Foreigner Physical Exam 2027 / 2028: Form & Tests | CSP

The Foreigner Physical Examination Form 2027 (外国人体格检查表) is China's official, legally mandated health verification document required for every international student applying for a Fully Funded CSC Scholarship 2027 / 2028, Silk Road Scholarship, or self-funded degree admission across Chinese universities. Administered under the joint supervision of China's Ministry of Education and the General Administration of Customs (Health Quarantine Bureau), this rigorous medical screening confirms that incoming foreign scholars are free from infectious, communicable, and severe chronic medical disorders that forbid entry under Chinese immigration law. Because an incomplete medical form or missing hospital stamp is the #1 administrative reason applications are rejected during initial document screening, China Scholarships Portal has compiled this definitive, step-by-step clinical and procedural blueprint.

Why Do Chinese Universities & CSC Mandate the Physical Examination?

Under the Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China and international health quarantine treaties, the Chinese government safeguards public health by screening all foreign nationals intending to reside in China for more than 180 days (such as long-term degree students holding an X1 Student Visa). Top universities—including C9 League institutions such as Tsinghua University, Peking University, Zhejiang University, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University—enforce strict adherence to ensure incoming scholars can withstand the academic and climate demands of university life in China.

Specifically, the examination evaluates whether an applicant carries any condition that strictly forbids entry into China, such as:

• Active Communicable Diseases: Untreated pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), untreated syphilis, active cholera, plague, or infectious viral diseases.
• Severe Psychosocial & Mental Health Disorders: Severe psychoses, schizophrenia, or behavioral conditions that require institutional psychiatric care.
• Severe Cardiac & Organ Failure: Uncompensated heart failure, chronic end-stage kidney failure, or acute conditions preventing routine academic attendance.

Page-by-Page Breakdown of the Foreigner Physical Examination Form

The standard official document is an exact 2-page bilingual form (Page 1 and Page 2). Both pages must be completed in English or Chinese by an authorized medical professional. Below is the precise clinical breakdown of each section:

Page 1: Personal Demographic Details & Physical Screening

• Demographic Information: Full legal name (must match your international passport character-for-character), Sex, Date of Birth, Birthplace, Nationality, Current Occupation, and Present Address.
• Passport Photograph & Cross-Stamp: You must paste a recent, color 2-inch passport-sized photograph (white background). Crucial: The examining hospital must stamp their official circular red or blue hospital seal overlapping the photo and the paper (half on the photo, half on the form). An unstamped photo is deemed fraudulent.
• Medical History Checkboxes: The doctor must record answers for historical infectious conditions including Typhus fever, Poliomyelitis, Diphtheria, Scarlet fever, Relapsing fever, Typhoid and Paratyphoid, and Epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis. In healthy candidates, all boxes should be checked "No" (None).
• General Physical Examination: Vital signs including Height (cm), Weight (kg), Blood Pressure (mmHg), Nutritional development, Vision (Right & Left, both uncorrected and corrected), Color vision (testing for color blindness), Hearing (ears), Nose, Tonsils, Heart rate/murmurs, Lungs, Abdomen, Spine, Extremities, and Nervous system. Each line item must be explicitly marked "Normal" or "Negative". Leaving any blank empty invalidates the document.

Page 2: Diagnostic Radiology, Cardiology & Blood Serology

Page 2 contains the specialized laboratory panels that require formal diagnostic equipment:

