The Shenzhen International Travel Healthcare Center, Explained
The Shenzhen International Travel Healthcare Center (深圳国际旅行卫生保健中心) — also called the Shenzhen port hospital examination center — is where foreigners in Shenzhen complete the mandatory visa medical exam for a work or study residence permit. The exam site sits at No. 1, Huanggang Port Living Area, Futian District, minutes from the Hong Kong border. The basic exam is listed at around ¥480, and first-time X1 students on year-plus programs can have roughly ¥450 of that waived. Arrive fasting on a weekday morning with your passport, photocopies, and three photos.
Call ahead (0755-83774007 / 83774013), then go on a weekday between 08:00 and 11:00 to No. 1, Huanggang Port Living Area, Futian with your passport, copies of the photo/visa/entry-stamp pages, and three two-inch photos. Budget around ¥480 — or show your admission documents first if you're a first-time year-plus X1 student and most of it is waived. The circuit takes about an hour; the certificate follows in a few working days.
What the Shenzhen ITHC does
Like its counterparts in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Beijing, the Shenzhen center is the customs-affiliated clinic handling entry-exit health matters: the Foreigner Physical Examination Record (体检表) required for work and study residence permits, exit exams, travel vaccinations, and health consultations. The requirement itself, the form, and the national test panel are covered in our China visa medical exam guide — this page covers the Shenzhen specifics.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Exam site | No. 1, Huanggang Port Living Area, Futian District (bus: Fubin New Village) |
| Additional service point | Heping Building, 2047 Heping Road, Luohu District |
| Hotlines | 0755-83774007 · 0755-83774013 |
| Exam hours | Mon–Fri 08:00–11:00 (afternoon windows 14:00–16:00 for some services) |
| Basic exam fee | ~¥480 (planning figure; cashier's schedule prevails) |
Note the location quirk: the Huanggang site is in the port living area near the border crossing, and the nearest transit is by bus (Fubin New Village stop) rather than metro — allow extra time if you're used to Shenzhen's metro-everywhere geography.
Fees — and the student waiver
Shenzhen university guidance for international students lists the basic examination at about ¥480. The useful detail most people miss: first-time X1-visa students enrolled in programs longer than a year can present their admission documents at the cashier window before paying and have roughly ¥450 of the basic fee reduced — bringing the out-of-pocket close to zero for the standard panel. Extra tests and vaccinations are billed per item on top.
- Students: bring your admission letter (year-plus program) and JW201/JW202 form, and show them before paying.
- Workers: the standard fee applies; your employer's HR often books and sometimes reimburses — ask before you pay yourself. (Shenzhen's published figure sits alongside Shanghai's ≈¥500–600 and Guangzhou's ≈¥600 — the ¥1,400–2,100 schedules often quoted for those two cities are their US immigrant-visa panel fees, a different exam.)
Exam day: what to bring and what happens
- Passport — original, plus one copy each of the photo page, current visa page, and latest entry-stamp page.
- Photos — three two-inch (≈3.3×4.8 cm) color photos.
- Fasting — from the night before; water is fine. Blood is drawn first so you can eat right after.
- Category extras — admission letter + JW forms (students); work-permit notification letter (workers).
The panel is the national standard: internal medicine, ENT and dental checks, ECG, chest X-ray, abdominal ultrasound, and blood tests covering at least HIV and syphilis. You move station to station and are typically done in about an hour; the stamped certificate is ready for collection a few working days later. Aim to complete it well inside your first 30 days in China so your residence-permit filing isn't delayed.
Already examined abroad? Bring the record
If you completed a Foreigner Physical Examination Record in your home country — stamped, photo affixed, with the original X-ray, ECG, lab, and ultrasound reports — the Shenzhen center can review and convert it to a local certificate instead of repeating the exam. The center's own requirements prevail on the day: bring everything, and any missing item is simply examined on the spot.
