← Nigerians in Shenzhen Emergency

If you are in trouble

Call first, read second. These numbers work from any phone in China, including one with no credit and no SIM.

Chinese emergency lines

Nigerian mission in China

Show this to someone

Hold the phone up. Point at the line you need.

我需要帮助。

Wǒ xūyào bāngzhù.

I need help.

请叫救护车。

Qǐng jiào jiùhùchē.

Please call an ambulance.

我要联系我的领事馆。

Wǒ yào liánxì wǒ de lǐngshìguǎn.

I want to contact my consulate.

我不会说中文，请找会说英语的人。

Wǒ bú huì shuō zhōngwén, qǐng zhǎo huì shuō yīngyǔ de rén.

I don't speak Chinese. Please find someone who speaks English.

What has happened?

I have lost my passport

You need a police loss report before the Consulate can issue anything. Get it first, on the same day if you can.

  1. Go to the nearest police station and report the loss. Ask for the written loss certificate (报案回执, bàoàn huízhí). You cannot replace the passport without it.
  2. Contact the Consulate-General in Guangzhou to start an Emergency Travel Certificate or passport replacement. Take the loss certificate, photographs, and any copy of the old passport you have.
  3. Report to the Exit-Entry Administration of the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau. Your residence permit or visa was inside the lost passport and has to be reissued into the new one.
  4. Tell NIS. We have members who have done this and can go with you.

Do not

  • Do not wait to see if it turns up. The visa reissue clock starts at the police report.
  • Do not travel within China without documents, because hotels cannot check you in.

I have been stopped or detained by police

Stay calm and cooperative. You have the right to contact your consulate, and you can ask for an interpreter.

  1. Give your name and hand over your passport or residence permit if asked. Carrying it is a legal requirement.
  2. Say clearly, in English or Mandarin: "I want to contact my consulate." (我要联系我的领事馆, wǒ yào liánxì wǒ de lǐngshìguǎn.) Repeat it, calmly, until it is written down.
  3. Ask for an interpreter before you sign anything. Do not sign a document you cannot read.
  4. Call the NIS welfare line, or ask someone to. Give them the station name and your location.

Do not

  • Do not argue, raise your voice, or walk away from an officer.
  • Do not sign a statement in Chinese that has not been translated for you.

I am in hospital, or someone with me is

Call 120 for an ambulance. Chinese hospitals take payment up front, which is normal here, so money is the first thing to sort out.

  1. Call 120. If you cannot speak, call 110 and they will route it.
  2. Go to a hospital with an international department if you have the choice. Shenzhen has several with English-speaking staff.
  3. Expect to pay a deposit before treatment begins. Bring a phone with WeChat Pay or Alipay, or a bank card. If you cannot pay, say so immediately and call NIS.
  4. Keep every receipt and the discharge summary. Insurance and school reimbursement both depend on them.

I have been robbed, assaulted or scammed

Report it to the police the same day. A late report is much harder to act on.

  1. Call 110, or go to the nearest police station. Shenzhen has street-level police posts in most districts.
  2. Ask for the written case receipt. You will need it for your bank, your insurer and your school.
  3. If money left your account, call your bank immediately and freeze the card. WeChat Pay and Alipay both have in-app fraud reporting.
  4. Tell NIS. If it is a scam pattern we have seen before, we can warn the community the same week.

Do not

  • Do not chase or confront anyone. Report it and let the police work.