Singapore to allow Hongkongers to use electronic check system at airport
PUBLISHED : Monday, 15 September, 2014, 6:29am
UPDATED : Monday, 15 September, 2014, 7:32am
Amy Nip [email protected]
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is expected to sign a mutual agreement on automated clearance this week. Photo: EPA
Singapore is set to be the third country to allow Hongkongers to use its airport automated immigration clearance systems.
A mutual agreement on automated clearance is expected to be signed this week during a three-day visit by Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, which begins tomorrow.
A similar arrangement was launched with South Korea last year, and a deal with Germany is due to begin this month, to reduce immigration processing times for visitors.
Hong Kong residents holding a valid HKSAR electronic passport can enrol for the automated immigration clearance service. After registering, they can use electronic channels at the designated airports until their passports expire.
Visitors to Hong Kong from these countries can use the e-Channel system once they have registered.
Lee (pictured) will meet Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa and business leaders during his trip, a source said. The focus will be on the latest situation in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta.
It is understood that there will be no meetings with local lawmakers.
Lee's father Lee Kuan Yew - who was the first Singaporean prime minister, from 1959 to 1988 - visited Hong Kong frequently and had a good relationship with Tung.
Lee began his eight-day tour of southern China last Thursday. He met Guangdong party secretary Hu Chunhua and will deliver a keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 11th China-Asean Expo in Nanning city, Guangxi province, on Tuesday.
In the first half of this year, 298,000 Hongkongers visited Singapore, a 16 per cent increase from a year ago. Hong Kong is the Lion City's eighth-largest market in terms of visitor arrivals.
