Can I Contact My Embassy or Consulate If I Am Detained in China?

Will the embassy or consulate be told?

During the police investigation: after a foreign suspect is detained, arrested, released on bail or placed under residential surveillance, the provincial police authority must notify the embassy or consulate of the suspect's country. The notice includes the person's name, sex, date of entry into China, passport number, the time and place of the alleged offense, the main facts, and the measure taken with its legal basis (Article 368 of the Ministry of Public Security's procedural rules).

Once the case is in court: the court notifies the embassy or consulate of any custodial measures it takes, the time and place of the trial, and the time and place of the judgment (Article 479 of the SPC Interpretation of the Criminal Procedure Law). After accepting the case, the court must also tell a detained foreign defendant of the right to contact their embassy or consulate, to meet and correspond with their guardian and close relatives, and to ask for an interpreter (Article 481).

How fast? The MPS rules for the police stage refer to the relevant regulations and do not set a deadline of their own. For the court stage, the SPC Interpretation sets out the rules, which depend on the treaties between China and your country (Article 480):

• if there is a bilateral consular treaty, its deadline applies. For example, under Article 35 of the Consular Convention between China and the United States (1980), the authorities must notify the consulate immediately, and no later than four days from the date of arrest or detention;
• if there is no bilateral treaty but both countries are party to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, notification follows that convention: under Article 36, the authorities must inform the consular post without delay if the detained national so requests, and must tell the detained person of this right without delay;
• where no deadline is set, the courts must notify as soon as possible, and no later than seven days.

Can I ask them not to notify? At the court stage, if the bilateral treaty does not make notification mandatory, you can ask that your embassy or consulate not be told, but you must sign a written statement (Article 480).

Can consular officers visit me?

Yes.

• During the investigation: when consular officers ask to visit a citizen in custody, the police must arrange it promptly (Article 370 of the MPS rules).
• During trial: consular officers apply to the higher people's court where the case is being heard, and the visit must be arranged within the time set by the bilateral consular treaty, or as soon as possible where there is none (Article 482 of the SPC Interpretation). Consular officers may also attend public hearings (Article 483).
• Family visits during trial: a guardian or close relative can apply to the same higher people's court to meet the defendant, with proof of the relationship; the court may approve if the meeting will not obstruct the trial (Article 482).
• Under the China–U.S. convention, for example, a consular visit may not be refused later than two days after the consulate is notified, and on request visits may take place at intervals of no more than one month (Article 35).
• You can refuse a visit, but you must do so in writing (Article 370 of the MPS rules; Article 482 of the SPC Interpretation).

What can the embassy or consulate do, and not do?

They can usually:

• confirm where you are held and check on your health and treatment;
• pass messages to and from your family;
• provide a list of local lawyers;
• attend public court hearings;
• arrange for your legal representation (Article 36(1)(c) of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations), and, where you are a defendant in custody, appoint a defense lawyer on your behalf (Article 485 of the SPC Interpretation).

They cannot:

• act as your lawyer or represent you in court;
• get you released or intervene in the investigation or trial;

The details depend on your country's consular practice; ask your embassy or consulate directly.

What should my family do?

Contact your embassy or consulate in China early, and give them your full name as in your passport, your passport number, and whatever you know about where and when you were taken. In parallel, your family should appoint a China-licensed lawyer, who can meet you in confidence and work on the defense, which consular officers cannot do. See A family member has been detained by police in China.

Legal basis (October 2026)

• Provisions on Procedures for Handling Criminal Cases by Public Security Organs (2020 amendment), Articles 367, 368 and 370
• Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Criminal Procedure Law (2021), Articles 479 to 483 and 485
• Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963), Article 36
• Consular Convention between the People's Republic of China and the United States of America (1980), Article 35