Lost Your Passport in Guangzhou During the Canton Fair: The Three Steps the Guangzhou Police Publish, What a Visa Reissue Needs, and Your Fair Badge

Checked on 25 October 2026. We are an interpreting and translation company in Guangzhou (Guangzhou GuanRi Translation Service Co., Ltd.). We are not the police, not an embassy or consulate, not a law firm, not an immigration agency and not the organizer of the Canton Fair. The service this article ends up recommending, an interpreter to go with you to the exit-entry office, is one we sell ourselves. This is not legal advice. Every rule below comes from an official text linked in the sources; whether a document is issued is decided by your embassy or consulate, by the public security exit-entry office and, for the fair badge, by the Canton Fair, not by us. Where a sentence is our own reading rather than the wording of an official text, we say so.

The second phase of the 140th Canton Fair runs from 23 to 27 October and the third from 31 October to 4 November. A passport lost in Guangzhou in those weeks touches three separate things, and each one has its own issuer: the passport itself (your country's embassy or consulate), the Chinese visa or your permission to stay (inside China, the public security exit-entry office), and your fair badge (the Canton Fair). The first two are taken in the order the Guangzhou police put them; the badge is in section 6.

1. Which line is yours

2. The three steps on the Guangzhou police page

On 3 November 2025 the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau published a notice for visitors to the National Games headed, in Chinese, 「精彩全运会，平安出入境！在穗出入境证件丢了怎么办？」 (in our translation: "A great National Games, a safe exit and entry! Lost your exit-entry documents in Guangzhou?"). The part for foreign nationals is in Chinese and English and has three numbered items. The Chinese items have no full stops; the official English below them reads:

Report the loss of their passports and obtain the Confirmation of Reporting the Loss of Passport at the authorities of Entry and Exit Administration;

Apply for new passports or other international travel documents issued by embassies or consulates of their countries stationed in China.

Apply to the the authorities of Entry and Exit Administration for reissue of visas or residence permits (Individuals who entered visa-free may leave directly without applying for a new visa, provided they are within the permitted duration of stay).

The doubled "the" in the third item is in the original. The Chinese for that item says "补办签证证件", visa documents in general, where the English names visas and residence permits; the bracketed sentence about visa-free entrants is the same in both.

The National Immigration Administration's English page on a lost passport (dated 27 March 2021, marked as taken from "Welcome to China" and "only for reference") gives the same order in 2 sentences:

You shall immediately go to the local entry & exit administration authority of the local public security bureau to apply for a passport loss certificate, and contact the embassy or consulate of your country in China with the passport loss certificate. After you apply for a new passport or temporary travel document, you shall apply to the entry & exit administration authorities of the local public security bureaus at or above county level for a visa renewal or reissuance.

Neither page lists what to bring for the loss certificate, and neither gives a processing time for it. We did not find a Guangzhou checklist for it either: the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau's page of service points and guides links a zip file of ordinary visa guides for foreigners that holds ten guides (C, F, G, J2, L, M, Q2, R, S2 and X2), and none of them mentions a reissue. So the document list for the loss certificate is the office's to give; ask +86 12367 before you go.

As for where to go: the Guangzhou list of exit-entry service points for foreigners names the reception hall at 155 Jiefang South Road, Yuexiu District, and halls in each of the other districts, every one with the enquiry number 12367 and weekday hours of 9:00–12:00 and 13:00–17:00. Only the reception hall at 155 Jiefang South Road is listed with Saturday hours, the same times, marked "急事急办" ("urgent matters handled urgently", our translation); holidays are arranged separately. The list does not say which halls issue loss certificates, which is another question for 12367. The Guangzhou government's English portal, eGuangzhou, says there were 70 foreign consulates general in Guangzhou by January 2026; whether your country is one of them, and whether the consulate issues emergency travel documents, is on your own government's website.

3. Getting the visa reissued

The National Immigration Administration's service guide for visa extension, change and reissue (dated 17 July 2019) has a part on reissue. Its first item, 1 sentence:

签证遗失或者被盗抢的，应当提交本人护照报失证明或者所属国驻华使领馆照会以及新的有效护照或者其他国际旅行证件。

In our translation: where a visa is lost, stolen or robbed, you shall submit your passport loss certificate or a note from your country's embassy or consulate in China, together with a new valid passport or other international travel document. The part closes with what you get back, also 1 sentence:

可以补发与原签证种类、入境有效期、停留期以及原签证剩余有效入境次数一致的签证。

In our translation: a visa may be reissued with the same type, validity for entry and duration of stay as the original, and the original's remaining number of entries. Note the "may".

