Foreigners looking to register their accommodation details in Beijing can save time by using the nearest community help center, the capital's public security bureau said on Tuesday.

Under Chinese law, overseas residents need to register at a police station within 24 hours of arriving in the city.

However, officials are urging people to instead use one of the 50 police service centers that have been in operation since the end of November.

"The help centers, which can be found in every community where there are foreign residents, can provide the registration service, making it easier and simpler," said Lin Song, a senior officer at the public security bureau's exit-entry administration.

Previously, some residents had complained that they were unable to complete their accommodation registration fast enough, either because they were unable to communicate in Chinese or the police station was hard to find.

"Now it's easy for foreigners to find the registering place and save time," Lin said.

So far, the police help centers have handled about 38,000 foreign accommodation registrations, according to the public security bureau's website.

Each service center is equipped with advanced devices and professional staff trained in handling foreign affairs, said the statement.

Lin added that the bureau plans to extend the number of offices to 200 by the end of the year.

Liu Baoru, director of foreign affairs for the Huaqingyuan community police help center in Haidian district, said they can deal with about 6,000 accommodation registrations a year.

"We ask foreign residents to do the accommodation registration with their landlords first and prepare all materials, including passports, when they come to our office," Liu said, adding it only takes two or three minutes to finish a registration.

The community, located near many colleges and a commercial zone, has nearly 9,000 residents and more than 1,500 are foreigners from more than 40 countries, he said.

He also said most foreigners are students, so the peak season of registration is the time after summer and winter holidays.

The center has been equipped with advanced devices, including passport scanners and printers, and its computers can share foreigners' information with the bureau, he said.

"As foreigners register here, I'll also tell them to pay attention to their visa deadline and check their previous accommodation information after they come back to Beijing," he said, adding that he can help more than 100 foreign residents with registrations on a busy day.

The community also posted registration notices in different languages, including English and Korean, and provided Chinese training for foreigners, said Wang Lili, who is in charge of Huaqingyuan community.

Last year, Wang found a Japanese man in his 70s who had not applied for the registration, as he learned Chinese in the community. She took the man, who came to Beijing to visit his relatives, to the police office and helped him to finish the registration.

"Language can't block communication between our staff and foreigners, because most foreign students know basic Chinese, and we also have social workers or volunteers to do explanations of the registration," she said. If staff members cannot explain the regulation or law to foreigners, they will take them to nearest exit-entry administration office to ask for help, she added.

Pui Ki-huang, 26, a student from the United States, who studies at Tsinghua University and rents a room in Haidian district, said she welcomed the service and will try it the next time she returns to China.

"I registered the accommodation in the district's Wudaokou police station. I think the registration in the community will bring much convenience," she said.

Jeremy Goldkorn, a resident from South Africa and CEO of Danwei Consulting in Beijing, also thought the office can help foreigners, but added: "The real problem is the authority didn't publish and make it known to all foreign residents and the communication is still another problem."

The centers are one of seven measures introduced by the police since earlier this month to make it easier for foreigners living in the capital, Lin said.

The exit-entry administration has sent text messages to 5,812 foreigners to remind them that their visa is expired and made face-to-face explanations more than 8,000 times, a statement on the public security bureau website added.

Contact the writer at caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn