Crossing from Hong Kong to Shenzhen with a Foreign Passport

Entry rules depend on your nationality and passport, and they change. Check the National Immigration Administration (NIA) for your travel date: https://en.nia.gov.cn/n147418/n147463/c183390/content.html

China asks foreign visitors to submit entry information online through the National Immigration Administration (NIA). Start on your phone here: https://s.nia.gov.cn/ArrivalCardFillingPhone/

The first step is to upload a photo of your passport data page. The rest is the usual arrival card questions: how you are arriving, how long you are staying and where you are staying. Answer everything accurately. The NIA warns that leaving something out or hiding it can get you refused entry.

You can complete the form before you travel, or while you wait in the queue.

Some people are exempt, including holders of a Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents (Non-Chinese). The NIA explains the process and the groups here: https://en.nia.gov.cn/n147418/n147463/c195170/content.html

Once you are across, almost everything runs through your phone. Set up data that works in China, Alipay or WeChat Pay, and the metro QR code before you leave Hong Kong.

Also install a map app that works in China, such as Gaode (Amap). Once you are across, it will route you from wherever you crossed to your destination by metro, taxi or on foot.

Our guides cover each of them: Staying connected (eSIM first, VPN as backup), Setting up Alipay and WeChat Pay, and Setting up the metro QR code.

There are four land crossings from Hong Kong into Shenzhen that suit a foreign passport holder on foot or by public transport. The cards at the top show how they differ.

Futian and Huanggang are different crossings. Futian is the pedestrian crossing you reach by MTR at Lok Ma Chau station. Huanggang is a road crossing with no MTR station, and there is no link from it to Lok Ma Chau station. From the Hong Kong side of Huanggang you take buses, minibuses, coaches or taxis.

Huanggang: a new building opened on 12 October 2026. There is no MTR, so you arrive by bus, minibus, cross-boundary coach or taxi. A free shuttle runs from Huanggang Port to Futian CBD every 30 minutes from 10:00 to 20:00 daily, and returns to Huanggang Port. Its stops are Huanggang Port (start and end), Excellence INTOWN, the Convention and Exhibition Center, Ping An Finance Centre, Shopping Park (COCO Park access), Wongtee Plaza and Link Central Walk, One Avenue and The Shenzhen Eye. The shuttle stops at 20:00, so plan for that.

Plan your return before you cross. Futian closes earlier than the others, some websites give the wrong time, and the last Line 13 trains typically reach Shenzhen Bay Port station at around 11:30 pm, which varies, leaving little time before the midnight close. If you are cutting it fine, use a licensed taxi or a ride-hailing app, and never an unlicensed one. The exact times are in the Crossing facts table.

Non-Chinese permanent residents of Hong Kong can hold a Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents (Non-Chinese). The NIA lists holders of this permit among the people who do not need to fill in the online arrival card.

Apply through China Travel Service (CTS): https://www.ctshk.com/pass/nrep/bookterms.jsp. Get the Hong Kong Immigration Department's notice for this permit before you book.

Allow about a month from start to finish.

For Luohu, take the East Rail Line to the Lo Wu terminus. For Futian, take the East Rail Line to Lok Ma Chau station and follow the signs to the bridge. The line splits at Sheung Shui, so check the train's destination before you board.

Shenzhen Bay has no train either. On the Hong Kong side it is buses only: the public routes B2, B2P, B3, B3A and B3P, and private transfer buses that run to many parts of Hong Kong.

For Huanggang there is no train. Use a bus, minibus, cross-boundary coach or taxi. The Shenzhen port office lists the Hong Kong-side routes to Huanggang, including some that run overnight, here: https://ka.sz.gov.cn/ztzl/hgkazt/index.html

Routes, fares and timetables change, so check the official page on the day instead of relying on this guide.

At Luohu, Futian and Shenzhen Bay you pass Hong Kong immigration first, then mainland immigration. Use the lane for foreign passports on the Hong Kong side to leave Hong Kong.

Huanggang is different. Its new building puts the Hong Kong and mainland checks side by side in one place, under what the two governments call "cooperative inspection, one release", so you queue once for both sides.

Follow the signs for foreigners and the staff directing the queues. Have your passport and your arrival card QR ready before you reach the counter.

Weekends and public holidays are slower.

At Huanggang, the official route from Hong Kong is to arrive at level 2, then take the lift or escalator up to level 5 for the checks. Going the other way, from the metro you go up to level 4. The Shenzhen port office lists a foreigners' lane among the priority lanes on each inspection floor.

If you reach a crossing that has closed, or the queue is far longer than you can wait, Huanggang is the 24-hour option. Check the Crossing facts table below for the closing times of the others.

Older articles describe the old Huanggang passenger halls and their shuttle, which ended when the new building opened.

Caught out after 22:30 at Futian or Lok Ma Chau? The Futian crossing is closed. Your options are to walk to Huanggang, or take a licensed taxi or ride-hailing car. Avoid unofficial taxis that pick up several passengers.

Every crossing connects to Shenzhen's metro, taxis and ride-hailing, but the best way on depends on where you are going. Open your destination in a map app such as Gaode (Amap) once you are through, and follow its route from the exact exit you used.

Huanggang: Shenzhen Metro Line 7, Huanggang Checkpoint station, connects to the building. Taxis pick up on basement level 1 and ride-hailing on basement level 3.

To ride the metro, set up the metro QR code first. Our guide Setting up the metro QR code walks through it.