Long delays for foreign travellers at the Lowu border checkpoint are likely to be a thing of the past now that special counters have been set up on the Shenzhen side to speed up their passage through immigration.
The measure, introduced two days ago, has seen waiting times slashed from as long as three hours per trip to just five minutes. It may be extended to the other Hong Kong border checkpoints.
Until now, foreign passport-holders have had to share a lane with mainland and Taiwanese visitors.
Foreign business chambers welcomed the new arrangements as a boost for the SAR as a place to do business. Hong Kong officials also hailed the change.
The Shenzhen municipal government is expected to officially announce the arrangements today. They follow Guangdong governor Lu Ruihua's apology last week to a group of foreign businessmen for the delays at Lowu.
Responding to a complaint from a Korean businessman, Mr Lu said at a luncheon hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce: 'Sorry, sorry, we will take measures to improve the situation.'
Yesterday, the businessman who made the complaint, Lee Myun-gwan, vice-chairman of the Korean Chamber of Commerce, said he was told about the new counters for foreign passport-holders by business friends, and later confirmed this with Shenzhen border officials.