All foreigners are required to register within 24 hours upon arriving at a new residence in China. If you are staying in a hotel, they will take care of it for you, but if you are moving into your own apartment or staying with a friend or family member, it is important to follow the right procedure. In the past this procedure required you to walk to the nearest (or rather the right) police station, bring your passport incl a photocopy of its personal information page, as well as your visa or residence permit, your rental contract (original and photocopy), your landlord's ownership certificate, and a photocopy of your landlord's id. If you are on a visa, you would also need to go to the police station everytime after leaving from and subsequently returning to China, or if your visa/residence permit changed. From now on, all police stations in Shanghai support self-declaration . Following flyer is handed out at some of them: Link to the self-declaration website: https://crjznd