A new express border inspection channel will open at Shenzhen Bay at which Hong Kong residents can enter Mainland China without providing physical entry documents. The checkpoint, which will open on November 20, 2024, is part of a trial programme to speed up the customs clearance process for frequent travellers between Hong Kong and the Mainland.
The National Immigration Administration announced that Hongkongers aged over 14 years old with a valid Mainland travel document — which includes the travel permit for non-Chinese Hong Kong residents — may use this document-free channel as long as they agree to biometric data such as fingerprints and facial scans being collected and verified by border inspection officials.
The new measure also allows Macau residents document-free entry to China via the Gongbei checkpoint in Zhuhai. It even applies to Mainland residents aged over 14 with a valid multiple-entry travel permit for Hong Kong and Macau as long as they make trips for family visits and business reasons.
From July this year, Hong Kong Permanent Residents of non-Chinese origin have been able to apply for multiple-entry permits to enter Mainland China that are valid for five years and can be used for visits lasting up to 90 days for tourism, family visits, and business purposes such as investment and seminars. This is meant to be an alternative to the HKSAR Re-entry Permit, also known as a Home Permit, which can only be obtained by Chinese citizens who have either acquired the right of abode or been granted unconditional stay in Hong Kong.
There have been several new measures designed to make travel between Hong Kong and Mainland China easier, most notably the launch of overnight High Speed Rail services between Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai that substantially cut down travel time between the three cities. In addition, there are several long-term plans to build new railway lines and MTR stations to link Hong Kong and Shenzhen over the next two decades.
Image credits: bingfengwu via Canva, QINGFATTIEAM 2002 via WikiCommons
