Guangdong people to enjoy easier access to SARs

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 ◆ Guangdong people to enjoy easier access to SARs

Apart from retired government officials of county-level or above, all Guangdong residents above 60 or under 16 will soon need only their household registration when applying for travel documents to the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions (SARs).

According to China Daily, an official from the Exit and Entry Department under the Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Public Security said recently that the plan is designed to encourage more of the young and the elderly in Guangdong to visit the two SARs or to reunite with their family members there.

As a neighbour of Hong Kong and Macao, Guangdong has a large number of children and senior citizens whose parents or children are working in the SARs.

Currently people must provide company certificates or certificates from local police bureaux and public security departments to apply for travel documents to visit Hong Kong and Macao SARs.

The official said his department will simplify application procedures even more in the near future to encourage local residents to visit the SARs, the paper said.

Local residents with travel documents will not need approval from their work units or police bureaux if they wish to apply for a permit to visit Hong Kong and Macao for a second time.

To help handle urgent applications, a special "green counter" will be set up in every municipal exit and entry department, according to the official.

The travel documents of those who want to visit critically ill family members in Hong Kong and Macao will be approved in two working days, while those who want to participate in funeral ceremonies will be able to get their travel documents in three working days, the report said.