From 6 May, mainland Chinese visitors will be able to make multiple trips between Hengqin and Macao over a seven-day period, with a special endorsement to their visas. The announcement from the National Immigration Administration was reported in Macau Post Daily.
Macao’s travel industry has been lobbying for such visas so tourists can take advantage of more affordable hotel accommodation in Hengqin – a district of the neighbouring mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai.
Holders of business visas will be meanwhile able to stay for up to 14 days from the present 7, while a special category of one-year visa will allow mainland Chinese to make multiple entries to the SAR for medical, cultural and other purposes.
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In addition, residents of Beijing and Shanghai will be able to join a professional visa scheme that permits eligible applicants to make multiple trips to Macao and Hong Kong over a period of up to five years, staying for up to 30 days each time, if they work in approved fields such as education, law, and scientific research, among others. The scheme has been running on a trial basis for residents of cities in the Greater Bay Area since last February.
Application channels for visas will also be streamlined, officials said.
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng said the new measures would be a boon for Macao’s tourism industry and economic development, and help the SAR’s integration with the mainland.
