China has reduced the application fees for its citizens who wish to apply for travel documents to Hong Kong and Macau, and for mainland Chinese passports, according to an announcement by the country’s National Immigration Administration. The measures will enter into force on July 1.
Originally, the application fee for a Hong Kong or Macau travel document was RMB80. The new price will be set at RMB60.
A Chinese passport can also be used by mainland citizens to visit Macau. Mainlanders using their passport to visit Macau are granted a seven-day stay each time they have a layover in the SAR when traveling from the mainland to a third country, or when returning from a third country back to mainland China.
The application fee for this document will be reduced from RMB160 to RMB120.
In 2018, China issued more than 100 million entry-exit travel documents to its own residents. In the same year, China processed a total of 97.21 million applications for passports, Hong Kong and Macau visas, and Taiwan visas, representing an increase of 12.6 percent.
According to the mainland immigration authority, the fee reduction will benefit a total of 65 million people each year.
This year, mainland China eased several entry-exit measures for its residents, including allowing many residents to apply for travel documents, such as Hong Kong and Macau travel permits, in any mainland Chinese city rather than only in their hometown.
Except for mainland tourists who traveled to Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, there were about 71.25 million trips to overseas countries in 2018.
The fee reduction will not necessarily lead to more mainlanders visiting Macau, because the fee reduction does not ease visa endorsement policies for mainland tourists. JZ
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