According to the Joint Announcement of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the General Administration of Customs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, the Chinese Embassy in the Republic of Sierra Leone hereby announces that, as from 1st September 2020, all passengers traveling from Sierra Leone to China are required to obtain green health codes with “HS” marks or valid Health Declaration Forms prior to flight departures. Those who fail to meet the above-mentioned conditions will be denied boarding the relevant flights. Detailed requirements are as follows:
- General Requirements
As from 1st September 2020, both Chinese and foreign passengers traveling from Sierra Leone to China or ultimately bound for China via any other countries must apply for Green Health Codes (for Chinese citizens only) with an “HS” mark or Health Declaration Forms (for foreign citizens only) by submitting their COVID-19 negative certificates for nucleic acid tests to Chinese embassy in Sierra Leone. Airlines will check the Health Codes or the Health Declaration Forms prior to flight departures. Original test reports are highly recommended to be kept on hand in case of further inspection.
- When and Where to Get Tested
All passengers must get nucleic acid tests for COVID-19 within 3 (three) days prior to their flight departures in testing facilities designated by Chinese Embassy, that is Jui P3 Lab( Sorie Lane Jui District, Western Rural Area, Freetown) or 34th Military Hospital Tropical Disease Control and Prevention Lab (RSLAF, Willberforce Barracks). All passengers bound for China are required to log on to the Sierra Leone government portal(www.travel.gov.sl) to process and pay, and then contact the Jui P3 Lab( Mobile: 23277640702 ; Office hours: Monday-Sunday 10:00am-15:00pm ) or 34th Military Hospital Lab ( Mobile: 23288561912; Office hours: Monday-Sunday 10:00am-15:00pm) for samples-taking, and EOC Lab will issue the certificate accordingly.
III. How to Apply for the Health Code (For Chinese Citizens Only)
Chinese citizens should upload photos of their COVID-19 negative certificates to the WeChat mini program COVID-19 Prevention Health Code International Version within 24 hours after obtaining negative certificates. Those approved by the Chinese Embassy will obtain Green Health Codes with an “HS” mark for a three-day validity period. All passengers are required to travel within the validity period, and cooperate with airlines for health codes checking. Hard copies of COVID-19 negative certificates are strongly recommended to be kept on hand for further checking. Please visit https://hr.cs.mfa.gov.cn/help_two/help-two/hs.html for Q & A.
- How to Apply for the Health Declaration Form (For Foreign Citizens Only)
Foreign passengers are requested to send their scanned copies of bio-page of passports, COVID-19 negative certificates and signed Health Declaration Forms to the following designated email address of Chinese Embassy( zj_sle@mfa.gov.cn ). After verification of the test reports, the Embassy will return the scanned copy of officially stamped Health Declaration Forms to the passengers by email. All passengers are required to board with a hard copy of Health Declaration Forms within its three-day validity period and cooperate with airlines for checking. Hard copies of COVID-19 negative certificates are strongly recommended to be kept on hand for further checking.
Click http://sl.chineseembassy.org/eng/sgxx/tz/t1808919.htm to get the Health Declaration Form
- Special Reminders
- Chinese and foreign passengers traveling to China via countries or regions in which COVID-19 nucleic acid testing measures are implemented (The list of countries and regions is available at https://hr.cs.mfa.gov.cn/help_two/help-two/gj.html), are also required to produce health codes with “HS” mark or Health Declaration Forms when transiting.
2.Please make sure that the names, passport numbers of the travelers shown on the certificates are the same as shown on the travelling documents.
- Please make sure that the health codes or Forms are still valid when boarding the connecting flights to avoid being stranded.
- International travels, except out of necessity, are strongly not recommended so as to avoid the risks of being infected