Zhuhai and Hengqin residents will be allowed to apply for multiple-entry permits for Macao starting from 1 December, the National Immigration Administration said in a statement published today.
Under the new arrangements, residents in neighbouring Zhuhai will be allowed to obtain a permit that will enable them to visit Macao once a week over the course of a year, with each stay limited to a maximum of seven days.
Hengqin residents, meanwhile, will be allowed to apply for a one-year multiple-entry permit, with which they can travel to Macao as many times as they want, although the limit for each stay is seven days.
[See more: Card-free immigration channels are coming to Gongbei and Shenzhen Bay]
A similar scheme also applies to Shenzhen residents who wish to visit Hong Kong. Residents of the mainland tech hub who hold the new one-year permit will be allowed unlimited entry into Hong Kong for 7-day stays.
The new announcement has been welcomed by Macao and Hong Kong authorities, who view the new arrangements as a boon to tourism.
The central government has unveiled a number of measures this year to help the tourism sectors in the SARs, including raising the duty-free threshold, expanding the number of mainland cities under the Individual Travel Scheme and introducing the Hengqin-Macao multiple-entry permits for tour groups.
