Visa Information of Hongkong

General

This chapter sets out the visa or entry permit requirements of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People's Republic of China. It cannot be taken as a full statement of the law governing immigration.

Even where all immigration requirements set out in this chapter are met, travellers should not assume that they can gain automatic entry. The HKSAR immigration authorities have the right to refuse any person permission to land except those inPart I of this chapter.

If you need advice on individual cases, please address your enquiries to :

any Chinese diplomatic and consular mission; or
the Immigration Department.

If you have a close connection with the HKSAR by birth or long period of residence in the Region, you may not require a visa or entry permit. Please read Part Iof this chapter.

If Part I does not apply to you, you will need a visa or entry permit to work, study, establish or join in any business or to take up residence in the HKSAR. However, you may not need a visa or entry permit for visit, depending on your nationality / type of travel document you hold. Please read Part IIof this chapter.

PART I

No visa or entry permit is required for any purpose if you hold any of the following travel documents:

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Passport,
British National (Overseas) Passport,
Hong Kong Certificate of Identity,
Hong Kong Re-entry permit (for entry from the Mainland of China and the Macao Special Administrative Region only),
Hong Kong Seaman's Identity Book,
Hong Kong Document of Identity for Visa Purposes provided that the document is valid or the holder's limit of stay in Hong Kong has not expired.
Travel documents bearing one of the following endorsements:
- "Holder's eligibility for Hong Kong permanent identity card verified."
- "The holder of this travel document has the right to land in Hong Kong. (Section 2AAA, Immigration Ordinance, Cap. 115, Laws of Hong Kong)"
Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card.

PART II

Unless Part I applies to you, you require a visa or entry permit to work, study, establish or join in any business or to take up residence in the HKSAR. Otherwise, you are taking the risk of being refused admission on arrival.

Visitors are required to have adequate funds to cover the duration of their stay without working and, unless in transit to the Mainland of China or the Macao Special Administrative Region, to hold onward or return tickets. If you want to stay longer than the visa free period allowed, you must apply for a visa or entry permit before travelling to the HKSAR.

Visitors are not allowed by law to take up employment (paid or unpaid), to establish or join in any business, or to enter school as a student, nor, except in the most unusual circumstances, are visitors allowed to change their immigration status after arrival.

You may apply for the appropriate visa or entry permit from the nearestChinese diplomatic and consular mission.

As an alternative, you may also submit your visa or entry permit application to the HKSAR Immigration Department either directly by post or through a local sponsor. To shorten the processing time, application forms and supporting documents can be sent by fax to (852) 2824 1133 in the first instance. However, the original copy of the duly completed application form and the photographs required should be sent immediately to the HKSAR Immigration Department by air mail. A visa/entry permit will be issued only on receipt of an original, properly completed visa/entry permit application form.

If you are a Chinese resident of Taiwan, you should submit your application for an entry permit through one of the authorised airlines.

There are separate information leaflets regarding the arrangements for entry in respect of residents of the Mainland of China (ID 894A) and for overseas Chinese and Chinese residents of Taiwan (ID 895A). You can also obtain information here for entry to Hong Kong from the Mainland of China. Information on arrangements for entry to Hong Kong SAR for overseas Chinese and Chinese residents of Taiwan can be obtained here

Persons who need a visa or entry permit for visit (or purposes other than a visit) should obtain the appropriate visa or entry permit before travelling to the HKSAR.

