Can foreigners buy a China SIM card with a passport?
Yes. China's real-name order lists a foreign citizen's passport among the IDs a carrier can accept from an individual. Beijing's government English guide says any individual with a valid passport can apply. You register at a carrier business hall (营业厅) and, in Beijing, also at airport counters.
The usual route: take your passport to a hall run by China Mobile (中国移动), China Unicom (中国联通) or China Telecom (中国电信), take a queue number, choose a plan, and let the staff register and activate the card. The order tells carriers to refuse anyone who won't show ID, so plan on having your passport in hand. Neither the order nor the Beijing guide says anything about your visa type or entry date.
China's real-name rule for SIM cards: which ID foreigners can show
The rule is Order No. 25 of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), signed 16 July 2013 and in force since 1 September 2013. Its text is on the ministry's site. In plain English:
- It covers fixed and mobile phones, including wireless data cards (Article 3).
- The carrier must ask you to show a valid ID and give real identity information (Article 6).
- An individual may show one ID from a list. Item four is the foreign citizen's passport (外国公民护照) (Article 7).
- The carrier checks the ID and records its type, your name, number and address (Article 9).
- If you refuse to show ID, or use a fake or someone else's ID, the carrier may not process the registration (Article 10).
- If another person registers for you, the carrier must see both your valid ID and theirs (Article 6).
- The carrier keeps your registration details while you are a customer and for two years afterwards (Article 11).
A Ministry of Commerce guide for foreign business people (2024 edition, reprinted by the Chinese embassy in South Sudan on 10 April 2024) gives the same route in simpler words. Bring a passport or a foreigner's permanent residence ID card to a hall of China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom or China Broadnet (中国广电). That is the guide's wording for business people, not a separate tourist rule.
The order is a 2013 text. It doesn't mention face scans or photos, so it can't tell you what a hall adds at the counter today.
How many SIM cards can one passport register?
The Beijing government's English guide says any individual with a valid passport can apply for a maximum of five SIM cards, each with a different phone number. That guide has no date on the page. It doesn't say whether the five are counted per carrier or across all carriers.
A separate 2016 MIIT notice (No. 182, published 25 May 2016) deals with people holding many cards. Where one ID already has five or more mobile cards with the same carrier's provincial company, or with the same reseller, a new card must be processed at the carrier's own physical hall with strict identity checks. It is written about ID in general and is ten years old. Don't read it as a nationwide per-passport cap. Only the Beijing page states five cards per passport.
Where to buy a SIM card in China: carrier halls and what to do there
The Beijing guide names service halls run directly by China Mobile, China Unicom or China Telecom, and the ‘Beijing Service’ airport counters. Halls typically open 8:30 to 20:00, Monday to Sunday, but each hall may have its own hours. It advises choosing a directly run hall and phoning ahead to ask whether it accepts foreign nationals. The hotlines it lists are 10086 (China Mobile), 10010 (China Unicom) and 10000 (China Telecom); the page writes them as +86-10086, +86-10010 and +86-10000.
- Prepare the phone. The Shanghai government's English guide says to make sure the phone is unlocked and works on 3G and 4G networks in China.
- Bring the passport. The Beijing guide has you present your passport at the window. The Shanghai guide says passport or photocopy, and advises that the passport be valid for six months or more. That six-month line is that page's advice, not a rule in the order.
- Find a hall. Search for the nearest 营业厅 (yíng yè tīng), or call the hotline above.
- Take a ticket. Get a numbered ticket from the machine and wait. The Beijing guide says that if few people are waiting, you can go straight to the window.
- Choose a plan. A plan is a 套餐 (tào cān). Per the Ministry of Commerce guide, plans usually combine call time and data, and carriers offer different ones. The Shanghai guide gives the phrase 我要办SIM卡 (I'd like to sign up for a SIM card).
- Activate. Staff help you activate the card and finish the registration. The Beijing guide gives the timeframe as immediate processing and issuance.
