Temporary e-document available to residents of HK, Macao and Taiwan on mainland

Effective March 20, residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan on the Chinese mainland who have lost, or forgotten their travel documents, or in case their documents are damaged, but urgently need to travel on the Chinese mainland by air or train can apply for an electronic temporary travel document with the Chinese Immigration Department instantly. 

Visitors have their travel document verified by customs officials at Liantang Checkpoint. Photo from Shenzhen Special Zone Daily

This document, valid for seven days, can be easily obtained through the immigration department’s Government Service platform using a mobile phone. With this electronic document presented to civil aviation, railway, and other relevant government agencies, document holders can avoid delaying their travel plans.

In addition, residents of the three regions who need their travel documents to be linked with their residence permits for personal affairs can submit an association query application on the government service platform or apply to a public security immigration management agency at county-level or higher across the country for a paper-based association query result. This process is designed to validate the connection between travel documents and residence permits for verification by pertinent authorities and businesses.

Government agencies authorized to provide the service can seek integration with the Immigration Documentation Identity Authentication Platform, which enables the agencies to automatically verify the association status of travel documents and residence permits based on the specific requirements residents from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. The service is expected to enhance efficiency and convenience in document verification processes.