The Nanfang / Blog

New app gives waiting times at all Shenzhen-Hong Kong border crossings

Posted: 12/6/2013 11:00 am

This falls under the “extremely useful information” category: the Hong Kong government has just released a mobile application that shows users how long waits are at six border crossings between the SAR and Shenzhen.

There was once a day when an app like this wasn’t needed. Few Mainlanders had the ability to get into Hong Kong, and the crossings were relatively stable. But as the individual visitor scheme has expanded, more and more Mainland tourists have been flooding into Hong Kong. About 35 million Mainlanders visit per year, with that expected to increase to 50 million by 2015. This has meant waits at some border crossings – hello, Shenzhen Bay? – that are two and three hours long.

The app won’t win any awards for UI design, but it tells you what you need to know. It lists the wait at each border crossing in either direction, as well as the opening hours of each crossing.

The app also has the unfortunate name of HK ImmD. You can download it for iOS and Android.

(h/t @SlackerScholar)

Haohao

New visa laws to make life harder for illegal expats, easier for highly skilled ones

Posted: 07/3/2013 7:00 am

With its proximity to Hong Kong, Guangdong is a fairly easy place in which to work illegally. One can for example, hold a full-time job while on a business visa and do a visa turnaround at the border once a month. But under new exit and entry laws, foreigners caught working illegally are set to receive tougher punishments, Shenzhen Daily reports.

For the first time, foreigners can be detained for five to 15 days if they’re caught illegally living or working in China.

Illegal migrants can now be fined 5,000 yuan (US$794) to 20,000 yuan and face deportation under the new law. Their employers could be fined up to 100,000 yuan per individual illegal employee.

The new laws also include the creation of a “talent visa.” Overseas candidates with management experience at leading multinationals and top specialists in education and science are eligible to apply.

“Urgently needed” professionals, as stated in the law, will be able to apply for the new talent visa, which grants residency for up to five years, or multiple entries and stays of up to 180 days at a time.

Some 47,100 foreigners were caught violating the immigration law last year. You can increase your chances of avoiding this fate by following the advice in this extremely helpful article.

Haohao

Halleujah! Hong Kong passport stamps to be long gone from next month

Posted: 02/9/2013 8:09 am

Everybody who lives in the PRD knows how annoying it can be as your passport fills up with Hong Kong SAR stamps each time you cross the border.  But relief is on the way, as Hong Kong is phasing out the passport stamp in favour of a piece of paper.

From next month, passports will no longer be marked, and instead, travellers will be given a slip on entry outlining the terms and conditions of staying in the territory.

This will be a huge help, especially to laowai who frequently visit Hong Kong. It doesn’t take long to fill up a passport when Hong Kong issues two stamps on entry, and another on exit. Combined with mainland China’s entry and exit stamps, that’s five stamps per trip.

This writer’s passport was replaced within a year of living in the PRD. 25 trips to HK = a lot of stamps.

SCMP has more on how it will all work in the future:

The slip of computer-generated paper will carry the visitor’s name, travel document number, arrival date and the date the visitor permitted to remain until… Even if visitors lose the slip they will still be able to leave Hong Kong when they present their travel documents, because their information has been stored in the computer.

It’s a win for foreigners with more room for more travel in Hong Kong and elsewhere.

The Immigration Department, in a fine example of Hong Kong’s noted efficiency, says using the slip of paper will save each visitor 3 seconds when they cross the border.

Haohao
AROUND THE WEB
Keep in Touch

What's happening this week in Shenzhen, Dongguan and Guangzhou? Sign up to be notified when we launch the This Week @ Nanfang newsletter.

sign up for our newsletter

Nanfang TV