Related to Hengqin's "Macau Single-License Vehicles Heading North," Guangdong cross-border travel policy will be adjusted.

Economic Observer Network. According to a report from the CCTV News client, on April 2, the Chinese government website released a response titled “Reply of the State Council on Agreeing to Temporarily Adjust and Implement Certain Provisions of Relevant Administrative Regulations in Guangdong Province.” The State Council agreed that, effective immediately, in Guangdong Province, the relevant provisions of the “Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Customs Matters Guarantees” would be temporarily adjusted and implemented. Under the agreed terms, eligible Macau motor vehicles entering and exiting Guangdong Province through the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone may be subject to a no-guarantee policy for their temporary entry and exit to other areas of Guangdong Province. This means that the implementation of Hengqin’s “Macao single-plate cars northbound” policy has made an important step forward.

It is understood that, according to the relevant provisions of the “Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Customs Matters Guarantees,” when vehicles traveling from within the Cooperation Zone to proceed northbound under the “Macao single-plate cars northbound” policy, they must, according to law, provide guarantees to the customs in Mainland China. To promote Hengqin’s “Macao single-plate cars northbound” policy, the relevant departments in the Cooperation Zone, through the proper procedures, applied for a temporary adjustment of the relevant provisions of the “Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Customs Matters Guarantees,” and received a State Council approval.

The Hengqin “Macao single-plate cars” policy officially took effect on December 20, 2016. Subsequently, it was implemented multiple times with measures that eased eligibility requirements, expanded quotas, and extended the validity period for license documents used for vehicles with temporary entry. As the number of applications increased significantly, the application requirements were loosened four times in 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2021. The total quota increased gradually from the initial 400 up to 10,000, until August 22, 2022, when the quota for non-operational passenger cars from Macau to enter and exit Hengqin was fully opened, and the 10,000-quota total limit was removed. The eligible applicants expanded from Macao residents and Macau merchants who were allowed to invest in and register businesses in Hengqin, work there, and buy homes there, to additionally include Macao official vehicles that have a need for work, as well as Macao residents who are 18 years of age or older—continually broadening the group of beneficiaries.

The “Macao vehicles northbound” policy has been in effect since January 1, 2023. Macau residents aged 18 or older who hold permits for residents of Hong Kong and Macao to travel between Hong Kong/Macao and Mainland China, and who also own a non-operational small passenger vehicle registered in their own name in Macau and have obtained an issued license, may, after making an appointment, enter Guangdong through the Zhuhai Highway Port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. While Hengqin’s “Macao single-plate cars northbound” offers conveniences such as no need for appointment for clearance and no limit on the number of times per day for entry and exit, it cannot leave the Cooperation Zone. Since the “Macao vehicles northbound” and Hengqin’s “Macao single-plate cars” must be chosen exclusively—one or the other—many Macau residents hope that the “Macao single-plate cars northbound” out-island policy for Hengqin will be implemented as soon as possible.

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