All Hong Kong residents with foreign passports, irrespective of whether they have permanent or non-permanent status, can apply for five-year multiple-entry visas to visit Mainland China. The visas will allow visitors to stay in the Mainland for up to six months at a time for tourism, business and family visits, as well as cultural and academic exchanges. Previously, non-permanent Hong Kong residents could apply for Mainland Chinese visas that were valid for a maximum of two years.

The announcement was made by Hong Kong leader John Lee on Wednesday as part of his annual policy address, and further details were released by the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday. In addition, applicants no longer need to provide proof of round-trip tickets and hotel reservations, and those who previously obtained visas from overseas authorities are not required to get fingerprinted when applying from Hong Kong.

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“Mainland

Earlier this year, Mainland authorities announced that all Hong Kong permanent residents can 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. Since late 2023, the Mainland Chinese government began to relax entry requirements for certain foreign nationals by now allowing them to stay in any city in Mainland China for up to 15 days without a visa until December 31, 2025. The list has since grown to include 21 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland.

Header image credits: Liufuyu via Canva

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From the Middle East to the Far East and a couple of places in between, Anjali has lived in no fewer than seven cities in Asia, and has travelled extensively in the region. She worked as a lifestyle journalist in India before coming to Hong Kong, where her favourite thing to do is island-hopping with her daughter. You can check out her musings on motherhood, courtesy her Instagram profile.