Packing list in Shanghai

For Shanghai

Season you arrive

Documents

Passport, with at least six months left on it
Visa or residence paperwork, printed and saved offline
Health or travel insurance documents
Certified copies of birth or marriage certificates, if family is coming
Degree certificate, apostilled or legalised (the work permit asks for it, and it is slow to arrange once you are here)
Criminal record certificate, apostilled or legalised
Spare passport photos on a white background (permit and SIM counters still ask)
Your address and employer's address written in Chinese characters

An unlocked or dual-SIM phone
Power bank
Laptop and charger
Plug adapters for Type A and I sockets (220V) (most wall plates also take two round pins)
A roaming eSIM from home for the first days (many foreign services are unreachable on a domestic connection; ask your employer what it provides)

Prescription medication for the first three months, with the prescription
Antihistamines and a basic first-aid kit
Generic names of your regular medicines, written down (brand names differ and some drugs are not sold here)
Well-fitting masks for poor-air days

Light layers
Shoes you can walk a city in
One set of interview or office clothes
Thermals and indoor layers (south of the Huai River homes have no central heating, only air-conditioning units)

Packing for Shanghai · Autumn0/270% packed.