With holiday traffic soaring, Hong Kong’s Immigration Department has set up a joint command centre staffed by immigration, police, customs and the MTR Corporation to manage an expected 11.52 million passenger movements between 24 December and 4 January. The centre aggregates live CCTV feeds and crowd-sensor data, pushing real-time checkpoint wait times to the public ‘HK-CrossBorder’ app and to private APIs used by bus operators and corporate shuttle services.
All frontline leave has been cancelled, temporary inspection booths erected, and extra e-Channels opened at Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau Spur Line and Shenzhen Bay. The department has also accelerated procurement of 500 new 12-second biometric gates under its ‘e-Checkpoint 2.0’ programme, with tenders closing in February.
![Immigration Department Activates Holiday Command Centre, Warns of 11.5 Million Border Movements]()
Travellers eager to avoid last-minute surprises can also leverage VisaHQ’s online portal. Its Hong Kong section (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) offers a quick visa checker for more than 200 nationalities and handles expedited applications, letting passengers confirm entry requirements before choosing the most efficient crossing.
Logistics firms are being advised to schedule northbound sample and document runs outside the 16:00–20:00 peak, when queues could add 45 minutes. Mobility managers should brief travellers on less-congested alternatives such as the Lok Ma Chau pedestrian bridge and ensure staff have the HK-CrossBorder app installed.
Officials cite a strong Hong Kong dollar, a weak yen and euro and the removal of pre-arrival health declarations as drivers of the surge. The command centre will remain on standby through Lunar New Year, when daily crossings could top 1.3 million.
All frontline leave has been cancelled, temporary inspection booths erected, and extra e-Channels opened at Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau Spur Line and Shenzhen Bay. The department has also accelerated procurement of 500 new 12-second biometric gates under its ‘e-Checkpoint 2.0’ programme, with tenders closing in February.
Travellers eager to avoid last-minute surprises can also leverage VisaHQ’s online portal. Its Hong Kong section (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) offers a quick visa checker for more than 200 nationalities and handles expedited applications, letting passengers confirm entry requirements before choosing the most efficient crossing.
Logistics firms are being advised to schedule northbound sample and document runs outside the 16:00–20:00 peak, when queues could add 45 minutes. Mobility managers should brief travellers on less-congested alternatives such as the Lok Ma Chau pedestrian bridge and ensure staff have the HK-CrossBorder app installed.
Officials cite a strong Hong Kong dollar, a weak yen and euro and the removal of pre-arrival health declarations as drivers of the surge. The command centre will remain on standby through Lunar New Year, when daily crossings could top 1.3 million.