Emigrating to the US? The exam is not in Shenzhen
Worth knowing before you book anything, because it costs people a wasted trip: the Shenzhen center does not appear on the US Consulate General's list of approved panel facilities. That list has only four entries for the whole of mainland China — the Guangzhou ITHC, the Beijing ITHC, the Shanghai International Travel Medical Center, and the IME Centre at Fuzhou University Affiliated Provincial Hospital. Exams done anywhere else are not accepted, and no amount of local paperwork substitutes.
For anyone in Shenzhen that means Guangzhou, at the center's Zhujiang New Town site in the Poly Building on Huali Road — roughly half an hour from Shenzhen North by high-speed rail, and a few minutes from the consulate itself. Immigrant-visa interviews for all of mainland China are held in Guangzhou, so most applicants are making that trip regardless; the practical move is to fit the medical to the interview date rather than doing it early, since an immigrant visa's expiry is normally set by the expiry of the medical report. The Guangzhou ITHC guide covers what that exam involves, what it costs, and what to bring.
None of this affects the Shenzhen exam described above, which is a different exam for a different purpose — a China residence permit. If you need both, you need both.
Make the fasting morning count
The ITHC exam is a compliance screen — it confirms you're fit for a residence permit, and says nothing about your cardiac risk, cancer markers, or metabolic health. Since you're already fasting in a city with excellent hospitals minutes from Hong Kong, many new arrivals pair it with a genuine comprehensive checkup in Shenzhen the same week — HKU–Shenzhen Hospital's English-friendly service at mainland prices is the headline option. If your employer is also arranging a hire screen, note the pre-employment 入职体检 is a separate, third exam. Whatever you book, ask for results in English.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Shenzhen International Travel Healthcare Center?
The foreigner physical examination center operates at No. 1, Huanggang Port Living Area, Futian District — near the Huanggang border crossing with Hong Kong; the closest bus stop is Fubin New Village. The center has also operated a Luohu service point at Heping Building, 2047 Heping Road. Consultation hotlines: 0755-83774007 and 0755-83774013. Confirm your assigned site when you book, as functions are split between locations.
How much does the Shenzhen visa medical exam cost?
University guidance for international students lists the basic medical examination at around ¥480. First-time X1-visa students enrolled for over a year can have roughly ¥450 of the basic fee waived by showing their admission documents at the cashier before paying — effectively reducing the basic exam to a nominal amount. Extra tests or vaccinations are billed separately. These are 2026 planning figures; the cashier's posted schedule prevails.
What documents do I need for the Shenzhen ITHC exam?
Bring your original passport plus copies of the photo page, current visa page, and latest entry-stamp page; three two-inch (roughly 3.3×4.8 cm) color photos; and for students, your admission letter showing a program over one year plus JW201/JW202 form. If you completed a Foreigner Physical Examination Record abroad, bring the stamped original and all reports — the center can verify and convert it instead of re-examining you.
What does the exam involve and when can I go?
The standard national panel: internal medicine, ENT and dental checks, ECG, chest X-ray, abdominal ultrasound, and blood tests including HIV and syphilis. Exam hours are generally Monday–Friday mornings, 08:00–11:00 (afternoon windows 14:00–16:00 handle some services). Arrive fasting, allow about an hour for the circuit, and collect the stamped health certificate a few working days later.
Can I use a medical exam done outside China instead?
Often, yes. If you already hold a completed Foreigner Physical Examination Record from your home country — stamped, with photo, and accompanied by the original lab, X-ray, ECG, and ultrasound reports — the Shenzhen center can review and convert it to a local certificate without repeating the exam. The center's own requirements prevail, so bring everything and be prepared for missing items to be examined on the spot.
Can I do a US immigrant-visa medical exam in Shenzhen?
No. The US Consulate General accepts immigrant-visa medicals from only four facilities in mainland China, and Shenzhen is not one of them — the list is the Guangzhou ITHC, the Beijing ITHC, the Shanghai International Travel Medical Center, and the IME Centre at Fuzhou University Affiliated Provincial Hospital. From Shenzhen the nearest is Guangzhou, about half an hour by high-speed rail, where the immigrant-visa interviews are held anyway. Exams performed by any other physician are not accepted.