Mainland travel for newborns made easier

Hong Kong newborns can soon travel easily to the mainland with their parents as mainland authorities will implement a new measure to allow newborns to obtain permits on-site at four designated border control points.

DAB’s Gary Chan Hak-kan said on Wednesday that the new measure will allow parents to apply for their newborn's permit which is valid for a one-time entry and exit within three months. Yet there is no concrete day for implementation.

The four designated border control points include Luohu, Huanggang, Shekou ports, and the Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport.

Speaking to the press today, Chan said the move came after the DAB was approached by several new parents claiming to find it difficult to travel to the mainland with their newborns.

He said the processing of temporary documents for the newborns visiting the mainland takes at least five working days, and that he had raised the issue with mainland authorities through China’s Liaison Office in the city.

Chan revealed that the Exit-Entry Administration of the People's Republic of China has confirmed the implementation of relevant measures.

According to the new measures, parents of newborn babies from Hong Kong who urgently need to travel to the mainland can bring relevant documents for the infant, including the infant's identification documents, birth certificate, and guardian's identification documents, to the four designated ports. They can then immediately apply for a one-time entry and exit permit valid for three months.

Meanwhile, Chan said he would suggest mainland authorities expand the measures to include the Shenzhen Bay and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge ports, as he noticed many new parents would also travel north in cross-boundary vehicles.