Location:
China
Part of:
Foreign & Commonwealth Office

We develop and maintain relations between the UK and China. Our work covers a range of issues including bolstering global security, increasing mutual economic prosperity, establishing stronger people-to-people ties and supporting British nationals in China.

We also provide services at Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Wuhan.

Check our opening hours.

Services for British nationals

Urgent assistance

If you’re in China and you urgently need help (e.g. if you’ve been attacked, arrested or there has been a death), call +86 (0) 10 8529 6600. If you’re in the UK and concerned about a British national in China, call 020 7008 1500.

Get or renew a passport

The British embassy can’t help with passport enquiries. Contact Her Majesty’s Passport Office if you need help.

If you can’t get a new or replacement passport in time to travel, you may be able to get an emergency travel document.

Get an emergency travel document

You can apply for an emergency travel document if you’re abroad and your passport has been lost or stolen, damaged or expired, and you can’t get a new or replacement passport in time to travel.

If you are due to travel in the next 24 hours, contact us as soon as possible.

Before you are able to leave China with an ETD you will need to obtain an Exit Visa from your local Public Security Bureau’s (PSB) Entry & Exit Division. This may take up to 10 working days. Consular staff can direct you to the nearest PSB.

Please note that we are unable to issue ETDs if requested for the following reasons:

  • you wish to renew your Chinese residence permit – ETDs are for travel purposes only
  • your normal passport is with the local PSB to renew your Chinese residence permit – the Chinese authorities will not permit you to hold more than one visa at the same time

Apply online for an emergency travel document if you:

  • are over 16 years old and
  • are a British citizen and
  • have previously owned a British passport

Contact us to apply for an emergency travel document if you are:

  • over 16 years old but have not owned a British passport before or
  • not a British citizen or
  • applying for a child under 16 years old

Once you have contacted us, you will be advised to make an appointment.

Book an appointment for an emergency travel document in the British Embassy Beijing

Book an appointment for an emergency travel document in the British Consulate-General Chongqing

Book an appointment for an emergency travel document in the British Consulate-General Guangzhou

Book an appointment for an emergency travel document in the British Consulate-General Shanghai

Travel advice: for information and advice on travelling to China, see travel advice for China.

Get a visa

The British embassy can’t help with visa enquiries.

If you’re not a British national, you may need a visa to travel to the UK. Check if you need a UK visa.

If you’re a British national travelling abroad and need to apply for a visa to visit a particular country or check if you need a visa, see the entry requirements on our foreign travel advice for the country you want to visit.

For more information on visas, see UK visas and immigration.

How to apply for a UK visa in China

Information on visa requirements when travelling to the UK

Marriage and civil partnerships

We can issue affirmations or affidavits of marital status and, in some circumstances, perform a marriage or civil partnership for British nationals. For information on getting married in China, see getting married abroad.

Register a birth or death

Find out how to register a birth or register a death that occurred in China. You can’t register a birth or death at the embassy or our consulates.

If you plan to or have had a child in China, see also our information on nationality and citizenship law in China.

Bereavement support

If the death occurred in China and you’re still in the country, contact us. If you’re in the UK and hear of the death of a relative from a third party, you should contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 020 7008 1500.

Read our guidance on coping with death abroad, as well as our guide on bereavement in China.

Support if you’ve been arrested

We’ll do all we can to contact you within 24 hours of being told that you’ve been detained or arrested, and will give you a prisoner pack with information for British prisoners in China. We cannot get you out of prison, prevent the local authorities from deporting you after your prison sentence, or interfere in criminal or civil court proceedings.

Commercial disputes

Read our advice for British nationals and UK companies on commercial disputes in China, covering details of what we can and cannot do if you are involved in a commercial dispute in China, as well as information on travel bans and where else to seek advice and support.

Notarial and documentary services

We may be able to offer notarial services, including administering an oath, affirmation or statutory declaration, making a certified copy of a document, and preparing a document in English or Chinese. See the full list of notarial and documentary services we provide.

Local service providers

Use our lists of local suppliers and services if you need help in China. Please note that inclusion in these lists does not constitute official endorsement by the British embassy or the UK government.

Country-specific guidance in China

Use our country-specific guidance in China if you are in need of help. Please note that the information is provided as a general guide based upon information provided to the British Embassy by the relevant local authorities and may be subject to change at any time with little or no notice.British nationals wishing to obtain any further information must contact the relevant local authority.

