Guides · Transit and entry

Home Return Permit: Apply Without Losing Days

The order of steps for a home return permit application, what to bring, and where applications stall.

one application · Checked · For people relocating

No published figure yet. The authority does not publish this cost in a form we could verify and quote, so this guide covers the procedure only: what to bring, in what order, and where it goes wrong. We will add the figures the moment there is a source for them.

In order

  1. Confirm your accepting office — Ask the exit-entry administration where you are registered which office takes your application and what it requires.
  2. Check your documents match — Make sure your identity document and household registration agree on every detail before you apply.
  3. Get compliant photographs — Have photographs taken to the size and background the office specifies.
  4. Make copies of everything — Bring originals plus copies, and keep one set for yourself.
  5. Lodge in person and have the file checked — Submit at the counter and ask the officer to confirm nothing is missing before you leave.
  6. Keep the receipt safe — The receipt is required for collection and is your proof of application.
  7. Collect and verify the permit — Check name, number and validity dates at the counter before you leave.
  8. Note the expiry and plan renewal — Start the renewal process before the permit expires, not after.

A home return permit is the travel document a mainland Chinese resident uses to enter and leave the mainland. If you are relocating and will cross the border regularly, the application is mostly a paperwork sequence, and the sequence is what decides how long it takes. This is a procedure outline, not legal, tax or immigration advice.

Before you start

Confirm which authority handles your application. Applications are generally lodged with the exit-entry administration of the public security bureau where you are registered, but the office that accepts yours depends on your household registration and your situation. Ask at the counter or check the local office’s published requirements before you queue. Check that your household registration and identity documents are current and consistent. A name or detail that does not match across documents is the most common reason an application is sent back, and fixing it happens before the application, not during it.

Assemble the documents

Bring your original identity document and household registration booklet, plus copies. Bring recent photographs to the size and background the office specifies; photographs that do not meet the specification are rejected at the counter. If you are applying on the basis of a relationship or a change in circumstances, bring the supporting documents that establish it. Keep a set of copies for yourself, because offices keep what you submit.

Lodge the application in person

Submit at the counter and have the officer check the file while you are standing there. Ask what is missing before you leave rather than discovering it by phone later. Keep the receipt. It is what you present when you collect the permit, and it is your only proof of the application if something goes wrong.

While it is being processed

Do not plan cross-border travel on the assumption that the permit will be ready on a particular date. Processing time varies by office and by season, and the office will tell you when to return. If you must travel before the permit is issued, ask the office what interim document, if any, applies to your case. Do not assume one exists.

Collect and check

Collect in person with your receipt and identity document. Check the name, document number and validity dates on the permit before you leave the counter; corrections are far easier to make then. Note when the permit expires and plan renewal before that date, not after. An expired permit interrupts your ability to cross the border.

Confirm before you act

Fees and processing times change. This page was checked on 2026-11-06; confirm the current rule with the authority named in each source above before you rely on a deadline.

Last checked 2026-11-06, next review 2027-05-05. Every figure above names its source and the date it was read. This page is a guide, not legal, tax or immigration advice — confirm with the authority before acting on a deadline.

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