When You Cannot Return Home as Planned: Extending Your Stay, Treatment, Accommodation, and Funding

For foreign patients and family members receiving medical care in mainland China who need to stay longer because of changes in the patient's condition or treatment plans. Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and other jurisdictions have separate rules for entry, stays, and medical care. The procedures that apply depend on each person's documents, location, and medical condition.

For a medical emergency such as unconsciousness, severe breathing difficulty, or chest pain, contact the hospital's emergency service or call 120, the medical emergency number in mainland China, immediately. Do not wait for confirmation from your insurer or of ticket changes. Once the patient's condition allows, family members should contact the treatment team and check permitted stay dates, accommodation, and available funds at the same time.

Key Points

• Ask the treatment team when the next assessment will take place, whether the patient will remain in hospital or transfer, and whom to contact if their condition worsens. Do not stop medication yourself or change treatment to catch a flight.
• Medical records or a hospital certificate do not automatically extend a permitted stay. The patient and each accompanying person should contact the local public security authority's exit-entry administration before their own deadline to confirm the applicable procedure. Approval is decided by the responsible authority.
• Hospital discharge, suitability for ordinary accommodation, and fitness to use the planned transport must each be confirmed separately. Ask the doctor and transport operator before deciding on ticket changes.
• Update hospital bills and accommodation and transport costs, and confirm coverage and upfront payment requirements with your insurer. Expected reimbursement is not cash already available.

Ask the Doctor First: Where to Receive Care Next

Ask the doctor currently responsible for care or the ward team for a specific next step: does the patient need to remain in hospital, transfer to another hospital, or stay nearby and return for follow-up visits? Confirm the next test or assessment date, medication arrangements, symptoms that require an immediate return to hospital, and daytime and nighttime contact details. If the plan is still undecided, record when reassessment will take place and who will notify you. There is no need to guess a return date.

If a transfer is needed, confirm the receiving department, admission time, transport arrangements, and who will be responsible for care while waiting with both the transferring team and the proposed receiving hospital. Bring the latest care summary, test results and imaging, and lists of allergies and medications. Ask the doctor to check the medications and the next dose times, and list any pending results and who will follow them up. Update this list when the patient transfers, is discharged, or changes caregivers.

Check Each Person's Permitted Stay and Contact Immigration Authorities

Gather the patient's and each accompanying person's passport, visa, or stay or residence permit. Record their nationality, entry date, document type, last date of permitted stay or residence, and current address. A visa's validity period for entry is different from the permitted length of the current stay. If you are unsure of the deadline, ask the exit-entry administration to verify it.

Contact the exit-entry administration of the public security authority where you are staying or residing as early as possible. You can also call the National Immigration Administration on 12367 to ask which office to contact. Explain if the patient is in hospital or has limited mobility, and ask about the applicable procedure, deadline, required documents, whether the person must attend in person or someone else may apply on their behalf, and how identity and travel documents can be used while the application is being processed. Ask the hospital to provide documentation of the medical condition and reason for the extended stay as required by the office, and confirm how and when to collect it. Keep proof of application and acceptance for processing, and submit any additional documents requested by the authority. Submitting an application or obtaining a hospital certificate does not itself mean approval.

To extend the permitted stay on a visa, apply to the exit-entry administration of the public security authority where you are staying at least seven days before the stay period stated on the visa expires. If you hold a residence permit and need to extend your residence, apply to the exit-entry administration of the public security authority where you reside at least thirty days before the residence permit expires. If you entered visa-free and need to stay beyond the visa-free period, you must apply for a foreigner's stay permit as required. Confirm the specific procedure and documents with the local authority; do not assume that visa-extension deadlines apply. Deadlines and procedures for other stay permits must also be checked separately. If the applicable deadline is approaching or has already passed, explain the actual circumstances immediately and ask what to do. Do not assume you may continue to stay.

Arrange Accommodation, Caregivers, and Ticket Changes

Once the doctor considers the patient able to leave hospital, first check whether the accommodation can meet their needs for medication storage, mobility, food, care, and transport to follow-up visits. If nursing care, oxygen, or other support is needed, confirm qualified providers and costs for each. Ask the hotel or landlord to confirm in writing the dates available for an extended stay, prices, and cancellation or change terms. If an extension is unavailable, confirm new accommodation and transport before moving.

When foreign nationals stay in a hotel in mainland China, the hotel registers their accommodation and submits the information. For accommodation other than a hotel, the foreign national or their host must register with the public security authority where they are staying within 24 hours of arrival. When moving, check the registration requirements for the new address and keep proof of registration. Ask the local public security authority about any special circumstances. Call 12367 for information about online or in-person registration options.

If an accompanying caregiver needs to extend their stay or be replaced, separately check their entry or stay eligibility, hospital visiting and caregiver arrangements, accommodation, and handover. At handover, write down the patient's current condition, next medication dose or follow-up visit, emergency contacts, and outstanding tasks. Share information as authorized by the patient.

