Transit visa crackdown - less time in market for Chinese WGs in HK and Macau
Bros, over the last week CCTV did a special report on the many mainlanders who are abusing the so-called "transit visa" scheme that allows Chinese to come to HK and Macau if they have a visa for a third country (like Thailand). It is assumed that they are only going to HK or Macau as a transit point for this other country. By entering using this system, they are allowed to stay for 7 days. Of course, most of the time the person never goes to the other country and only uses the other country's visa for the purposes of entering HK or Macau. I believe this is why CCTV did a special on the abuse of this scheme.
The HK and Macau media have been talking about this a lot (seemingly more in Chinese language media). I read an article where in Macau they are proposing to institute a crackdown beginning in July. What they're saying is they might reduce the number of days that a person can stay from 7 days today, to only 3-5 days in the future. Why is this important? Because I believe most (if not all) WGs in HK and Macau use the transit visa to enter. So, in the future it is possible that our favorite Chinese WGs can only stay in HK and Macau for just 3-5 days before they have to fly to Thailand/Vietnam/etc.
Based on conversations I've had with WGs over the years, it seems like your average PRC WG (at least in Macau) only spends about 15 days or so working during a one-month period, while the rest of the time is spent reloading on visas, traveling to Thailand, having their period, etc. I wonder if this new crackdown means that they'll be spending even less time working. Following this news, most of the WGs I know are, indeed, aware of this impending crackdown and are not too happy about it (although I don't think anybody quite understands the eventual ramifications or how long the crackdown will last).
More Thaiand and Vietnamese WGs?
My theory: if it turns out that PRC WGs can't spend enough time in market, and given the laws of supply and demand (less PRC WGs mean there isn't enough WG supply to meet the unending punter demand), perhaps we'll see more Thai and Vietnamese WGs in the market to fill the gap. Thoughts?
Mods - feel free to relocate this post if you think it belongs elsewhere. I was hesitant to put in WG info & intelligence thread as I suspect most Macau punters don't view it regularly. | |
