A woman shows an e-permit created for people commuting between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao. Zou Zhongpin / China Daily

City begins using self-service devices

Guangzhou's exit-and-entry authorities have developed self-service machines for e-permit holders and will install them in the agency's headquarters starting next week.

After authorities test the self-service devices for two or three months, they will be installed in each district-level exit and entry agency in the city, said Chen Jianyi, deputy director of Guangzhou's exit-and-entry police.

E-permit holders must first apply for exit and entry endorsements through the Internet, phone or mobile phone apps WeChat and Jingmintong.

The approval process will take seven working days, after which the applicant can go to a self-service machine to pay for the endorsement with their UnionPay bank card or the city's public transportation card. The endorsements will be printed on the back of their smart cards.

Chen Wenhong, the director of the technology department of Guangzhou's exit-and-entry agency, said that in the future, the self-service machine will be in service round-the-clock and will also examine and approve travel endorsement applications.

Chen Wei, who applied for an e-permit in Guangzhou on Tuesday morning, said the machine will "save me the trouble of mailing my paper permit to the agency and waiting for it to be mailed back, which usually took half a month".

"And it will be really convenient if I can apply for an endorsement, get approved and have it printed on my card right away, all done on the machine," added the 42-year-old engineer.