Starting Wednesday, foreign residents living in Hong Kong and Macao can apply for multiple-entry visas to the Chinese mainland with a validity period of up to five years by following a simplified procedure, according to the central government.
从周三开始，根据中央政府的规定，居住在香港和澳门的外籍居民可以通过简化程序申请有效期长达五年的中国大陆多次入境签证。
The Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region announced on Wednesday that non-Chinese Hong Kong permanent residents and non-Chinese Hong Kong residents who are traveling to the mainland for tourism, business, family visits or cultural and academic exchanges can apply for a visa valid for up to five years, which will allow them to stay on the mainland for up to 180 days.
外交部驻香港特别行政区特派员公署周三宣布，非中国籍的香港永久居民以及因旅游、商务、探亲或文化交流学术活动前往内地的非中国籍香港居民，可以申请有效期长达五年的签证，允许他们在内地停留长达180天。
Under the new arrangement, applicants are not required to provide proof of round-trip tickets or hotel reservations when applying for visas, the office said.该办公室表示，在新的安排下，申请人在申请签证时无需提供往返机票或酒店预订的证明。
Those who successfully applied for visas from overseas Chinese visa-issuing authorities and had their fingerprints collected during the process will be exempted from fingerprint collection when applying from Hong Kong, the office added. The office stressed that the validity of the visa and duration of stay will be decided case by case, and applicants may also be asked to submit additional documents or attend interviews. The visa policy does not apply to foreign domestic helpers, the office noted. Also on Wednesday, the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Macao SAR announced a similar optimization for permanent and temporary foreign residents of the city. People who apply from Macao for short-term activities such as tourism, trade and family visits can get visas with a validity period of five years and a stay for no more than 180 days, the office said, adding that proof of outbound transportation and hotel bookings are no longer required under the new arrangement. Starting July 10, non-Chinese permanent residents of both Hong Kong and Macao can apply for a new mainland travel permit, which allows multiple entries into the mainland within a five-year validity period, with each stay capped at 90 days.
那些成功申请了海外中国签证签发机构的签证并且在过程中采集了指纹的人，在从香港申请时将被免除指纹采集，办公室补充说。办公室强调，签证的有效性和停留期限将根据每个案例决定，申请人可能还需要提交额外的文件或参加面试。办公室指出，签证政策不适用于外籍家政工人。同样在周三，外交部驻澳门特别行政区特派员公署宣布了针对该市永久和临时外籍居民的类似优化措施。办公室表示，从澳门申请短期活动如旅游、贸易和探亲的人可以获得有效期为五年、停留时间不超过180天的签证，并且根据新的安排，不再需要提供出境交通工具和酒店预订的证明。从7月10日起，香港和澳门的非中国籍永久居民可以申请新的内地旅行许可证，该许可证允许在五年有效期内多次入境内地，每次停留时间不超过90天。
