Beijing is to offer five-year travel permits to non-Chinese Hong Kong permanent residents. Such travel permits can be applied starting from July 10, 2024, which will allow them to stay on the mainland for up to 90 days per visit. 

The initiative is part of China’s ongoing efforts to streamline immigration processes and foster greater integration of Hong Kong and Macao with the mainland, particularly within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). Foreign residents of Hong Kong will be able to visit the mainland more easily.

Currently, Hong Kong residents who are Chinese are able to pass immigration into the mainland of China through faster channels with what’s colloquially referred to as a ‘Home Return Permit’ card. Soon, non-Chinese Hong Kong residents will also be able to use self-service immigration gates with the new mainland travel permit card for more direct and time-saving entry into the mainland.

"Beijing's latest announcement is a pleasant surprise and a benevolent gesture that will make Hongkongers of non-Chinese ethnicity feel more welcome, accepted and seen by the country. “ said by Manoj Dhar, the co-founder and CEO of Integrated Brilliant Education. “We have been curating immersive experiences and visits to the mainland for Hong Kong's non-ethnic Chinese children and youth on a yearly basis. The beneficiaries found these trips to be most educational and enlightening, enabling them to better learn about China, which Hong Kong is part of, and appreciate Chinese culture.

“Our next undertaking is to encourage and nurture non-Chinese permanent residents, whether South Asian or otherwise, to read, write and speak Cantonese and Mandarin, similar to what the Hong Kong government encourages the population to do. This will reinforce Hong Kong's identity and status as a truly global city.” mentioned by Joseph Chan, a financial services veteran in the Belt and Road development and is chair of the Silk Road Economic Development Research Center think tank.