Three more things from the same guide. First, the application is made in person; it lists three cases in which, in our translation, an inviting unit or person, a relative or a professional service agency may apply for you: you are under 16, 60 or over, or have difficulty moving because of illness or other reasons; this is not your first entry and your record of stay or residence in China is good; or the inviting party guarantees your costs in China. Second, the receipt of acceptance is valid for up to 7 working days, and the decision is made within that time; the regulations add, in Article 13, that "during the period of time when the applicant’s passport or other international travel documents are retained for processing his or her application for a visa or permit, the applicant may stay in China legally on the strength of the receipt of acceptance." Third, the reissued visa is collected in person at the office with the receipt. Article 12 of the regulations adds that an application for a reissue is made with the application form, your passport or other international travel document, a photo that meets the rules and the supporting papers. The Guangzhou page lets only visa-free entrants leave without a new visa; it does not say whether someone who entered on a visa may leave on the new passport before the reissued visa is ready. If your flight is less than 7 working days away, ask +86 12367 that question before you book or change it. If your permitted stay will end before the reissued visa can be issued, note that the same guide says an extension of stay must be applied for no later than 7 days before the stay shown on the visa ends; how that works while your passport is lost, the guide does not say, so raise it in the same call.

The guide's fee list runs from RMB 160 to RMB 619 per person for countries without a reciprocal arrangement, by number of entries, and says reciprocal countries are charged under the relevant rules; it does not set out a separate line for reissues, so ask at the counter what yours costs.

The guide ends its notes with 1 sentence that matters if any of your papers are not in Chinese:

有关外文证明材料应当翻译成中文。

In our translation: relevant supporting documents in foreign languages shall be translated into Chinese. The guide does not say which of the reissue papers this applies to; ask the office whether anything you bring needs a Chinese translation, and what kind of translation it accepts.

4. If you came in visa-free, or your country's mission in China cannot reissue your passport

For buyers at the fair, the most useful line on the Guangzhou page is the bracketed one: visa-free entrants still inside their permitted stay "may leave directly without applying for a new visa". The page does not separate the 30-day policy from the 240-hour transit policy, and it does not say what to show at exit border control. Our suggestion, which is not from an official text, is to carry the loss certificate as well as the new passport, and to ask +86 12367 before you leave for the airport.

None of the official texts we read says that losing a passport changes the last day of a visa-free stay. To stay beyond it, Article 34 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law says visa-exempt foreigners shall apply for a stay permit; how that works while your passport is lost, the texts we read do not say, and how a stay permit is applied for is in our article on visa-free stays. Whether a stay permit is issued is the office's decision. If your last day will come before your new passport does, call +86 12367 as soon as you know, not on the last day.

If you need to move to another hotel before the new passport arrives: Article 39 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law has hotels register foreign guests, so ask the new hotel first what it will accept.

If your country's mission in China cannot reissue your passport or a travel document, Article 23 of the Regulations on the Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners covers you:

A foreigner who does not hold a valid passport or other international travel documents due to loss, damage, destruction, theft, robbery or other reasons and cannot get the said passport or documents reissued by the relevant institution of his own country stationed in China may apply for exit formalities to the exit and entry administration authority of the public security organ of the local people’s government at or above the county level in the place of his or her stay or residence.

That is the official English of the 2013 text; the 2025 amendment leaves this article unchanged. Again "may": the office decides.

5. If you live in China on a residence permit

The national residence permit guide (dated 5 September 2019) asks for the same pair of documents, 1 sentence:

外国人居留证件遗失、损毁或者被盗抢，应当提交本人护照报失证明或者所属国驻华使领馆照会或者出示被损毁证件，以及新护照或者其他国际旅行证件，可以补发居留证件。

In our translation: where a foreigner's residence permit is lost, damaged, stolen or robbed, the applicant shall submit the passport loss certificate or a note from the embassy or consulate in China, or show the damaged permit, together with the new passport or other international travel document, and the residence permit may be reissued. For residence permits the receipt of acceptance is valid for up to 15 days (Article 18 of the regulations), counted in working days (Article 36), and Article 18 applies the same rule: while the office keeps your passport, the receipt lets you reside legally.

The residence permit guide lists different cases for applying through someone else: high-level and urgently needed talent, people under 16 or 60 or over, and people who have difficulty moving because of illness or other reasons.

