International travelers should be spending less time waiting in line for Shanghai immigration checks, according to a pledge made yesterday by local frontier authorities.

Border police have promised to increase their working efficiency in landing and boarding checks at local airports, seaports and rail services serving countries and regions outside the mainland.

Ninety-five percent of international travelers leaving or arriving in the city will stand in line for no more than 25 minutes to complete immigration procedures, the Shanghai Entry-Exit Frontier Inspection General Station promised in a news release yesterday.

Frontier authorities also pledged that travelers from Hong Kong and Macau will spend less than 15 seconds to get their documents stamped once they've reached the entry-exit window. The process will be completed in no more than 45 seconds for all other travelers.

"These limits have long been our goals, but we are now making bigger efforts to upgrade our working efficiency and have announced them to the public to show our determination for improvement," Zhou Xiaodong, an office with the frontier station, said yesterday.

Other new commitments were also announced.

When the number of travelers waiting for a luggage or immigration check grows to more than 15 persons, a new passage will be opened immediately.

And officers are required to be prepared for duty 30 minutes before the arrival of each flight, ship and cross-border train, under the new rules.

(Shanghai Daily April 25, 2007)