All but three of Hong Kong's 12 crossings with the mainland have been closed since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020.
Both Hong Kong and China stuck to zero-COVID policies in which strict travel curbs and mandatory quarantine rules caused arrivals to plummet.
The measures kept families separated, cut-off tourism and severed most business travel, with Hong Kong hit especially hard and ending 2022 in a deep recession.
China U-turned on its tough zero-COVID policy last month, abruptly lifting restrictions that had torpedoed the economy and sparked nationwide protests.
On Thursday China's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office announced that travel will "gradually and orderly resume" from Sunday - the same day China scraps mandatory quarantine for overseas arrivals.
However, the measures are not a return to a full reopening.
People travelling to the mainland from Hong Kong will still be required to present a negative nucleic acid test result taken 48 hours before departure. But they will no longer need to undergo on-site polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests on arrival.
Immigration authorities will start resuming visas for mainlanders to travel to Hong Kong and Macao "according to the epidemic situation and service capacities" in the two locales, the announcement said.
The statement did not say how many checkpoints would be reopened, or whether there would be a daily quota on border crossings.
Hong Kong's government will hold a press conference later on Thursday.
A government source told the South China Morning Post that mainland travellers entering Hong Kong following the border reopening would similarly be required to show a negative PCR result obtained within 48 hours before departure.
The 24-hour rapid antigen test result, currently allowed, will no longer be accepted, the report said.
Local Hong Kong media have reported in recent days that the first phase of the border reopening will see a daily quota of 50,000 to 100,000 at border crossings.
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Source: AFP/kg
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