China to open online service for cross-border travels

BEIJING -- China's National Immigration Administration (NIA) will open an online service on April 1 to facilitate application and inquiry of travel documents.

The service will consist of the website s.nia.gov.cn, an app of NIA and mini-programs attached to WeChat and Alipay, the NIA said in a statement Tuesday.

Through this online service, people will be able to submit the application forms for travel permits to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, book interviews with the authorities for application of travel documents and follow the review progress.

Chinese citizens can also inquire about their travel documents, such as passport number and expiry date, and their travel records in and out of the country, the statement said.

The result of such inquiries can be downloaded with the digital signature of NIA and can be used as a confirmation document for a third party, said Chen Yongli, an NIA official.