HKSAR visa requirements for the following foreign countries / territories:

	Nationality of foreign country (Territory)/ Type of Travel Document	Visa free period for visit not exceeding	Always require VISA, except in direct transit by air and when the person does not leave the airport transit area
1.	AFGHANISTAN	-	Visa Required
2.	ALBANIA (holders of Albanian biometric passports only)	14 Days	-
3.	ALBANIA (holders of Albanian non-biometric passports)	-	Visa Required
4.	ALGERIA	14 Days	-
5.	ANDORRA	90 Days	-
6.	ANGOLA (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required^
7.	ANGUILLA	90 Days	-
8.	ANTIGUA & BARBUDA	90 Days	-
9.	ARGENTINA	90 Days	-
10.	ARMENIA (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required#
11.	AUSTRALIA	90 Days	-
12.	AUSTRIA	90 Days	-
13.	AZERBAIJAN (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required#
14.	BAHAMAS	90 Days	-
15.	BAHRAIN	30 Days	-
16.	BANGLADESH (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required^
17.	BARBADOS	90 Days	-
18.	BELARUS (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required#
19.	BELGIUM	90 Days	-
20.	BELIZE	90 Days	-
21.	BENIN	14 Days	-
22.	BERMUDA	90 Days	-
23.	BHUTAN	14 Days	-
24.	BOLIVIA	30 Days	-
25.	BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA	14 Days	-
26.	BOTSWANA	90 Days	-
27.	BRAZIL	90 Days	-
28.	BRITAIN (British citizens)	180 Days	-
29.	BRITAIN (British Overseas Territories citizens, British Overseas citizens, British subjects and British Protected persons)	90 Days	-
30.	BRITISH ANTARCTIC TERRITORY	90 Days	-
31.	BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY	90 Days	-
32.	BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS	90 Days	-
33.	BRUNEI DARUSSALAM	90 Days	-
34.	BULGARIA	90 Days	-
35.	BURKINA FASO	14 Days	-
36.	BURUNDI (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required^
37.	CAMBODIA (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required#
38.	CAMEROON (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required^
39.	CANADA	90 Days	-
40.	CAPE VERDE (REPUBLIC OF)	30 Days	-
41.	CAYMAN ISLANDS	90 Days	-
42.	CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC	14 Days	-
43.	CHAD	14 Days	-
44.	CHILE	90 Days	-
45.	COLOMBIA	90 Days	-
46.	COMOROS	14 Days	-
47.	CONGO (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF) (Formerly known as Zaire) (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required*
48.	CONGO (REPUBLIC OF) (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required^
49.	COSTA RICA	30 Days	-
50.	Costa Rican Provisional passports	-	Visa Required
51.	"Documento de Identidad Y Viaje" issued by Costa Rican Government	-	Visa Required
52.	COTE D'IVOIRE (REPUBLIC OF) (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required*
53.	CROATIA	90 Days	-
54.	CUBA	-	Visa Required
55.	CYPRUS (REPUBLIC OF)	90 Days	-
56.	CZECH REPUBLIC	90 Days	-
57.	DENMARK	90 Days	-
58.	DJIBOUTI	14 Days	-
59.	DOMINICA (COMMONWEALTH OF)	90 Days	-
60.	DOMINICAN REPUBLIC	30 Days	-
61.	ECUADOR	90 Days	-
62.	EGYPT	90 Days	-
63.	EL SALVADOR	30 Days	-
64.	EQUATORIAL GUINEA	14 Days	-
65.	ERITREA (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required*
66.	ESTONIA	90 Days	-
67.	ETHIOPIA (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required^
68.	FALKLAND ISLANDS & DEPENDENCIES	90 Days	-
