The Macau government has announced that from today eligible border crossers can pass border controls at the Macau-mainland joint checkpoint on Zhuhai’s Hengqin island without having to present their travel documents when using e-channels where they are now only required to pass fingerprint scans and facial recognition.
The new measure to be implemented at the Hengqin joint checkpoint from today was announced in a joint statement by the Public Security Police (PSP) and the Macau Public Security Forces Affairs Bureau (DSFSM) on Monday.
Since November last year, eligible border crossers have been able to pass e-channels at Zhuhai’s Gongbei checkpoint without having to present their travel documents where they are only required to pass fingerprint scans and facial recognition. The Gongbei checkpoint is the first mainland-Macau border checkpoint to implement such a measure.
While the Hengqin checkpoint is a Macau-mainland joint checkpoint where border crossers are required to pass border controls only once, Gongbei is not a joint checkpoint, with its counterpart on the Macau side being the Barrier Gate checkpoint.
The Hengqin checkpoint has now become the first Macau-mainland joint checkpoint where eligible border crossers can pass e-channels without having to present their travel documents.
After border crossers en route to the mainland complete their departure formalities at Macau’s Barrier Gate checkpoint, they are required to pass through an “in-between area” before entering Zhuhai’s Gongbei checkpoint where they need to complete their arrival formalities, and vice versa.
Three of Macau’s land border checkpoints with Zhuhai are Macau-mainland joint checkpoints, where the “joint inspection and one-time release” system is operating, namely the Macau-Zhuhai checkpoint of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB), the Hengqin checkpoint, and the Qingmao pedestrian border checkpoint.
The “joint inspection and one-time release” model is a joint Macau-mainland immigration clearance system adopted at Macau-mainland joint checkpoints where border crossers are required to pass border controls only once when completing their departure and arrival formalities.
Monday’s PSP-DSFSM joint statement said that 48 e-channels at the Hengqin checkpoint’s pedestrian immigration hall have been upgraded to include a new function, enabling eligible border crossers, starting today, to pass border controls without having to present travel documents where they are now only required to pass fingerprint scans and facial recognition.
According to the statement, 16 e-channels at the Hengqin checkpoint’s immigration clearance hall for vehicle passengers have also been upgraded to include the new function.
The 106-square-kilometre Hengqin island in Zhuhai City is officially known as Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.
The statement also said that the launch of the new measure at the Hengqin checkpoint is the “fruitful result” of the close communication and practical cooperation between Macau’s police, Zhuhai’s immigration authorities, and the In-Depth Cooperation Zone’s authorities.
The statement also said that 46 additional e-channels equipped with the new function will be installed at the Hengqin checkpoint’s pedestrian immigration hall next year.
As the new function has been launched only for the Hengqin joint checkpoint, border crossers, when using the other two Macau-mainland joint checkpoints’ e-channels, namely the HZMB Macau-Zhuhai checkpoint and the Qingmao checkpoint, are still required to have their travel documents scanned first, after which they are required to pass fingerprint scans and facial recognition.
Monday’s statement also pointed out that from today, border crossers using the Hengqin checkpoint’s e-channels can choose to continue presenting their travel documents instead of using the new function.
The new function at the Hengqin checkpoint covers Macau residents (including non-Chinese nationals), Hong Kong residents (including non-Chinese nationals), mainlanders, and residents of China’s Taiwan region.
The statement said that only those aged 14 or over are eligible to use the new function at the Hengqin checkpoint’s e-channels.
Those wishing to use the new function are required to register first. Those aged 18 or over, according to the statement, can choose to register for the new function at the Hengqin checkpoint’s e-channels when having their travel documents scanned there while passing border controls. Next time, they can pass the e-channels without having to have their travel documents scanned anymore. Alternatively, they can choose not to register for the new function, in which case they will be required to continue presenting their travel documents every time they go through the e-channels.
Those aged 14 between 17, according to the statement, are required to visit one of the various PSP service points, including the one at the Hengqin checkpoint, with their parents to register for the new function. Afterwards, they are still required to do the same step as those aged 18 or over in order to use the new function.
Monday’s statement did not mention when exactly the new measure at the Hengqin checkpoint is scheduled to start today. However, a PSP spokesperson told the Post over the phone yesterday that the new function was to start at 00:00 a.m. today.
Monday’s PSP-DSFSM joint statement came after the National Immigration Administration (NIA) announced various new immigration measures on its website earlier that day, including those aimed at benefitting the development of Hong Kong and Macau.
One of the various NIA new measures is scheduled to start today, according to which a new function can be launched for various checkpoints in the Chinese mainland enabling eligible border crossers to pass e-channels without having to present their travel documents where they will only have to pass fingerprint scans and facial recognition. These checkpoints include several Hong Kong-Shenzhen land border checkpoints as well as Zhuhai’s Hengqin checkpoint and HZMB checkpoint.
The PSP spokesperson clarified to the Post yesterday that for the time being, initially the new function will only be implemented at the Hengqin checkpoint from today, while it will only get off the ground at the HZMB Macau-Zhuhai checkpoint some time afterwards, i.e., after the future completion of the upgrade of the e-channels there.
This undated handout photo released on Monday shows two Macau Public Security Forces Affairs Bureau (DSFSM) officers testing a newly upgraded e-channel equipped with the new function at the Hengqin checkpoint. – Photo: PSP/DSFSM
