As the Jan. 8 reopening date gets closer, the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the State Council has issued an notice. The governments of Hong Kong and Macau have also separately announced new border reopening and quarantine measures.

Hong Kong

COVID-19 Testing: Hong Kong to Mainland China

Starting Jan. 8, travelers only need to provide a negative PCR test result taken within 48 hours. No additional testing is required after arrival in Mainland China. Passengers whose border health self-declaration shows anomalies will be given an on-site rapid antigen test.

COVID-19 Testing: Mainland China to Hong Kong

Travelers from Mainland China to Hong Kong also need to provide either a negative PCR test result taken within 48 hours, or a rapid antigen test taken within 24 hours (a saved photo of the result is sufficient).

Quota Limits

If you are traveling to Mainland China by plane, high-speed rail (expected to resume soon), Golden Bus (the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge shuttle bus), or ferry, there is no quota limit, and no advance reservation is required. As long as you can buy a ticket, you can travel. If you cross via a land border checkpoint, however, a reservation is required. The daily border-crossing quotas are:

  • Lok Ma Chau Spur Line (Futian): 35,000
  • Shenzhen Bay: 10,000
  • Man Kam To: 5,000
  • Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge: 1,000

Reservations are required in both directions. However, Mainland China residents returning to Mainland China and Hong Kong residents returning to Hong Kong are exempt from the quota limits and do not need a reservation.

Macau

Traveling to Macau

Starting Jan. 8, people entering Macau from Mainland China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan do not need to provide any COVID-19 test result, do not need to submit a health declaration, and will not be subject to any health management measures after arrival in Macau.

Traveling to Mainland China

If you have been to Hong Kong, Taiwan, or a foreign country within the past 7 days, you need to provide a negative PCR test result taken within 48 hours to enter Mainland China. Otherwise, you can enter Mainland China without providing any test result.

Analysis: Returning to Mainland China via Hong Kong

If you are coming from overseas and want to return to Mainland China via Hong Kong, this is now a very smooth option. You can either connect onward by air or continue by land, without having to compete for border-crossing quota slots, and the cost should also be relatively low.

Analysis: Traveling from Mainland China to Hong Kong

Hong Kong tourist endorsements on the Exit-Entry Permit are about to resume, which means leisure travel to Hong Kong should soon be possible again. If you plan to enter Hong Kong via a land border checkpoint (including if you are connecting onward to another country), you need to reserve a border-crossing quota slot in Mainland China before entering Hong Kong. At the moment, the quota availability appears to be quite ample. If there are no slots available at that time and you also cannot buy a plane ticket or a Golden Bus ticket, another option is to go from Mainland China to Macau first, then continue to Hong Kong, thereby avoiding the quota restriction.

Bottom Line

We expect these quotas to be lifted soon as well, at which point the border-crossing experience should return to the smooth, pre-pandemic norm.