69.	FAROE ISLANDS	90 Days	-
70.	FIJI	90 Days	-
71.	FINLAND	90 Days	-
72.	FRANCE	90 Days	-
73.	GABON	14 Days	-
74.	GAMBIA	90 Days	-
75.	GEORGIA	-	Visa Required
76.	GERMANY	90 Days	-
77.	GHANA (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required^
78.	GIBRALTAR	90 Days	-
79.	GREECE	90 Days	-
80.	GREENLAND	90 Days	-
81.	GRENADA	90 Days	-
82.	GUATEMALA	30 Days	-
83.	GUINEA	14 Days	-
84.	GUINEA-BISSAU (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required*
85.	GUYANA	90 Days	-
86.	HAITI	14 Days	-
87.	HONDURAS	30 Days	-
88.	HUNGARY	90 Days	-
89.	ICELAND	90 Days	-
90.	INDIA	14 Days	-
91.	INDONESIA	30 Days	-
92.	IRAN	-	Visa Required
93.	IRAQ (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required*
94.	IRELAND (REPUBLIC OF)	90 Days	-
95.	ISRAEL	90 Days	-
96.	ITALY	90 Days	-
97.	JAMAICA	90 Days	-
98.	JAPAN	90 Days	-
99.	JORDAN	30 Days	-
100.	KAZAKHSTAN	14 Days	-
101.	KENYA	90 Days	-
102.	KIRIBATI	90 Days	-
103.	KOREA (DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF)	-	Visa Required
104.	KOREA (REPUBLIC OF)	90 Days	-
105.	KUWAIT	30 Days	-
106.	KYRGYZSTAN (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required#
107.	LAOS (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required#
108.	LATVIA	90 Days	-
109.	LEBANON	-	Visa Required
110.	LESOTHO	14 Days	-
111.	LIBERIA (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required*
112.	LIBYA	-	Visa Required
113.	LIECHTENSTEIN	90 Days	-
114.	LITHUANIA	90 Days	-
115.	LUXEMBOURG	90 Days	-
116.	MACEDONIA	14 Days	-
117.	MADAGASCAR	14 Days	-
118.	MALAWI	90 Days	-
119.	MALAYSIA	90 Days	-
120.	MALDIVES	90 Days	-
121.	MALI	14 Days	-
122.	MALTA	90 Days	-
123.	MARSHALL ISLANDS (REPUBLIC OF)	14 Days	-
124.	MAURITANIA	14 Days	-
125.	MAURITIUS	90 Days	-
126.	MEXICO	90 Days	-
127.	MICRONESIA (FEDERATED STATES OF)	14 Days	-
128.	MOLDOVA (REPUBLIC OF) (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required#
129.	MONACO	90 Days	-
130.	MONGOLIA	14 Days	-
131.	MONTENEGRO ( REPUBLIC OF )	14 Days	-
132.	MONTSERRAT	90 Days	-
133.	MOROCCO	30 Days	-
134.	MOZAMBIQUE	14 Days	-
135.	MYANMAR (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required#
136.	NAMIBIA	90 Days	-
137.	NAURU	90 Days	-
138.	NEPAL (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required*
139.	NETHERLANDS	90 Days	-
140.	NEW ZEALAND	90 Days	-
141.	NICARAGUA	-	Visa Required
142.	NIGER	14 Days	-
143.	NIGERIA	-	Visa Required
144.	NORWAY	90 Days	-
145.	OMAN	30 Days	-
146.	PAKISTAN (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required^
147.	PALAU	14 Days	-
148.	PALESTINE (STATES OF)	-	Visa Required
149.	PANAMA	-	Visa Required
150.	PAPUA NEW GUINEA	90 Days	-
151.	PARAGUAY	30 Days	-
152.	PERU	30 Days	-
153.	Special Peruvian passports	-	Visa Required
154.	PHILIPPINES	14 Days	-
155.	Philippine Diplomatic and Official passports	-	Visa Required
156.	PITCAIRN, HENDERSON, DUCIE & OENO ISLANDS	90 Days	-
157.	POLAND	90 Days	-
158.	PORTUGAL	90 Days	-
159.	QATAR	30 Days	-
160.	ROMANIA	90 Days	-
161.	RUSSIAN FEDERATION	14 Days	-
162.	RWANDA	14 Days	-
163.	SAMOA	30 Days	-
164.	SAN MARINO	90 Days	-
165.	SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE	14 Days	-
166.	SAUDI ARABIA	30 Days	-
167.	SENEGAL	-	Visa Required
168.	SERBIA (REPUBLIC OF) (holders of Serbian biometric passports only)	14 Days	-
