirm flights, first accommodation and contact details for arrival.
6. Departure day: originals in your hand luggageCarry passport, visa, admission or job documents and original notarial certificates with you. If you carry foreign cash above the threshold, get the permit in advance, then pass through border control.

Step 1: Documents

Passport: where everything starts

Citizens apply for an ordinary passport at a public security exit-entry office at county level or above, using their resident ID card. According to the National Immigration Administration (NIA) service guide, a passport is approved and issued within 7 working days of acceptance, and an approved expedited application within 5 working days. Passports are valid for 10 years if you are 16 or over and 5 years if you are under 16. Many countries require at least six months’ validity on departure, and long-stay visas often require more. See Passport application, renewal and expedited service for the full process.

Visa or residence permit

The visa is usually the slowest item on any checklist; long-stay visas often take months from preparation to approval. Rules vary widely. A US visa requires an interview; for long stays in Germany and other Schengen states you need a national (type D) visa; for work and long-term stays in Japan you usually need a Certificate of Eligibility first. Once you have chosen a country, start with its visa guide.

Police clearance certificate

Almost every work, long-term residence or immigration application asks for a police certificate, and many require it to be no older than three to six months. You generally apply to the public security authority where your hukou is registered or where you live, then have it notarised and, if needed, authenticated. See our police certificate guide.

Notarisation and apostille

The Apostille Convention has applied to China since 7 November 2023. Documents going to a contracting state need only notarisation plus an apostille certificate issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or an authorised provincial foreign affairs office; the foreign embassy no longer has to legalise them. Documents for non-contracting states still go through consular legalisation. See Notarisation and apostille in China for a table covering our 31 destinations.

Degree verification

Overseas universities, professional credential assessments and points-based migration often require a verification report for your degrees or verified transcripts. Accepted bodies and formats vary by country, and some assessors require reports to be sent directly from the Chinese issuer. See Degree verification.

Step 2: Money and payments

Under SAFE’s Current Account FX Business Guidelines (2020 edition), purchases of foreign currency by individuals in China fall under an annual quota of US$50,000 equivalent per person. You must complete the individual FX purchase application truthfully, and the money must be used for the declared purpose. Individuals can withdraw foreign cash of up to US$10,000 equivalent per day at a bank with valid ID.

To carry foreign cash out of China worth more than US$5,000 and up to US$10,000, you must first obtain a Permit for Carrying Foreign Exchange Out of China from your bank. For tuition and living costs backed by genuine documents, and for handling assets after emigrating, see Currency exchange and moving money abroad.

Your Chinese mobile number is the security key for WeChat, Alipay and online banking. Keep it after you leave, with international roaming or a low-cost number-keeping plan. Whether WeChat and Alipay can be linked to foreign cards, and how to keep paying and receiving money abroad, is covered in Using WeChat and Alipay abroad.

Step 3: Hukou, social insurance, tax and nationality

Studying or a short posting abroad usually does not affect your hukou or nationality. If you plan to settle, gain permanent residence or naturalise, think through your status early, because these decisions are hard to reverse.

• Hukou and social insurance: What happens to your household registration after you settle abroad, and whether to keep paying into pension and medical insurance or close them, depends on local rules and your plans to return. See Hukou and social insurance.
• Tax residency: China’s Individual Income Tax Law requires tax clearance when someone cancels their hukou to move abroad. Where you pay tax after leaving also depends on tax treaties. See Changing tax residency.
• Nationality: China does not recognise dual nationality. A Chinese citizen who settles abroad and voluntarily acquires foreign nationality automatically loses Chinese nationality. Understand the consequences before naturalising. See Chinese nationality and dual citizenship.

Step 4: Daily life

• Driving licence: China has not joined the UN Convention on Road Traffic, so a Chinese licence cannot be converted into an international driving permit. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, most countries let you drive for a limited time with a Chinese licence plus a compliant translation; for long stays you need to exchange it or take a local test. See Using a Chinese driving licence abroad.
• Pets: Exporting a pet usually requires a microchip, rabies vaccination, antibody test and an official health certificate, and some countries make you wait months after the test. See Moving abroad with pets.
• Medical checks and vaccines: Visa medicals must be done at hospitals approved by the destination country. Get a general check-up, catch-up vaccinations and prescriptions for regular medicines done in China. See Medical check-ups and vaccines.
• Everything else: End leases, sort out your car and utilities, cancel auto-renewing memberships, and give your Chinese banks, brokers and insurers contact details you can use abroad.

Master checklist

Departure-day checklist

• Passport, visa or e-visa confirmation, and original admission letter, job contract or invitation;
• Original notarial certificates, apostilles or legalised documents in your hand luggage, never in checked bags;
• Some local currency or US dollars in cash, with a carrying permit if your foreign cash exceeds US$5,000;
• Bank cards, your Chinese SIM (kept active) and a local SIM or eSIM;
• Regular medicines with prescriptions, ideally with an English explanation;
• Share your plans with family and follow safety alerts on the China Consular Service website and the “China Consular” app.

Next: your destination

With the Chinese side done, what remains are the rules of your destination. Browsing by continent makes comparison easy: most of Europe combines Schengen short-stay visas with national long-stay visas; Asia is close to home and culturally familiar, and the Singapore visa and Malaysia visa routes are popular with families; North America and Oceania have mature skilled-migration systems, so start with the Canada visa and Australia visa guides. For changes to exit-entry rules, follow our news section.

FAQ

What formalities do I need before going abroad, and how long does it take?

For a short trip, passport plus visa usually takes a few weeks. For study, work or settling abroad, police certificates, notarisation and long-stay visas mean you should allow at least four to six months, and two to three more if you have a pet or need a credential assessment.

Do I need to cancel my hukou if I am only going to study?

No. Study and short postings abroad are not settlement, so your hukou and social insurance normally stay as they are. Only if you settle abroad and decide to deal with your registration do you follow the rules of your hukou location; the local police have the final word.

How long are notarial certificates and apostilles valid abroad?

China sets no general expiry date for notarial certificates or apostilles, but receiving authorities often require police and marital-status documents to be no older than three to six months. Plan backwards from your submission date.

What do people most often forget?

Birth and kinship notarisations, and keeping their Chinese phone number. The first two are often needed for family reunion or school enrolment and are hard to get from abroad; if the number is cut off, WeChat, Alipay and online banking may no longer verify you.

Sources

1. National Immigration Administration service platform: Ordinary passport issuance guide (accessed October 2026)
2. National Immigration Administration website (fee schedule: ordinary passport RMB 120) (accessed October 2026)
3. National Immigration Administration: Nearly 700 million border crossings in 2025 (28 Jan 2026) (accessed October 2026)
4. gov.cn: State Council Provisions on Exit and Entry Administration (Decree No. 841, effective 15 Sep 2026) (accessed October 2026)
5. State Administration of Foreign Exchange: Current Account FX Business Guidelines (2020 edition) (accessed October 2026)
6. Ministry of Foreign Affairs online services (passports/travel documents, legalisation verification) (accessed October 2026)
7. China Consular Service website (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) (accessed October 2026)
8. HCCH: Status table of the Apostille Convention (accessed October 2026)
9. National Immigration Administration: Nationality Law of the PRC (Articles 3 and 9) (accessed October 2026)
10. State Taxation Administration: Individual Income Tax Law of the PRC (Article 13, 2018 amendment) (accessed October 2026)
11. Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Reply to NPC proposal No. 3151 on driving licence recognition (2015) (accessed October 2026)
12. National Immigration Administration: the “Immigration Administration” (移民局) app – appointments and courier delivery (accessed October 2026)