Expats in Asia > Obstacles for an Expat in Asia
US Embassies and announcements.
Pineau:
Reconsider travel to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) due to arbitrary enforcement of local laws and COVID-19-related travel restrictions. Reconsider travel to the PRC’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) due to both arbitrary enforcement of local laws and COVID-19-related travel restrictions.
Read the Department of State’s COVID-19 page before you plan any international travel.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 1 Travel Health Notice for the PRC and a Level 1 Travel Health Notice for Hong Kong, due to COVID-19. Your risk of contracting COVID-19 and developing severe symptoms may be lower if you are fully vaccinated with an FDA approved or authorized vaccine. Before planning any international travel, please review the CDC's specific recommendations for vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers.
The zero-tolerance approach to COVID-19 by the PRC and Hong Kong governments severely impacts travel and access to public services. All arrivals should prepare to quarantine at a government-designated location for a minimum of 14 days. While in quarantine, health authorities will test travelers as often as daily for COVID-19 and will not permit travelers to leave their rooms. Travelers who test positive during this quarantine time will be transferred to a government-designated medical facility. Standards of care, accommodations, testing, and treatments may differ considerably from standards in the United States. Even after completing quarantine on-arrival, travelers to the PRC and Hong Kong may face additional quarantines and testing as well as movement and access restrictions, including access to medical services and public transportation.
Travelers within the PRC and Hong Kong may be subject to unannounced mandatory testing. In areas with confirmed COVID-19 cases, restrictions may include being confined to home or moved to a government- designated quarantine facility. Visit the Embassy's COVID-19 page for more information on COVID-19 and related restrictions and conditions in the PRC, or the Consulate General Hong Kong's COVID-19 page for information on the COVID-19 situation in Hong Kong as testing and travel requirements frequently change.
Pineau:
The Department of State is pleased to announce that the U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou has been selected as a pilot location for renewing passports via mail and for payment of DS-82 passport renewal fees online for those residing in the People’s Republic of China. Beginning February 15, 2022, passport applicants living anywhere in the People’s Republic of China wishing to renew by mail and/or pay for their DS-82 renewal application online may visit https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/guangzhousections-offices/u-s-citizen-services-guangzhou/ to learn more about these options. If eligible, applicants may then submit payment via U.S. or international credit or debit card, electronic funds transfer from a U.S.-based bank account, Amazon Pay, or Pay Pal.
We also recommend that Americans overseas take the following actions:
· Enroll at STEP.state.gov to receive the latest updates from the Embassy. Your registration expires automatically based on the dates entered and you will not receive updates after that date. From within your account settings, update to INDEFINITE to ensure that you continue receiving messages. If you have any trouble, please email CASTEP@state.gov.
· Visit travel.state.gov for the latest Travel Advisories and other guidance regarding COVID-19 for U.S. citizens abroad at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/ea/covid-19-information.html.
· Follow the advice of the CDC and local health authorities that you can find at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
· Check with their airlines, cruise lines, or travel operators regarding any updated information about your travel plans and/or restrictions.
· Monitor the Department of State’s COVID-19 website at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/ea/covid-19-information.html
In the United States, passengers may be subject to CDC screening, health observation, and monitoring requirements upon reentry to the United States. For additional questions, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 Information for Travel page.
THE CONSULATE GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES IN GUANGZHOU IS TRANSMITTING THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION THROUGH THE CONSULATE WARDEN SYSTEM AS A PUBLIC SERVICE TO AMERICAN CITIZENS IN CHINA. PLEASE DISSEMINATE THIS MESSAGE TO ALL U.S. CITIZENS IN YOUR ORGANIZATION OR NEIGHBORHOOD.
Pineau:
Location: Guangzhou, Guangdong Province
Event: The U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou has received a report that several individuals, including a uniformed security guard, verbally harassed and physically assaulted a U.S. citizen on March 14 at a temporary COVID testing center located at the Zhongshan Residential Community Center on Jinyang 1st Street in Yuexiu District, Guangzhou.
As local authorities strengthen testing requirements, and with the COVID situation remaining uncertain, the U.S. Consulate General advises U.S. citizens to remain aware of and comply with local COVID control measures and to consider going to established medical facilities for COVID testing and to exercise caution when testing at temporary facilities.
If you believe that you are experiencing discriminatory harassment or abuse by private or public institutions based on your nationality, race, religion, gender, and/or sexual identity, you may report it by calling the police by dialing 110.
If you choose to report, identify yourself as a U.S. citizen and ask for an English-speaking officer, if needed, then report the discriminatory harassment or abuse you are experiencing and ask them to respond. Do not leave the scene unless you feel you are in danger, because police might not respond if the aggrieved person departs. After reporting the incident, please contact the American Citizens Services Unit, using the contact information below, to inform us of the circumstances and resolution. The U.S. Consulate General continues to track these incidents and bring them to the attention of the authorities as citizens request and circumstances warrant.