6. Your Canton Fair badge

The badge is a separate document from a separate issuer. The Canton Fair's guide for overseas buyers for the 140th session (26 September 2026) says, in our translation, that new applications, reissues and badge changes are all free; the Guangzhou government's English portal says the same: "All new applications, reissues, and renewals of badges for overseas buyers are free of charge." The fair's rules on badges for people who break its regulations (a trial text of 3 April 2025, which the fair's 140th-session notice on accompanying-personnel badges still cites) say, in our translation, that a badge holder who loses a badge should promptly report the loss to the unit that applied for it or to the issuing department. Accompanying-personnel badges are different: the 140th-session notice on them says "If a badge is lost, a replacement fee of RMB 200 per badge will be charged."

For applying, the buyer guide lists three things: a valid original identity document, a business card and the QR code receipt of your registration. The identity document has to be one of four: a foreign passport, a Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents, a Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Residents, or a Chinese passport together with a foreign permanent residence permit or permanent residence visa. A loss certificate is not on that list. If you have lost your passport as well as your badge, ask the Canton Fair Customer Service Center before you go: 4000-888-999 in China, +86 20 28888999 from abroad, info@cantonfair.org.cn (as printed in the fair's 140th-session notice on accompanying-personnel badges, 28 September 2026).

There is also the opposite problem. A report in Xinxi Shibao on 17 April 2026, about the 139th session, describes a buyer who had pre-registered with an old passport and arrived with a newly issued one; the two did not match and the check failed; Tianhe border inspection officers contacted the organizer and, with volunteers, helped the buyer register again with the new passport before the badge was printed. That is a newspaper report, not a rule, but it tells you what to say at the registration office if your passport is new: tell the staff that it is new and that you registered with the old one.

eGuangzhou lists the registration offices at Xingangdong Station (Area D) and Pazhou Station (Areas B and C) as open 8:30–18:00 from 23 to 27 October for the second phase, and 9:00–18:00 on 30 October and 8:30–18:00 from 31 October to 4 November for the third. The two at Baiyun airport (Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 international arrivals) are listed as open 8:00–24:00 from 22 to 27 October and from 30 October to 1 November.

7. Phone numbers

For a crime, the police number is 110. The Guangzhou multilingual public service platform, 960169, run by the city's foreign affairs office, gives information and interpretation in nine languages (Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, French, Russian, Arabic, Spanish and Portuguese), with Indonesian and Malay added during the 140th Canton Fair, and connects into 110, 119, 120, 12345 and other hotlines as a three-way call. eGuangzhou describes the platform as providing "free real-time translation services" for government and public affairs; what it does and does not cover is in our article on 960169. The national immigration line answers questions on visas and stays 24 hours a day, according to a Guangzhou police notice of 14 August 2024; from a Chinese phone it is 12367, and the Chinese Embassy in Canada gives it as "+86-12367 (available in Mandarin, Cantonese, English, Russian, Japanese and Korean)". None of the texts we read says which languages 110 answers in.

8. If the old passport turns up

Article 67 of the Exit and Entry Administration Law, official English:

In such cases that the exit/entry documents such as visas or foreigners' stay or residence permits are damaged, lost or stolen, or that after the issuance of such documents, the holders are found not eligible for being issued such documents, the issuing authorities shall declare the aforesaid documents void.

The next paragraph of the same article says, in the official English, that documents "declared void by issuing authorities shall be invalid". Article 34 of the regulations, item (1), says the same about a lost visa, stay permit or residence permit, and its last paragraph adds that the issuer may declare it void on the spot or by public notice. The passport itself belongs to your country; ask your embassy or consulate what to do with it. For the Chinese visa inside it, ask +86 12367 before you use it for anything.

9. Where we come in

What we sell is interpreting and translation, not immigration services, and the steps above are calls and in-person applications that you can make yourself. If you want an interpreter with you at the exit-entry office, escort interpreting is one of our services; whether the interpreter may come up to the counter is decided by the office on the spot. If the office asks for any of your foreign-language papers in Chinese, we can translate them; ask the office first what kind of translation it accepts.

Our FAQ page lists escort and consecutive interpreting from ¥200 per hour or ¥800 per full day, depending on language pair and subject, and says invoices are charged on top: a VAT special invoice adds 6% and a general invoice 3%; it also says new clients typically pay a 30–50% deposit. The same page says common pairs (Chinese with English, Japanese or Korean) can usually be scheduled 1–2 weeks ahead and rare pairs should be booked 4–8 weeks ahead. A lost passport does not wait that long, so send us the date, the office and the language, and ask us for a quote and availability. For a phone call, 960169 may be all you need.

