Your first week in Shenzhen: connect your phone, payments and address

Make one small arrival file before the flight

Save your accommodation’s full address in Chinese, its telephone number and a useful map pin. Keep a copy available offline, alongside the name and contact details of the person helping with your move. A phone with low battery or unreliable data is an inconvenient moment to discover that you have saved only an English building name.

Carry the original identity documents required for your journey and keep digital copies secure. Make a separate list of appointments, documents and deadlines relevant to your actual entry route. Share only what a legitimate provider needs for a specific transaction. An apartment agent, social group or unknown support account does not need a complete copy of your personal document folder.

Deal with accommodation registration promptly

The National Immigration Administration distinguishes hotel stays from other accommodation. Hotels register foreign guests. For a non-hotel stay, the foreigner or host must complete the required accommodation registration within 24 hours of arrival at that accommodation. Its policy dated 21 September 2026 confirms nationwide online registration through its government-service website, the NIA 12367 app and its WeChat or Alipay mini programs. It recommends host assistance for an initial registration.

Keep the resulting registration record where you can retrieve it. If the online process is unclear, use the official support route rather than letting the question drift into a second week. Accommodation registration records where you are staying; it does not by itself grant a residence permit or permission to work. Manage those separate requirements according to your own circumstances.

Sources: Nationwide online accommodation registration for foreigners outside hotels

Get a number that works for your daily tasks

The national working-and-living guide says foreigners can bring a passport or Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card to telecom service offices to apply for a SIM and activate service. Before buying, ask about device compatibility, coverage where you will live, the plan’s actual allowances, the billing cycle and how changes or cancellation are handled.

If you are using a Hong Kong or overseas roaming plan, confirm the details with the operator. Data roaming, a mainland telephone number, incoming verification messages and voice calls are separate features. Test the functions your planned accounts require. Keep access to your existing number while important accounts still use it, and avoid changing several recovery methods on the same day.

Sources: A Guide to Working and Living in China as Business Expatriates (2025 Edition)

Make one small payment before the big purchase

The national guide explains that payment apps can be registered with foreign or Chinese phone numbers and that overseas-card binding requires issuer verification. Accepted cards, service limits and charges vary by product. Follow the current app and bank instructions, then test a modest purchase rather than assuming an installed app is already a working payment method.

Keep a practical backup. Charge the phone, know how to reach your card issuer and retain access to another suitable payment option. Do not ask a stranger to complete identity checks or send money into a personal account to ‘activate’ a wallet. If a payment fails, record the message and contact the actual app or issuing bank before retrying a large transaction.

Sources: A Guide to Working and Living in China as Business Expatriates (2025 Edition)

Prepare the bank visit rather than guessing the documents

For a bank-account application, the national guide identifies passports or Foreign Permanent Resident ID Cards as identity documents. Ask the chosen branch what additional material it requires for your intended account and circumstances before travelling there. Confirm whether an appointment is needed and which services you need beyond the account itself, such as salary receipt or mobile banking.

Use the same spelling and document details consistently across applications. Check the phone number recorded by the bank and whether you can receive its messages. A successful small login and payment test is more reassuring than an unopened envelope. Ask about fees, transfer functions and the process for updating your information if a passport or number later changes.

Sources: A Guide to Working and Living in China as Business Expatriates (2025 Edition)

Leave space between the essential tasks

Arrange the first days around registration and any time-sensitive appointments, then phone connectivity, a usable payment method and the bank tasks you actually need. Allow for a repeat visit or a document you must obtain. Keep time for finding groceries, learning the journey to work and getting some rest; a completely full itinerary is fragile when one appointment moves.

At the end of the week, check that your address record, phone, payment method and essential contacts are usable without someone else’s device. List the remaining tasks with a named contact and next action. That is a more useful measure of progress than having every possible local app installed but no clear way to use the ones you need.