• 1. Chest X-Ray Examination (胸部X线检查): Evaluates your lungs and thoracic cavity to rule out active pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), lung lesions, or pleural effusion. The doctor must write a summary remark (e.g., "Lungs clear, normal heart and diaphragm, no active TB detected"), sign the section, and provide the attached X-Ray film report.
• 2. Electrocardiograph / ECG (心电图): Evaluates cardiac electrical activity and rhythm to rule out severe arrhythmias, myocardial ischemia, or conduction blockages. The doctor must write "Normal Sinus Rhythm, normal ECG" and provide the accompanying graphical ECG strip printout.
• 3. Laboratory Blood Serology Tests (化验室检查): This section requires blood draw analysis:
  • HIV 1/2 Antibody Test (艾滋病病毒抗体): Must be explicitly recorded as Negative.
  • Syphilis Serology (梅毒血清试验 - RPR, VDRL, or TPPA): Must be explicitly recorded as Negative.
  • Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (乙型肝炎表面抗原 - HBsAg) & Liver Function: Routine screening for Hepatitis B and ALT/AST transaminase enzymes.
• 4. Final Medical Conclusion (检查结论): The physician must write an unambiguous overall fitness assessment, such as "Fit for higher education studies in China; no communicable or mental diseases found."
• 5. Official Physician Signature & Institutional Hospital Seal: The examining doctor must sign with their legal name, record their medical license registration number, write the date of examination, and affix the official circular hospital seal (医院公章) directly over the signature section.

The Crucial 2-Stamp Hospital Seal Protocol

Over 60% of international applicants make fatal errors regarding the placement and type of hospital stamps. Pay meticulous attention to these non-negotiable rules:

• Stamp #1 (The Photo Overlap Cross-Stamp on Page 1): When you paste your passport photograph in the upper right box of Page 1, the hospital administrative desk or doctor must press the circular hospital seal so that approximately 50% of the stamp impression covers your photograph and 50% covers the paper form. This prevents candidates from swapping photographs after medical clearance.
• Stamp #2 (The Institutional Seal on Page 2): At the conclusion of Page 2, the hospital must place their primary administrative circular seal directly over the hospital address and physician signature block.
• Acceptable Stamp Shapes & Ink: The seal must be a formal circular institutional hospital seal (round stamp) in red or dark blue indelible ink. Rectangular doctor name-slips, personal rubber stamps, or signature stamps without the hospital's institutional authority will lead to immediate disqualification by the Chinese embassy.

Mandatory Laboratory Attachments Checklist

Never submit the 2-page Foreigner Physical Examination form alone! Top Chinese universities require you to attach the official original diagnostic laboratory printouts issued by the hospital. Below is the complete mandatory attachment checklist:

Which Hospitals Are Accepted? (Hospital Selection Strategy)

You cannot walk into any neighborhood clinic or private pharmacy to complete this examination. To ensure your medical certificate is respected by the China Scholarship Council, Chinese provincial education bureaus, and consular visa officers, adhere to this selection hierarchy:

• Best Choice (Recommended): Public District / Government Teaching Hospitals: Any major state-run, government district headquarters hospital (DHQ), central civil hospital, or university medical college hospital. These institutions have integrated radiology, cardiology, and pathology laboratories, and possess official round seals registered with state authorities.
• Acceptable Choice: Accredited Private Polyclinics: Large, nationally accredited private hospital chains with comprehensive laboratory diagnostic wings and official round administrative seals.
• Strictly Prohibited & Rejected:
  • Small private home-clinics or single-room doctor dispensaries.
  • Diagnostic standalone labs that only do blood tests but have no doctor to complete the general physical exam.
  • Forms stamped with a doctor's personal rectangular prescription stamp instead of the hospital's institutional seal.

The Strict 6-Month Validity Rule & Strategic Timing Window

The Foreigner Physical Examination Record has a strict statutory validity period of exactly 6 calendar months (180 days) from the date of the hospital stamp. This time constraint creates a critical dilemma for international applicants that requires precise strategic planning:

