Hong Kong’s Immigration Department has lowered the bar for residents to enrol in its Pilot Seamless e-Channel programme at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) Hong Kong Port. Effective immediately, any permanent resident aged 11 or above who holds a smart identity card and has used the bridge’s Passenger Clearance Building six times within the past 90 days can register on the spot by walking through a designated e-Channel. Previously, travellers had to pre-register through the agency’s mobile app. The Seamless e-Channel replaces fingerprint or document checks with facial recognition and QR-code ticketing, allowing a “walk-through” clearance that combines immigration inspection and enrolment into one step. Adults can now complete registration entirely by themselves; younger residents can register with a guardian present. Since the pilot launched on 25 June 2026, more than 14 000 residents have signed up and the lane has processed over 100 000 crossings. Demand is expected to spike during the Mid-Autumn Festival long weekend (25–27 September) and National Day Golden Week, when the bridge typically handles about a quarter of all Hong Kong land-border passenger traffic. Immigration officials say real-time performance data collected during the holiday period will determine whether the technology is rolled out to the airport, West Kowloon high-speed rail terminus and other land checkpoints. A city-wide expansion could eventually halve average clearance times for frequent travellers and reduce staffing pressures at busy control points. For business travellers, the relaxation offers a quicker commute between Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao—three key nodes of the Greater Bay Area supply chain. Companies moving staff or goods across the Pearl River Delta should advise eligible employees to enrol, as the time savings can translate into earlier meetings, tighter shipping connections and reduced overtime costs.
Source: news.gov.hk
