Applications to visit restricted Hong Kong frontier town to open next month, with up to 1,000 entry permits available each day from January

The expanded scheme marks the second stage in a government effort to open up Hong Kong’s northernmost town and will also allow for daily visits, a change from the quota of 500 people per day on weekends and public holidays under the first phase.

As one of the last remaining settlements in the Frontier Closed Area, a regulated zone first established in 1951 to prevent illegal immigrants from crossing the border, access to Sha Tau Kok was previously subject to restrictions for non-residents.

City authorities granted tour agencies limited access to Sha Tau Kok as part of a pilot scheme in June last year to promote eco-tourism. Before the initiative’s launch, residents required a special permit to visit the border town.

Under the scheme’s first phase, access to the frontier town was only granted to visitors travelling as part of the tour groups.

Hong Kong tourists may get more access to once restricted border town: minister

Official figures show police issued about 17,000 visitors permits between June and December 2022, and another 19,000 from January to October this year.

Authorities in Shenzhen and Hong Kong also share jurisdiction over the town’s Chung Ying Street. Local residents can run shops on either side of the border and cross over at any time.

Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung in September announced the second phase of the visitors scheme, setting a launch time for early next year.

“Sha Tau Kok is a place of exceptional significance,” he said. “In addition to being the epitome of Hong Kong’s modern history, it also symbolises the opportunities for the future integrated development of Hong Kong and the mainland.”

Last month, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu devoted part of his policy address to proposals promoting cultural and eco‑tourism in Sha Tau Kok, saying he planned to talk to Shenzhen authorities about whether they could facilitate access.

Police on Friday said groups could also apply for permits using the one-stop platform, in line with Lee’s pledge to fully digitise licence applications and approval services by mid-2024.

Chief Inspector Chung Kit-ying of the force’s digital services division said the platform would introduce more services next year, including record checks for sexual convictions and issuing certificates of no criminal conviction.

“The platform supports multiple registration and login methods, including email, local mobile phone numbers, iAM Smart and iAM Smart+ apps,” she said, referring to government smartphone applications offering personalised digital services.

Hong Kong frontier town grants tourists limited access as part of pilot scheme

Creating an account with the travel scheme’s platform would ensure users avoided re-entering the same data for multiple forms and applications, as well as allowing them to check on the progress of their requests, Chung added.

The chief inspector said she expected the service would help cut the application approval time from the current four to seven working days to between two and three.

Users could also contact the force’s 24-hour hotline for the platform at 8226 1886 for any help with registration, logging in and filling out forms, she said.