Mainland Chinese holders of business visas for Hong Kong and Macau will be allowed to stay in both cities for an extra week from next month, with authorities expecting 100 million companies to benefit.
The change was among a range of measures announced by the mainland’s National Immigration Administration on Sunday to address the growing needs of cross-border firms and improve the business environment of the Greater Bay Area.
A host of measures were announced, taking effect on May 6, but the one expected to benefit the most mainlanders was the extension to the period of stay for business visa holders to Hong Kong and Macau. The maximum seven-day period per trip will be doubled to 14 days.
The authority’s deputy head of the entry-exit administrative department, Wang Ling, said the policy change was set to benefit 100 million individually owned firms, as well as staff from 30,000 companies who registered for multiple business visas.
The official said in a press conference on Sunday that the policy aimed to “better meet the needs” of businesses and help them better explore opportunities.
Could Hong Kong visa scheme for Shenzhen residents resurrect parallel trading?
Could Hong Kong visa scheme for Shenzhen residents resurrect parallel trading?
Instead of applying through local registration offices, mainlanders will soon be able to submit applications for one-off entry business visas at designated counters of public security branches across the country.
They can also apply for multiple-entry visas through “smart visa facilities” from May 6.
Authorities also announced that a visa scheme for mainland talent that was launched in February last year would be expanded to cover not only residents in the nine Guangdong province cities in the bay area, but also those in Beijing and Shanghai.
Talent in six fields including scientific research, education, healthcare, law and business will be able to apply for multi‑entry visas ranging from one to five years in length for stays in Hong Kong and Macau of up to 30 days each time.
The bay area is Beijing’s plan to integrate Hong Kong, Macau and nine mainland cities in the southern Guangdong province into an economic powerhouse.