How else we can help

In addition to the services listed above we can also:

For more information on the services we can provide, see Support for British nationals abroad: A guide.

General information on living in China.

What the embassy cannot do for you

Although we try to help British nationals in a wide range of situations, we cannot:

  • help you enter a country, for example, if you don’t have a visa or your passport is not valid
  • give you legal advice, investigate crimes or carry out searches for missing people, although we can give you details of people who may be able to help you in these cases, such as English-speaking lawyers
  • get you better treatment in hospital or prison than is given to local people
  • pay any bills or give you money (in very exceptional circumstances we may lend you some money from public funds, which you’ll have to pay back)
  • make travel arrangements for you, or find you work or accommodation
  • make business arrangements on your behalf

Consular fees

We charge fees for some of our services. See the full list of consular fees in China.

Chevening Scholarships

Chevening Scholarships are the UK government’s flagship global scholarships programme supporting future leaders to study one-year Masters’ at UK universities. Find out how to apply.

Our people

Dame Barbara Woodward DCMG OBE

Dame Barbara Woodward DCMG OBE

British Ambassador to China

  • Martyn Roper

    Deputy Head of Mission, British Embassy Beijing

Contact us

British Embassy Beijing

11 Guang Hua Lu, Jian Guo Men Wai
100600 Beijing
China

Opening hours (local time):
Monday to Friday: 8:30am to 12pm, 1:30pm to 5pm

Counter services of the Consular Section (local time):
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 9am to 12pm
Wednesday: Closed

Access and opening times

The Visa Section of the British Embassy Beijing

21st Floor North Tower, Kerry Centre, No.1 Guanghua Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing
100020
China

Opening Hours (local time):
Monday to Friday: 8:30am to 12pm, 1:30pm to 4pm

Access and opening times

The Consular Section of the British Embassy Beijing

21st Floor North Tower, Kerry Centre, No.1 Guanghua Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing
100020
China

Counter services (local time):
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 9am to 12pm
Wednesday: Closed

Access and opening times

British Consulate-General Guangzhou

22/F Guangzhou International Finance Centre, 5 Zhujiang Road West, Zhujiang New Town
510623 Guangzhou
China

Opening hours (local time):
Monday to Friday: 9am to 12.30pm, 1.30pm to 5pm

Counter services of the Consular Section (local time):
Monday to Thursday: 9am to 12pm

Access and opening times

The Consular Section of the British Consulate-General Guangzhou

22/F Guangzhou International Finance Centre, 5 Zhujiang Road West, Zhujiang New Town
510623 Guangzhou
China

Counter services (local time):
Monday to Thursday: 9am to 12pm

Access and opening times

British Consulate-General Chongqing

Suite 2801, Metropolitan Oriental Plaza, 68 Zourong Road, Yu Zhong District,
400010 Chongqing
China

Opening hours (local time):
Monday to Friday, 9am to 12pm, 1pm to 5pm

Counter services of the Consular Section (local time):
Monday: 9am to 12pm, 2pm to 4.30pm
Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday: 9am to 12pm, 2pm to 4.30pm
Thursday: Closed
Friday: 9am to 12pm

Access and opening times

The Consular Section of the British Consulate-General Chongqing

Suite 2801, Metropolitan Oriental Plaza, 68 Zourong Road, Yu Zhong District, Chongqing
400010
China

Counter services (local time):
Monday: 9am to 12pm, 2pm to 4.30pm
Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday: 9am to 12pm, 2pm to 4.30pm
Thursday: Closed
Friday: 9am to 12pm

Access and opening times

British Consulate-General Shanghai

17F Garden Square, 968 West Beijing Road, Shanghai
1702, British Centre, Garden Square, 968 West Beijing Road, Shanghai (Consular)
200041 Shanghai
China

Opening hours (local time):
Monday to Friday: 8.30am to 5.30pm

Counter services of the Consular Section (local time):
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday: 9am to 12pm, 2pm to 4pm
Tuesday, Friday: 9am to 12pm

Access and opening times

The Consular Section of the British Consulate-General Shanghai

1702, British Centre, Garden Square, 968 West Beijing Road, Shanghai
200041
China

Counter services (local time):
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday: 9am to 12pm, 2pm to 4pm
Tuesday, Friday: 9am to midday

Access and opening times

Corporate information