The State Council of the People’s Republic of China has listed Xi’an and Qingdao as cities newly under the Individual Visit Scheme to Hong Kong and Macau. This makes a total of 51 mainland cities whose citizens are eligible apply for the Individual Visit Scheme to Macau.
According to the State Council, starting from 6 March 2023 eligible people in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, and Qingdao, Shandong Province, can apply for Individual Visit Scheme endorsements via two types of visas: one for each three-month period and one for each one-year period.
Residents of Xi’an and Qingdao as well as holders of residence permits can submit their applications at the manual windows of the Exit-Entry Administration of the local public security authorities, or at the intelligent endorsement equipment installed at the manual windows.
The Mainland Individual Visit Scheme to Macau was launched on 28 July 2003. Initially, the scheme was only open to applicants from four cities in Guangdong Province (Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Foshan) before being gradually extended to other cities.
The Macau SAR Government also issued a press release on the issue, expressing its hope that the State Council will continue to increase the number of cities under the IVS.
The government said it “will lead the industry to work together to enhance the overall tourism reception capacity, as well as improve the immigration measures, customs clearance and transportation arrangements so as to make it more convenient for tourists to visit Macau.
“Macau is fully prepared to welcome visitors from Xi’an and Qingdao under the Individual Visit Scheme.”
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