Step-by-Step Hospital Walkthrough: What to Bring & What to Do

1. Download & Print: Download the official bilingual Foreigner Physical Examination Form (PDF) from ChinaScholarships.org. Print 2 copies on clean A4 white paper (print Page 1 and Page 2 front-and-back or as 2 crisp single sheets).
2. Preparation (Fasting): Fast for at least 8 to 12 hours before visiting the hospital (drink only water). Fasting is mandatory for accurate blood glucose and liver enzyme (ALT/AST) testing.
3. What to Carry: Carry your original international passport, 2 recent passport-sized photos (white background), and your printed blank forms.
4. Visit the Pathology Lab: Request the blood panel: HIV 1/2 antibody screen, Syphilis serology (VDRL/RPR), and Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg).
5. Visit Radiology & Cardiology: Undergo the posteroanterior (PA) chest X-Ray and a standard 12-lead resting Electrocardiogram (ECG).
6. General Physical Checkup: Present the form and diagnostic reports to the examining physician. Ensure the doctor methodically fills out every line on Page 1 (vision, hearing, blood pressure, heart, lungs, extremities) and writes "Normal" or "Negative".
7. Affix the Final Verdict & Signatures: Ensure the doctor writes a clear statement on Page 2 ("Fit for higher education in China; free from quarantine communicable diseases"), signs their full name, and dates the document.
8. The Administrative Round Stamp: Take the completed form to the hospital administrative office or medical superintendent desk. Have them stamp the official circular seal overlapping your passport photo on Page 1, and stamp the bottom of Page 2 next to the doctor's signature.
9. Collect Original Lab Sheets: Ensure you leave the hospital with the original printed lab reports for blood tests, ECG wave strip, and chest X-Ray radiologist summary.

How to Prepare and Upload the File to the CSC & University Portals

When applying on the official CSC Online Application System (Campuschina.org) or individual Chinese university admission portals (e.g., Zhejiang, Tsinghua, Harbin Institute of Technology), you must submit a single, pristine digital file:

• Scan at 300 DPI: Use a flatbed scanner or a high-quality document scanner app (such as Adobe Scan or CamScanner with no watermarks) in clear color mode. Never take angled, shadowy photos with your phone.
• Merge into a Single Multi-Page PDF: Combine your documents in the exact following chronological sequence:
  • Page 1: Foreigner Physical Examination Form (Page 1 with stamped passport photo).
  • Page 2: Foreigner Physical Examination Form (Page 2 with doctor signature and hospital round seal).
  • Page 3: Official Chest X-Ray radiologist diagnostic report sheet.
  • Page 4: Printed 12-lead ECG rhythm strip with physician remark.
  • Page 5: Official laboratory blood test report sheet (HIV, Syphilis, Hepatitis B).
• Optimize File Size: The CSC portal enforces a strict 3MB per document file limit. Compress the merged PDF so that it stays between 1.5MB and 2.8MB while retaining high text sharpness and stamp legibility.
• Retain Originals Safely: Crucial: Keep the original hardcopy stamped form, laboratory blood printouts, ECG strips, and X-ray film sheets in a waterproof document folder. You must bring the physical originals with you to China for post-arrival customs clearance!

Post-Arrival Health Verification at China's Entry-Exit Quarantine Bureau

Many international students mistakenly believe that their medical obligations end once their Chinese student visa is issued. In reality, upon landing in China on an X1 student visa, Chinese law mandates that you convert your visa into an official Foreigner Residence Permit (居留许可) within exactly 30 calendar days.

During your first week on campus, your host university's International Student Office (ISO) will schedule your visit to the municipal Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau (出入境检验检疫局), also operating as the International Travel Healthcare Center (国际旅行卫生保健中心):

• Scenario A: Overseas Form Fully Endorsed (Best Case): If your overseas Foreigner Physical Examination form was properly stamped with overlapping round seals, contains all 3 original attached lab reports, and is within its 6-month validity window, the Chinese health quarantine officers will accept and endorse your form. They will issue your official Foreigner Health Certificate (健康证明) upon payment of a nominal administrative verification fee of approximately 60 to 100 RMB.
• Scenario B: Incomplete Overseas Form (Penalty Case): If your form lacks the stamp over the photo, omitted the attached blood lab report, or exceeded the 6-month cutoff, the quarantine authority will reject your overseas paperwork. You will be required to strip down and undergo the complete, exhaustive physical examination, blood draw, and chest X-ray on-site in China, costing approximately 400 to 600 RMB (~$60 to $85 USD) out of pocket.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - Foreigner Physical Examination Form