China’s National Immigration Administration (NIA) has rolled out a nationwide digital arrival-card system, allowing inbound travellers to complete immigration formalities online before departure. The initiative, reported on November 22 by Travel & Tour World, builds on the Guangdong pilot and became fully operational on November 20. Travellers can now submit personal and trip details via the NIA website, mobile app or WeChat/Alipay mini-programs and present a QR code on arrival, eliminating the need for paper forms and shortening processing times.
For Hong Kong residents, the change is immediately relevant to the five newly added ports covered by China’s 240-hour visa-free transit scheme, including West Kowloon Station on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Port. Although holders of a Mainland Travel Permit are exempt from completing the card, thousands of Hong Kong-based expatriates enter Mainland China each week on foreign passports and will benefit from faster clearance at Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Zhuhai checkpoints.
![China launches digital arrival card—what it means for Hong Kong cross-border travellers]()
Business-mobility managers should update pre-trip briefings and traveller-tracking apps to include the new online procedure, reminding staff to complete the form before boarding to avoid kiosk queues. Airlines operating from Hong Kong International Airport to Mainland gateways have begun sending automated reminders through their booking systems, and travel-risk firms report that the digital card integrates smoothly with most global trip-management platforms.
The digitalisation drive is part of Beijing’s broader effort to revive inbound tourism and attract foreign investment after the pandemic. Combined with extended visa-free transit and the introduction of facial-recognition ‘document-free’ e-channels at select crossings, the new system signals a pivot toward frictionless mobility within the Greater Bay Area. Hong Kong businesses that rotate staff into factories, R&D centres and customer sites across the border now have a clearer, paperless pathway—reducing dwell times and boosting productivity.
Practical tip: Employees should keep a PDF or screenshot of the QR code on their mobile devices and carry a power bank; border officers may require the code even if Wi-Fi is patchy at smaller airports. The NIA says paper forms will remain available during the transition period but will be phased out in 2026.
For Hong Kong residents, the change is immediately relevant to the five newly added ports covered by China’s 240-hour visa-free transit scheme, including West Kowloon Station on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Port. Although holders of a Mainland Travel Permit are exempt from completing the card, thousands of Hong Kong-based expatriates enter Mainland China each week on foreign passports and will benefit from faster clearance at Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Zhuhai checkpoints.
Business-mobility managers should update pre-trip briefings and traveller-tracking apps to include the new online procedure, reminding staff to complete the form before boarding to avoid kiosk queues. Airlines operating from Hong Kong International Airport to Mainland gateways have begun sending automated reminders through their booking systems, and travel-risk firms report that the digital card integrates smoothly with most global trip-management platforms.
The digitalisation drive is part of Beijing’s broader effort to revive inbound tourism and attract foreign investment after the pandemic. Combined with extended visa-free transit and the introduction of facial-recognition ‘document-free’ e-channels at select crossings, the new system signals a pivot toward frictionless mobility within the Greater Bay Area. Hong Kong businesses that rotate staff into factories, R&D centres and customer sites across the border now have a clearer, paperless pathway—reducing dwell times and boosting productivity.
Practical tip: Employees should keep a PDF or screenshot of the QR code on their mobile devices and carry a power bank; border officers may require the code even if Wi-Fi is patchy at smaller airports. The NIA says paper forms will remain available during the transition period but will be phased out in 2026.
