Hong Kong permanent residents book up service centre to get mainland travel permit

The online phase of the application process has been available since the policy was announced on July 1, but in-person appointments at centres to complete the process only launched last Wednesday.

The new permit will allow non-Chinese permanent residents of Hong Kong and Macau to visit the mainland for short-term investment, family trips, tourism, business, seminars and exchanges several times for a period of up to five years.

Permit holders can stay for up to 90 days on each trip and have self-service clearance at control checkpoints once they have their fingerprints taken at ports of entry.

But some of those going online to get the process started said they had had a hard time navigating the website.

Australian writer Aaron Busch, who writes on social media as Tripperhead, was among those who managed to get an appointment for Wednesday morning at the CTS centre in Mong Kok.

He said he was looking forward to travelling to Shanghai and Beijing on Hong Kong’s high-speed rail service.

“I’ve travelled to Guangzhou and Shenzhen in the past, before the pandemic, for holidays, but the visa process was expensive and cumbersome,” he added.

“This visa will be a game-changer in regards to visiting the mainland, and not just the Greater Bay Area.”

Busch said he at first struggled to find the application page on the CTS website when he tried on July 2, but found the rest of the process was smooth.

“The English version of the CTS website doesn’t mention the new visa at all,” he added. “And the phone number contact listed on the English website is no longer connected.

“It wasn’t confusing for me as I translated [the website], but it would have been very confusing for any non-Chinese reader.”

Busch also said the website at first told users to get a “Notice of Application for Access to Information” from the Immigration Department by fax or through an in-person appointment, as an online service only launched on July 3.

The document proves applicants’ Hong Kong permanent residency status and nationality information and is valid for six months before the permit application.

But Busch said the online application form was “fairly standard”.

He added that putting his wife down as an emergency contact had satisfied the requirement.

The Post also found that a reminder that the Mong Kok service centre was not equipped for people with mobility problems was only available in Chinese.

Candidates must fill in an application form and include a photo taken within the past six months as part of the process.

They are also required to have a Hong Kong permanent resident identity card, a passport valid for at least the next six months and a nationality certificate.

The first application will cost HK$260 (US$33), with renewals or replacements on the mainland costing 230 yuan (US$32).

CTS Hong Kong chairman Perry Yiu Pak-leung earlier said the permit would be issued within 20 working days after the application was accepted.