| Individual Visit Scheme | |||||||||||||
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 The Hong Kong Individual Visit Permit issued by People's Republic of China on aChinese Two-way Permit for Hong Kong and Macau. | |||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 自由行 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 自由行 | ||||||||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | zì yóu xíng | ||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | free walking | ||||||||||||
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TheIndividual Visit Scheme (Chinese:自由行,Portuguese:Visto Individual)[1] began on 28 July 2003 allowing travelers fromMainland China to visitHong Kong andMacau on an individual basis; prior to the Scheme, Mainland residents could only visit on business visas or on group tours.
The Scheme was launched to boost theeconomy of Hong Kong and Macau. Initially, residents of Beijing, Shanghai, and 8 cities inGuangdong (Dongguan,Foshan,Guangzhou,Huizhou,Jiangmen,Shenzhen,Zhongshan andZhuhai) could apply for visas to visit Hong Kong and Macau individually. The scheme was extended to all 21 cities of Guangdong province in July 2004, and to 9 other cities inJiangsu, Zhejiang, andFujian provinces in July 2004.[2]
The visas, issued by thePublic Security Bureau of thePeople's Republic of China, were valid for 7 days and could be renewed upon return from Hong Kong to the Mainland.
The scheme brought an immediate surge in the number of Mainland visitors. In the short period between 28 July and 4 November 2003, more than 600,000 individuals on the Mainland applied forvisas and 450,000 visas were issued. The number of visitors under the scheme reached two million by May 2004.
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The Individual Visit Scheme allows select tourists from designated cities and provinces in mainland China to visit Hong Kong and Macau by using individual visas (as opposed the needing to travel as part of a government-approved tour group).[3]: 144
Initially, the Individual Visit Scheme was only open to residents of Beijing, Shanghai, and eight cities in Guangdong province.[3]: 144 China's central government expanded the program once it was shown to be successful.[3]: 144 As of 2023, the Individual Visa Scheme is open to residents of 49 Chinese cities.[3]: 144–145
The establishment of the Individual Visa Scheme resulted in a surge oftourism to Macau.[3]: 145
