Notice on Mandatory COVID-19 Negative Certificates for China-bound Passengers Before Boarding (effective September 15th, 2020)
According to the announcement of the Civil Aviation Administration, the General Administration of Customs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China on July 20 and the latest guidelines of the Chinese government, all passengers who are to fly directly from United States to China will be required to provide a certificate of negative Covid-19 nucleic acid test result issued within three days before boarding, starting from September 15, 2020. The details are as follows:
1. Foreign citizens who are to take a direct flight from the United States to China should take Covid-19 nucleic acid tests and provide a certificate of negative test result issued within three days before boarding. For instance, if a passenger is to board on October 10, the issuance date of the certificate should be between October 7 and 10.
The negative certificate needs to be emailed or submitted to the Chinese Embassy or Consulates General in the U.S. according to the consular jurisdiction that the testing facility belongs to (map, consular jurisdiction of the Consulate-General in Houston) once it is issued (no later than 24 hours before boarding in the U.S.), along with the scanned copy of the valid passport information page and the signed health declaration (see the attachment below the notice).
Embassy in the United States: embchn@gmail.com
(temporarily taken over the work of the Consulate-General in Houston)
Consulate General in New York: cnnyhdf@gmail.com
Consulate General in San Francisco: health.sfconsulate@gmail.com
Consulate General in Los Angeles: Please click here to submit online
Consulate General in Chicago: 12308chicago@gmail.com
It usually takes one business day to process the health declaration. If the certificate submitted needs to be verified with the issuing agency, the processing time will be extended accordingly. After approval, the scanned copy of the health declaration will be emailed back to the passenger and needs to be printed out and carried throughout the journey. The health declaration is valid through the third day after the issuance date of the nucleic acid test certificate. Passengers are advised to travel before it expires and be prepared for checking by the airlines before boarding.
2. Foreign citizens who are to fly from the U.S. to China and transit in a third country or region shall follow the requirements stated in the notice on August 12. However, starting from September 15, the Covid-19 nucleic acid tests should be taken within THREE days before boarding in the transit country. For instance, if a passenger is to board on October 10, the issuance date of the negative certificate should be between October 7 and 10.
3. Foreign citizens who are to transit in the U.S. before flying to China shall present to the airlines a Health Declaration Form, which shall be verified by the Chinese Embassy or Consulates in the country of departure.
4. Foreign citizens are advised to confirm with an eligible institution or hospital on the issuing date of the negative report before scheduling a trip. The Chinese Embassy and Consulates General have not designated specific institutions to perform the nucleic acid test. Test result certificates issued by eligible medical or testing institutions are currently accepted. At present, only Covid-19 nucleic acid RT-PCR Test negative report is accepted, antibody test or serology test result is not accepted.
