China immigration authorities issue new travel permit for Hong Kong and Macau residents

The Exit and Entry Administration of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) announced Monday the issuance of a new travel permit for non-Chinese citizens of Hong Kong and Macau to facilitate the travelling procedures for those entering mainland China.

According to a statement published by China’s National Immigration Administration, the new Mainland travel permit will apply to non-Chinese permanent residents in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macau Special Administrative Region starting July 10. From this date on, non-Chinese Macau and Hong Kong residents who desire to travel to the PRC for a short period either for business, tourism, seminars or other personal purposes, will be able to apply for the mentioned special permit after presenting the required documents to China Travel Service Holdings in Macau or Hong Kong.

The travel permit is valid for five years, hence allowing holders to travel to China several times but for a period that doesn’t exceed 90 days. However, if a traveller needs to extend his stay in the PRC for more than 90 days due to “force majeure or other justifiable reasons”, he can apply for an extension of his visit for up to 90 days with the Chinese local authorities.

The Chinese immigration administration further added in another statement that the new travel permit allows its holder to go through an e-channel service when entering China according to the Ministry of Public Security’s announcement regarding the fingerprints retention system for foreigners in 2017. The e-channel service is an automated border control system implemented by Hong Kong to speed up border control procedures for travellers.

Nevertheless, the statement specified that during his visit, the holder of the permit would not be allowed to work, study or “engage in news coverage activities” inside China. Additionally, the permit holder still has to register with the police when staying in China.

China’s National Immigration Administration asserted that the aim of this new measure is “to facilitate exchanges between mainland Chinese people and people in Hong Kong and Macau and to help Hong Kong and Macau better integrate into the overall national development”. It added that it will proceed with its efforts to “improve immigration management services to support the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and promote the integration of Hong Kong and Macao into the country’s overall development.”

The announcement of the travel permit comes a few days after Taiwan’s alert  to its citizens to avoid travelling to China, Macau or Hong Kong because of alleged mistreatment of Taiwanese travellers.