After week-long of reading other people’s stories on how they’ve obtained their health declaration code (HDC), I finally successfully obtained my green HDC! 🎉🎉
All the stories I read were written in Chinese, by Chinese nationals for people with a Chinese passport. Partially because I wasn’t able to find any stories in English, also partially due to the restricted visa & entry requirement post-COVID, it’s much harder for foreigners to visit.
So I’d like to share my experience here. It was quite a journey. I completed the COVID tests in Toronto & obtained the HDC from the Chinese Consulate in Toronto. Though, the test centers may differ for other locations/regions, the overall process should nonetheless be the same.
COVID Tests
China requires 2 different COVID tests from a list of Chinese Consulate approved labs: a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test (nasal swab) and an IgM antibody test (serology).
I booked the PCR appointment with FH Health (~180CAD) & did a walk-in for the IgM test with Dynacare (75CAD), as this is the most economical option based on all my readings. However, at Dynacare, I learnt that there is a PCR & IgM test package for 225CAD. There are also many agencies that will walk you through this process, but they typically charge over 300CAD.
Please note that a requisition form is required for the IgM test, which can be obtained from any doctor. In Canada, this requisition form is free with a health card, otherwise it’s 50CAD. I had trouble obtaining the requisition form at first, because all the stories I’ve read were in Chinese, and I did not know the translation for 血清. After some struggles, I switched to a doctor from My Care Medical, a clinic appointed by the Chinese Consulate for COVID tests.
The doctor also corrected a misunderstanding I had regard the testing period. I originally thought I had to complete the tests within 48hr of my departure. In reality, it is 2 days from my boarding time. Since my flight is scheduled to depart on May 30 at 1am, I could assume the boarding time is May 29. Thus I can get tested from the 27th, which is also the date recommended by the doctor, in case of unexpected delays/issues.
Remember to mention that you need the IgM antibody test for travel. At least for Dynacare, there are 2 different IgM tests. I was told by the nurse that the travel one will have results within 24hr, while the normal one may take upto 4 days.
Test
The tests were fast, I was out of FH Health in less than 5min. For Dynacare, because it was walk-in, most of my time were spent waiting in line, the actual blood drawing process were less than 5min as well. I received the FH Health result in my inbox shortly after 10pm that day.
Dynacare gave me a unique code for its Dynacare Plus program, where the result will be posted (without any notification, so check regularly). Unfortunately, I mistyped my email address (I didn’t know at the time) upon registering for Dynacare Plus, so I never received the verification email. Luckily I followed the advice of the doctor, and did my test on Thursday, so that I was able to call for customer support on Friday (their business hour is M-F 8am-4pm). Otherwise, I might have to redo my IgM test, as I would’ve never received this result.
Getting HDC
Once received the negative results from both tests, I was able to apply for the HDC. There is a WeChat mini-program 防疫健康碼國際微信版, which is what everyone used based on my reading. However, due to some complications with my WeChat, I didn’t want to use this mini-program. So the other option is the web-version at https://hrhk.cs.mfa.gov.cn/H5/ (note: you must have the trailing slash after H5), which is also what the Chinese embassy recommended for foreigners.
HDC Site
As a frontend eng, I want to first rant about this site — at least update the favicon from the generic Vue favicon? The developer probably designed with “mobile-only” mindset instead of “mobile-first”. So on a laptop, keyboard accessibility sucks, with minimal mouse-hover feedback. All in all, I had lots difficulty filling out the form via a laptop browser, both technically & content-wise.
First click on the “Register now” link below to create an account.
You actually need to manually click on the “Get the verification code” link after filling-in your email address, to obtain the alphanumeric verification code. Note email is case sensitive, everything must be in lower case.
Check your inbox or spam folder for the verification email. Note the code is time-sensitive (10min) and can only be used once.
Once verified, you may login & complete basic personal information before applying for the health declaration form. Please note once select “foreign national”, you can no longer switch to “Chinese” (and vice-versa), also you cannot apply the HDC for other Chinese nationals either, though you may apply for other foreign nationals.
After completing the basic personal information, you’ll be asked for your COVID test results. Select the testing agency based on your situation. Please note Dynacare is listed in the list of options, but FH Health is not. I selected “Other institution or hospital recognized by the Government of Ontario (Consular district of the Chinese Consulate General in Toronto)” option:
Here is the available options for Toronto:
You then have to upload your test results (as a picture, so you need to convert the PDF to image, recommend .jpg). Note that you may upload multiple files. So I uploaded the result page (stating it’s negative) & personal info page (showing name & testing time)
It then asks for travel itinerary & certificate of residence. I basically uploaded my flight booking confirmation & driver license.
Once submitted, you’ll see an orange QR code. Then just be patient. I roughly submitted my application at 11am, and did not hear back until 6pm.
Here is the color coding for the QR code:
Health Declaration Form
Aside from the green HDC code above, you’ll also need to complete the health declaration form to obtain another set of barcode & QR code. Do not complete this form in advance, as it’ll only be valid for 24hr from the time of submission. Though you do need to complete this form before obtaining your boarding pass. I simply completed it at the counter, with the help from the agent.
Few things to note for this form:
- you need to provide a contact person who resides in China with his/her phone number.
- you need to provide an address in China
- you need to list all the countries/regions you visited in the last 14 days.
You’ll immediate receive a barcode & a QR code upon submission:
Based on my readings, screen capture this page, as you’ll be using this page over & over again upon your arrival in China.