169.	SERBIA (REPUBLIC OF) (holders of Serbian non-biometric passports or Serbian passports issued by the Coordination Directorate in Belgrade)	-	Visa Required
170.	SEYCHELLES	90 Days	-
171.	SIERRA LEONE (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required*
172.	SINGAPORE	90 Days	-
173.	SLOVAK REPUBLIC	90 Days	-
174.	SLOVENIA	90 Days	-
175.	SOLOMON ISLANDS	-	Visa Required
176.	SOMALIA (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required*
177.	SOUTH AFRICA	30 Days	-
178.	SOUTH SUDAN	-	Visa Required
179.	SPAIN	90 Days	-
180.	SRI LANKA (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required^
181.	ST. HELENA	90 Days	-
182.	ST. HELENA DEPENDENCIES (ASCENSION, TRISTAN DA CUNHA)	90 Days	-
183.	ST. KITTS - NEVIS ANGUILLA	90 Days	-
184.	ST. LUCIA	90 Days	-
185.	ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES	90 Days	-
186.	SUDAN	-	Visa Required
187.	SURINAME	14 Days	-
188.	SWAZILAND	90 Days	-
189.	SWEDEN	90 Days	-
190.	SWITZERLAND	90 Days	-
191.	SYRIA	-	Visa Required
192.	TAJIKISTAN (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required#
193.	TANZANIA	90 Days	-
194.	THAILAND	30 Days	-
195.	THE SOUTH GEORGIA AND THE SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS	90 Days	-
196.	THE SOVEREIGN BASE AREAS OF AKROTIRI AND DHEKELIA	90 Days	-
197.	TOGO (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required^
198.	TONGA	90 Days	-
199.	Tongan National passports	-	Visa Required
200.	Tongan Protected Persons passports	-	Visa Required
201.	TRINIDAD & TOBAGO	90 Days	-
202.	TUNISIA	30 Days	-
203.	TURKEY	90 Days	-
204.	TURKMENISTAN (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required#
205.	TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS	90 Days	-
206.	TUVALU	90 Days	-
207.	TUVALU (with national status stated as 'I-TUVALU')	-	Visa Required
208.	UGANDA	30 Days	-
209.	UKRAINE	14 Days	-
210.	UNITED ARAB EMIRATES	30 Days	-
211.	URUGUAY	90 Days	-
212.	Uruguay passports issued under Decree 289/90	-	Visa Required
213.	U.S.A.	90 Days	-
214.	US TRUST TERRITORY OF PACIFIC ISLANDS (holders of US Trust Territory passports only)	14 Days	-
215.	UZBEKISTAN (please see remarks)	-	Visa Required#
216.	VANUATU	90 Days	-
217.	VATICAN CITY	14 Days	-
218.	Vatican Service passports	-	Visa Required
219.	VENEZUELA	90 Days	-
220.	VIETNAM	-	Visa Required
221.	YEMEN (REPUBLIC OF)	30 Days	-
222.	ZAMBIA	90 Days	-
223.	ZIMBABWE	90 Days	-
224.	All 'stateless' travel document holders	-	Visa Required
225.	Nationals of other foreign countries do not require visas for a visit	7 Days	-

Remarks:

* All nationals are required to hold a valid visa for the HKSAR for whatever purpose (including those who are in transit and remain on the airside).
^ All nationals (except holders of Diplomatic and Official passports) are required to hold a valid visa for the HKSAR for whatever purpose (including those who are in transit and remain on the airside). Holders of Diplomatic and Official passport may visit the HKSAR visa-free for a stay not exceeding 14 days.

# Holders of Diplomatic and Official passport may visit the HKSAR visa-free for a stay not exceeding 14 days.

The information in this chapter on visa or entry permit requirements for visitors to the HKSAR is updated in February 2014. There may be subsequent changes.

Newspedia

Friday 18 April 2014