The Beijing guide says there is no processing fee, and that plan costs follow each carrier's rates. We don't list plan prices. If the counter language is a problem, the guide suggests a translation app or a Chinese-speaking friend.
Beijing airport SIM card counters: Capital and Daxing
The Beijing government published a list of airport service points on 19 December 2023. It is more than two years old, so confirm a location with the carrier hotline before you rely on it. Locations are as the list words them.
| Airport | Point | Location as listed |
|---|---|---|
| Capital | China Mobile hall | Inside Gate 7 on 1F, Terminal 2 |
| Capital | China Mobile hall | No.38 Baggage Carousel (before customs), International Arrivals, Terminal 3 |
| Capital | China Unicom hall | International Baggage Claim Hall in Terminal 3 |
| Capital | ‘Beijing Service’ counter | Across from the International Arrivals Exit, Terminal 3 |
| Daxing | China Mobile hall | S-AL03-003, within the terminal |
| Daxing | China Unicom hall | Comprehensive Hall for Mobile Device Rental and Communication Services, east side of International Arrivals, 1F |
| Daxing | ‘Beijing Service’ counter | Across from the International Arrivals Exit |
That list shows no China Telecom hall at either airport and gives no opening hours. For getting into town afterwards, see Beijing Capital Airport to the city and Daxing Airport to Beijing.
Can I buy a China SIM card online or at the airport?
In Beijing, both. The guide describes two routes:
- Online application, collect at the airport. China Mobile with collection at the ‘Beijing Service’ counter at Capital; China Unicom with collection at the counter at Daxing.
- In person. A directly run hall of one of the three carriers, or the ‘Beijing Service’ counters at either airport.
The guide doesn't say whether you can submit the online application before you land or what the form asks for. The Terminal 3 points, and the Daxing China Unicom hall and ‘Beijing Service’ counter, sit in or across from the international arrivals area, so on that 2023 list you do not have to go into town for a store. For other cities, the Shanghai government's guide describes a visit to a carrier hall; the next section covers what is said about airports elsewhere.
Short-term SIM cards and airport shops outside Beijing
Shanghai. On 14 March 2024 the Shanghai branch of China Telecom launched 7, 15 and 30-day cards for foreigners and residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, at 23 outlets across 16 districts, according to the Shanghai government's English site. An outlet in the arrival zone of Pudong Terminal 1 was planned, and the June 2024 Shanghai page still says it was set to open. These pages are from 2024 and don't say whether the short-term cards are still on sale. The June 2024 article adds that China Unicom runs a round-the-clock English hotline on 10010 for expats, and an English WeChat account, WOShanghai.
Announced February 2024. A foreign ministry spokesperson said carriers had recently set up nine new shops at airports in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Kunming, Chengdu and Xiamen, and six in popular destinations for foreign travellers in cities including Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xi'an and Qingdao (State Council English site). That is a 2024 announcement, not a current list, and it gives no addresses. Our guides to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Xi'an cover the rest of a trip.
Guangzhou. A foreigner service center, International Service Guangzhou, opened in the Terminal 2 International Arrival Hall at Baiyun airport in August 2025. A China Daily report lists communications among its functions. It names no carrier, no SIM product and no eSIM, so it doesn't tell you that you can buy a card there.
China eSIM and international roaming: what the official pages say
The ministry, Beijing and Shanghai pages say nothing about eSIM for foreign visitors and give no roaming costs or coverage, so we can't give availability, providers, costs or coverage for either. Roaming is arranged with your home carrier. For eSIM, ask at a Chinese carrier's hall.
The Shanghai government's January 2024 guide says a local SIM gives more affordable mobile data packages and makes it easier to register on local apps. That is the article's own view, not a carrier rule.
WeChat and payments after you land
The MIIT, Beijing and Shanghai pages above don't say whether you need a Chinese number for WeChat or payment apps. The Ministry of Commerce guide (2024 edition) says you register WeChat or Alipay by following the app's prompts and entering a foreign or Chinese phone number. Our pages on registering WeChat and WeChat Pay with a foreign card cover those steps.
