Hong Kong immigration authorities have received about 10,000 applications for a special certificate that permanent residents with foreign passports need when applying for a new multi-entry mainland China travel permit.
The department said on Thursday that it had allocated additional staff to work overtime to help ensure it could issue residents with the “Notice of Application for Access to Information” within 10 days.
The notice is one several documents applicants need to obtain the travel permit issued by China Travel Service (Hong Kong).
Applications opened on Wednesday and, as of the previous day, the Immigration Department received about 10,000 requests for the notice.
Announced on July 1, the new permit allows non-Chinese permanent residents of Hong Kong and Macau to visit the mainland for short-term purposes such as investment, family trips, tourism, business, seminars and exchanges multiple times over a period of up to five years.
Permit holders can stay for up to 90 days on each trip and use self-service mechines at border crossings once they have their fingerprints taken at a port of entry.
As of June, there were about 270,000 non-Chinese Hong Kong permanent residents.
The notice of application for access to information proves permanent residency status and nationality information. It is valid for six months.
Candidates must also fill out an application form for the permit and include a photo of themselves taken within the past six months.
Applicants are required to present their Hong Kong permanent resident identity card, a passport valid for at least six months and a nationality certificate.