Contact the original booking provider and the actual transport operator to confirm deadlines for changes or cancellation, fees, fare differences, and required documentation. Ask the doctor to assess whether the proposed journey is suitable, then confirm the operator's requirements for medical certificates, wheelchairs, oxygen, or an accompanying person. If medical transport is needed, ask the treatment team and the insurer's assistance service about feasible arrangements and costs. A discharge certificate does not automatically mean that an airline agrees to carry the patient.

Recalculate Available Funds and Notify Your Insurer

Ask the hospital for an updated itemized estimate or interim bill, and confirm when the next payment is due and which payment methods are accepted. Then list additional costs for hospitalization, medicines, care, accommodation, accompanying caregivers, transport, ticket changes, interpreting, and documents. Mark whether each amount is confirmed, who must pay upfront, and the deadline. Check bank card limits and backup payment methods, and keep invoices, itemized bills, and proof of payment.

Contact your insurer or its assistance service as early as possible. Explain the changes in the patient's condition and plans, and provide the policy number, hospital details, and any existing authorization number. Ask separately whether the policy covers additional treatment, a longer hospital stay, complications, accommodation, or transport, and whether deductibles, limits, notification requirements, or renewed authorization apply. Confirm whether direct billing is available, which costs you must pay upfront, and which documents are needed to make a claim. Request a written response and record the contact person and case number. Whether the insurer pays depends on the policy and its decision on the individual case.

If you use a coordination service, check which work was included in the original confirmation and any additional charges. Refunds or rescheduling by hospitals, hotels, airlines, and other providers are handled separately under their respective agreements and applicable rules. For the scope and cancellation rules of EastMedGo's own coordination services, see Services and Fees and Terms of Service.

Hand Over Care to the Next Doctor Before Returning Home

Once the treatment team considers it appropriate to arrange travel, confirm the receiving healthcare facility or doctor in your home country, the follow-up appointment, and how records will be received. Take the latest discharge or care summary, test reports and imaging, medication list, allergy information, details of pending results, and contact information. Ask whether translations are needed. Confirm who will follow up on pending results and whether the medication supply will last until the next appointment. Requirements for carrying medicines across borders must be checked separately with the relevant authorities at the places of departure and entry, and with the transport operator.

After arrival, contact the receiving provider to confirm that the records have arrived and the appointment is still valid. Continue following up on pending results, insurance documents, final bills, and refunds for unused bookings.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many extra days should we allow?

There is no single number that applies to every patient. Ask the doctor about the next assessment and conditions that may affect travel, then make flexible plans based on accommodation and ticket change and cancellation rules.

Can we stay longer once the hospital issues a certificate?

The permitted stay is not extended automatically. The certificate can support the reason for an application. The authorized exit-entry administration confirms the application procedure, required documents, and final decision.

What if the patient is in hospital and cannot apply in person?

Contact the local exit-entry administration, explain why the patient cannot attend, and ask whether a family member or someone else may apply on their behalf and what authorization and hospital documentation are required. Do not assume that all documents or cities follow the same procedures.

If the patient's stay is extended, can the accompanying person's stay be extended too?

Do not assume so. Each person's method of entry and permitted stay may differ. Accompanying people must also confirm their own application requirements and deadlines with the exit-entry administration.

The doctor says the patient can be discharged. Can they fly now?

First ask the doctor to assess the specific journey, and confirm medical clearance and assistance requirements with the actual airline. The patient may still need local follow-up care or a different form of transport.

If the insurer agrees to process the case, do we still need money ready?

You still need to confirm coverage in writing, direct billing arrangements, and the portion you must pay. While waiting for a decision or reimbursement, ask the hospital when payments are due and prepare funds you can actually access.

What should family members do if there is a passport problem or they cannot contact the patient?

Without delaying medical care, contact the responsible hospital team and the embassy or consulate in China for the patient's country of nationality. Ask what help is available with documents or contacting the patient. Specific consular services vary by country and individual case.

Sources

Date checked: November 6, 2026. Arrangements for individual cases are subject to confirmation by the authorized authorities, receiving hospital, transport operator, and insurer, and to the actual contracts.

1. National Immigration Administration: Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China, Articles 29, 32, 34, and 39.
2. National Immigration Administration: Regulations on the Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreign Nationals, Articles 12–14.
3. National Immigration Administration: Policy Explanation on Accommodation Registration for Foreign Nationals Staying Outside Hotels.
4. National Health Commission: Measures for the Administration of Prehospital Emergency Medical Care, Article 13.
5. World Health Organization: Medication Safety in Transitions of Care, used for medication-list handovers.
6. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Medical Tourism, used for general advice on seeking care for complications and handing over medical records.
7. UK Government: Medical Emergencies, Treatment and Hospitalisation Abroad, used as an example of transport operators potentially requiring a fit-to-fly certificate. Requirements of specific airlines and consular services provided by other countries must be confirmed separately.
8. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Travel Insurance, Travel Health Insurance, and Medical Evacuation Insurance, used for general advice on checking insurance and upfront payments.