The first batch of Mainland Travel Permits were doled out on Wednesday, granting 23 non-Chinese permanent residents of Macao the right to visa-free travel between the SAR and mainland China.
Eleven of the 23 permits went to Portuguese nationals, with the rest distributed between citizens of Canada, the Philippines and Vietnam, according to TDM.
China Travel Service (CTS), which is in charge of processing the permits, said it had received 1,700 online applications from Macao residents since the scheme launched on 10 July – though that figure could be an undercount as eligible people had been encouraged to apply in person.
[See more: What to know about the Mainland Travel Permit for non-Chinese permanent residents of Macao and Hong Kong]
CTS representative Conny Chan told TDM that 700 applications had already been processed. She noted that the majority of applicants were Malaysian nationals, with the remainder made up mainly of Portuguese and Filipinos.
According to the Identification Service Bureau, there are about 19,500 people in Macao eligible for Mainland Travel Permits. Until the introduction of the permit scheme, the majority of them could only travel to the mainland after obtaining entry visas.
The scheme is also available to non-Chinese permanent residents of Hong Kong.
Each permit is valid for five years and enables bearers to engage in activities such as tourism, business, visiting family and seminars in the mainland. The Exit and Entry Administration of China has said the scheme was designed “to help Hong Kong and Macao better integrate into the overall national development.”