Assistance:
U.S. Embassy Beijing, China
Telephone: +(86)(10) 8531-4000
Emergency After-Hours Telephone: +(86)(10) 8531-4000
Email: BeijingACS@state.gov
Website: https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/embassy-consulates/beijing/
U.S. Consulate General Chengdu, China
Telephone: +(86)(28) 8558-3992
Emergency After-Hours Telephone: +(86)(10) 8531-4000
Email: AmCitChengdu@state.gov
Website: https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/embassy-consulates/chengdu/
U.S. Consulate General Guangzhou, China
Telephone: +(86)(20) 3814-5775
Emergency After-Hours Telephone: +(86)(10) 8531-4000
Email: [GuangzhouACS@state.gov%20%20]GuangzhouACS@state.gov
Website: https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/embassy-consulates/guangzhou/
U.S. Consulate General Shanghai, China
Telephone: +(86)(21) 8011-2400
Emergency After-Hours Telephone: +(86)(10) 8531-4000
Email: ShanghaiACS@state.gov
Website: https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/embassy-consulates/shanghai/
U.S. Consulate General Shenyang, China
Telephone: +(86)(24) 2322-1198
Emergency After-Hours Telephone: +(86)(24) 2322-1198
Email: ShenyangACS@state.gov
Website: https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/embassy-consulates/shenyang
We also recommend that Americans overseas take the following actions:
• Enroll at STEP.state.gov to receive the latest updates from the Embassy/Consulate. Your registration expires automatically based on the dates entered, and you will not receive updates after that date. Update your account settings to INDEFINITE to ensure that you continue receiving messages. If you have any trouble, please email CASTEP@state.gov.
• Visit travel.state.gov for the latest Travel Advisories and other guidance regarding COVID-19 for U.S. citizens abroad at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/ea/covid-19-information.html.
• Follow the advice of the CDC and local health authorities that you can find at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.
• Check with airlines, cruise lines, or travel operators regarding any updated information about your travel plans and/or restrictions.
• Monitor the Department of State’s COVID-19 website at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/ea/covid-19-information.html
In the United States, passengers may be subject to CDC screening, health observation, and monitoring requirements upon reentry to the United States. For additional questions, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 Information for Travel page.
Pineau:
Location: People's Republic of China
Event: Reconsider travel to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) due to arbitrary enforcement of local laws and COVID-19-related restrictions. Do not travel to the PRC’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), Jilin province, and Shanghai municipality due to COVID-19-related restrictions, including the risk of parents and children being separated. Reconsider travel to the PRC’s Hong Kong SAR due to arbitrary enforcement of local laws.
On April 11, 2022, the Department ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government employees and all family members from the Consulate General Shanghai consular district due to a surge in COVID-19 cases and the impact of restrictions related to the PRC’s response.
Read the Department of State’s COVID-19 page before you plan any international travel.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 1 Travel Health Notice for the PRC and a Level 4 Travel Health Notice for Hong Kong, due to COVID-19. Your risk of contracting COVID-19 and developing severe symptoms may be lower if you are fully vaccinated with an FDA approved or authorized vaccine. Before planning any international travel, please review the CDC's specific recommendations for vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers.
The zero-tolerance approach to COVID-19 by the PRC and Hong Kong governments severely impacts travel and access to public services. All travelers should prepare to quarantine at a government-designated location for a minimum of 14 days upon arrival. While in quarantine, health authorities will test travelers as often as daily for COVID-19 and will not permit travelers to leave their rooms. Travelers who test positive during this quarantine time will be transferred to a government-designated medical or other quarantine facility. Standards of care, accommodations, testing, and treatments may differ considerably from standards in the United States. Even after completing quarantine on-arrival, travelers to the PRC and Hong Kong may face additional quarantines and mandatory testing as well as movement and access restrictions, including access to medical services and public transportation. In some cases, children in Hong Kong and the PRC who test positive have been separated from their parents and kept in isolation until they meet local hospital discharge requirements.
Travelers within the PRC and Hong Kong may be subject to mandatory testing. In areas with confirmed COVID-19 cases, restrictions may include being confined to home or moved to a government- designated quarantine facility or hospital. Visit the Embassy's COVID-19 page for more information on COVID-19 and related restrictions and conditions in the PRC, or the Consulate General Hong Kong's COVID-19 page for information on the COVID-19 situation in Hong Kong as testing and travel requirements frequently change.
Assistance:
U.S. Embassy Beijing, China
Telephone: +(86)(10) 8531-4000
Emergency After-Hours Telephone: +(86)(10) 8531-4000
Email: BeijingACS@state.gov
Website: https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/
U.S. Consulate General Guangzhou, China
Telephone: +(86)(20) 3814-5775
Emergency After-Hours Telephone: +(86)(10) 8531-4000
Email: GuangzhouACS@state.gov
U.S. Consulate General Shanghai, China
Telephone: +(86)(21) 8011-2400
Emergency After-Hours Telephone: +(86)(10) 8531-4000
Email: ShanghaiACS@state.gov
U.S. Consulate General Shenyang, China
Telephone: +(86)(24) 2322-1198
Emergency After-Hours Telephone: +(86)(24) 2322-1198
Email: ShenyangACS@state.gov
U.S. Consulate General Wuhan, China (Emergency U.S. Citizen Services ONLY)
Telephone: +(86)(27) 8555-7791
Emergency After-Hours Telephone: +(86)(10) 8531-4000
Email: WuhanACS@state.gov
· State Department – Consular Affairs – 888-407-4747 or 202-501-4444
· China Country Information sheet
· Enroll in Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive Alerts.
· Follow the Department of State on Facebook and Twitter. Follow the U.S. Embassy on Twitter, WeChat, and Weibo.
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