Shenzhen residents who have no Guangdong hukou will be able to apply for individual visits to Hong Kong from Dec 15.
Each travel permit endorsement will be valid for up to three months and applications can be submitted four times a year, the 2010 Shenzhen-Hong Kong Cooperation Conference was told yesterday (Dec 6).
About 4 million people in Shenzhen would qualify under the new arrangement, Shenzhen Mayor Xu Qin said at a meeting with Henry Tang, chief secretary for the administration of HKSAR, in Shenzhen yesterday.
Since the implementation of one-year multiple-entry individual visit endorsement to Hong Kong for Shenzhen permanent residents from April 1 last year, more than 4 million people had traveled to the SAR.
The change is an extension of the rule that was implemented Dec 15 last year, which allowed residence card holders living in Shenzhen for more than one year and working at key enterprises to apply for individual visits to Hong Kong.
Only 900,000 people working in enteprises accredited by the government benefit from the program.
In the coming five years, the two cities will cooperate in key industries such as tourism, environmental protection, finance and cross-border facilities, and in key areas such as Qianhai and the Lok Ma Chau Loop, Xu said.
After the conference, Henry Tang made a field trip to Qianhai in Nanshan, which had been approved by the State Council as a pilot area to develop modern logistics.
Shenzhen and Hong Kong had agreed that Shenzhen would take the leading role and be responsible for the development and management of the Qianhai area while Hong Kong will provide comments on the study and formulation of issues like development planning and policies, Tang said.
"The Qianhai area is an advantageous location, only 12 minutes to Hong Kong and Shenzhen airports after the rail project linking the two airports is completed. It takes 23 minutes from Central to Hong Kong's airport by Metro trains," said Tang.
