Eligible foreign nationals can now enter the nine Guangdong Greater Bay Area (GBA) cities as well as Shantou city in the neighbouring province from Hong Kong or Macau without the need to obtain a visa beforehand as long as they are members of a tour group, in which case they can stay for up to 144 hours (six days), according to local Chinese-language media reports earlier this week.
The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) comprises the two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, and the nine cities of Dongguan, Foshan, Guangzhou, Huizhou, Jiangmen, Shenzhen, Zhaoqing, Zhongshan and Zhuhai in Guangdong province. Shantou on the eastern coast of Guangdong is a special economic zone.
According to the media reports, the “regional visa-free” measure, which started early this month, was rolled out by the National Immigration Administration (NIA), a sub-ministry level executive agency administrated by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS).
The new measure only benefits those from countries that have diplomatic relations with China, and only those who join tour groups organised by registered travel agencies in either Hong Kong or Macau are eligible for the measure, according to the media reports.
During their up-to-144-hour visa-free stay, the beneficiaries are not allowed to travel outside the nine Guangdong GBA cities or Shantou city, the reports said.