Interpreter profiles are in the interpreter directory. Write to us on WhatsApp / WeChat (WhatsApp +86 139 2416 6640, WeChat Saralee93) or through the contact page.

Sources

1. Guangzhou Public Security Bureau, notice on lost exit-entry documents, 3 November 2025 (Chinese headline, foreign-nationals part in Chinese and English): https://gaj.gz.gov.cn/zwfw/ywtd/crjimmigration/crjzx/content/post_10504151.html
2. National Immigration Administration, "Lost Passport", 27 March 2021, from "Welcome to China", for reference only: https://en.nia.gov.cn/n147428/n147498/n147780/n147970/c159250/content.html
3. Guangzhou Public Security Bureau, exit-entry service points and guides, including the list of service points for foreigners and the ten visa guides (in Chinese): https://gaj.gz.gov.cn/zwfw/ywtd/crjimmigration/crjzx/content/post_9339149.html
4. National Immigration Administration, service guide for visa extension, change and reissue, 17 July 2019 (in Chinese): https://www.nia.gov.cn/n741445/n741604/n1787224/n1795789/c1791261/content.html
5. National Immigration Administration, residence permit service guide, 5 September 2019 (in Chinese): https://www.nia.gov.cn/n741440/n741587/n1316094/n1355872/c1356308/content.html
6. Regulations on the Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners, official English, 2013 text (Articles 12, 13, 18, 23, 34 and 36): https://en.nia.gov.cn/n147418/n147458/c155970/content.html; the 2025 amendment, which leaves these articles unchanged, as carried by the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau (in Chinese): https://gaj.gz.gov.cn/zwfw/ywtd/crjimmigration/crjzx/content/post_10409663.html
7. Exit and Entry Administration Law, official English (Articles 4, 34, 39 and 67): https://en.nia.gov.cn/n147418/n147458/c155978/content.html; Chinese text: https://www.nia.gov.cn/n741440/n741547/c1013311/content.html
8. Canton Fair, buyer badge guide for overseas buyers, 140th session, 26 September 2026 (in Chinese): https://www.cantonfair.org.cn/content-detail?id=9e70eea4bba042a09fdbb410e1fd76e6
9. eGuangzhou (Guangzhou government English portal), guide to applying for overseas buyer badges at the 140th Canton Fair, updated 15 October 2026: https://www.eguangzhou.gov.cn/gzspecialreports/140thcantonfair/content/post_45883.html; consulates in Guangzhou, January 2026: http://www.eguangzhou.gov.cn/gzconsulates/content/post_40694.html
10. Canton Fair, rules on badges of persons and vehicles in breach of regulations (trial), 3 April 2025 (in Chinese): https://www.cantonfair.org.cn/content-detail?id=872044663845289984
11. Canton Fair, notice that badge applications for accompanying personnel of overseas buyers of the 140th session are open, 28 September 2026 (cites the trial rules; Customer Service Center numbers): https://www.cantonfair.org.cn/content-detail?id=cc18c57e7b58462b910ef5efb55cdafd
12. Xinxi Shibao, report on the Tianhe border inspection station at the 139th Canton Fair, 17 April 2026 (in Chinese): https://xxsb.gz-cmc.com/pages/2026/04/17/c7a0164f8acf466ea13d4d4b263cb246.html
13. eGuangzhou, report on the guideline for the Guangzhou multilingual public service platform 960169, updated 1 August 2022: http://www.eguangzhou.gov.cn/gzservice/content/post_29635.html; Guide for Business Visitors to the 140th Canton Fair, page on the Guangzhou multilingual public service platform 960169 (Guangzhou Municipal Commerce Bureau and Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism): https://canton-fair-140th.fencyworld.com/index.html
14. Translation China, FAQ page (interpreting rates and booking lead times, read 25 October 2026): https://www.translationchina.com/m/en/faq/
15. Canton Fair, 2026 Attendance Guide for Overseas Buyers (phase dates): https://www.cantonfair.org.cn/content-detail?id=598494791797825536EN
16. Guangzhou Public Security Bureau, notice on passports for Chinese citizens, 14 August 2024, cited only for the line saying the 12367 hotline answers 24 hours: https://gaj.gz.gov.cn/zwfw/ywtd/crjimmigration/crjzx/content/post_9813298.html
17. Chinese Embassy in Canada, on the 240-hour visa-free transit policy (June 2025; the 12367 line, its +86 form and its languages): https://ca.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/lsyw/VisaFree/VisaFreeTransit/202506/t20250609_11643307.htm