China offers five-year visas to foreign permanent residents of Hong Kong, Macau

BEIJING – Foreigners who are permanent residents of Hong Kong and Macau and want to visit mainland China can apply for multiple-entry travel visas with a validity of five years, said China’s National Immigration Administration on July 1.

From July 10, foreign permanent residents of the two Chinese-ruled cities will be eligible to apply for such visas to enter the mainland, according to the administration.

Each stay shall not exceed 90 days.

Foreigners who are permanent residents and intending to work, study or engage in news reporting on the mainland must apply for other visas or residence permits, the administration said.

The move, announced on the 27th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to Chinese from British rule, is one of many steps taken since China reopened its borders post-Covid-19-pandemic to woo back foreign tourists and business travellers.

The special travel permit is also a reward for foreigners who are permanent residents in Macau and more so for Hong Kong, whose international appeal has waned due to criticism over the city’s handling of the pandemic and Beijing’s crackdown on street protesters from 2019 to 2020. REUTERS