The majority of visitors from about 170 countries and territories are granted a visa upon arrival at Hong Kong thus they may not need to apply it in advance.

Hong Kong government, politically known as government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), welcome visitors worldwide and travelers are easy to be admitted as a visitor to Hong Kong. You will be informed the activity permitted under visitor status and applying for an extension to your visitor visa.

For frequent visitors that are traveling to Hong Kong on the business purposes,  they can apply for extra power to their visitor visa to gain speedy access to Hong Kong.

Condition to stay as visitor

The visitor with visiting VISA / Entry Permit to HKSAR must not take part in the activities as follows:

• take up any employment in Hong Kong whether paid or unpaid;
• receive any work or employment related training;
• not become a student at a school, university or other educational institution;

Visitors has obtain to Employment VISA prior to visiting Hong Kong for employment-related purposes and Study VISA after enrolled into local qualified educational institutions.

For business-related visiting to Hong Kong, the holder of visiting VISA / Entry Permit can take part in the activities as follows:

“Visitors” may generally be allow to the activities in Hong Kong as follows:

• business-related activities: concluding contracts or submitting tenders;
• examining or supervising the installation/packaging of goods or equipment;
• participating in exhibitions or trade fairs (except selling goods or supplying services direct to the general public – i.e. retailing is strictly prohibited), settling compensation or other civil proceedings;
• participating in product orientation; and
• attending short-term seminars or other business meetings.

Who can apply for?

Generally speaking, every visitor to Hong Kong must have a valid passport that will not expire not less than one month after the period of their intended stay in Hong Kong. For people of statelessness, the identity documents issued to stateless persons must not expire within not less than two months after their period of intended stay.

As Hong Kong is well-known for its international free port for businesses, citizens of about 170 qualified countries do not even need a visa to access Hong Kong for leisure, social and business, they are allowed to stay for periods from 7 to 180 days depending on nationality. To check if your nationality is eligible for a Visa-free visiting to Hong Kong, you can contact the Chinese Consulates General in your country, their contact can be found in here. Further supporting information can be found on the Hong Kong Immigration Department. If your nationality is not a Visa-free country, please apply for Visa at your nearest Chinese diplomatic and consular mission.

The above information is valid only for “bona fide visitors” to Hong Kong.

Here is a list of Hong Kong Visa-free countries (updated on February 1, Hong Kong).

	National of foreign country (territory)/ Type of travel document	Visa free period for visit not exceeding
1.	AFGHANISTAN	–
2.	ALBANIA (holders of Albanian biometric passports only)	14 Days
3.	ALBANIA (holders of Albanian non-biometric passports)	–
4.	ALGERIA	14 Days
5.	ANDORRA	90 Days
6.	ANGOLA	–
7.	ANGUILLA	90 Days
8.	ANTIGUA & BARBUDA	90 Days
9.	ARGENTINA	90 Days
10.	ARMENIA	–
11.	AUSTRALIA	90 Days
12.	AUSTRIA	90 Days
13.	AZERBAIJAN	–
14.	BAHAMAS	90 Days
15.	BAHRAIN	30 Days
16.	BANGLADESH	–
17.	BARBADOS	90 Days
18.	BELARUS	–
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	–
37.	CAMBODIA	–
38.	CAMEROON	–
39.	CANADA	90 Days
40.	CAPE VERDE (REPUBLIC OF)	30 Days
41.	CAYMAN ISLANDS	90 Days
42.	CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC	–
43.	CHAD	14 Days
44.	CHILE	90 Days
45.	COLOMBIA	90 Days
46.	COMOROS	14 Days
47.	CONGO (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF)	–
48.	CONGO (REPUBLIC OF)	–
49.	COSTA RICA	30 Days
50.	Costa Rican Provisional passports	–
51.	“Documento de Identidad Y Viaje” issued by Costa Rican Government	–
52.	COTE D’IVOIRE (REPUBLIC OF)	–
53.	CROATIA	90 Days
54.	CUBA	–
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	–
66.	ESTONIA	90 Days
67.	ETHIOPIA	–
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	–
76.	GERMANY	90 Days
77.	GHANA	–
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	–
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	–
93.	IRAQ	–
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)	–
104.	KOREA (REPUBLIC OF)	90 Days
105.	KUWAIT	30 Days
106.	KYRGYZSTAN	–
107.	LAOS	–
108.	LATVIA	90 Days
109.	LEBANON	–
110.	LESOTHO	14 Days
111.	LIBERIA	–
112.	LIBYA	–
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)	–
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	–
136.	NAMIBIA	90 Days
137.	NAURU	90 Days
138.	NEPAL	–
139.	NETHERLANDS	90 Days
140.	NEW ZEALAND	90 Days
141.	NICARAGUA	–
142.	NIGER	14 Days
143.	NIGERIA	–
144.	NORWAY	90 Days
145.	OMAN	30 Days
146.	PAKISTAN	–
147.	PALAU	14 Days
148.	PALESTINE (STATES OF)	–
149.	PANAMA	–
150.	PAPUA NEW GUINEA	90 Days
151.	PARAGUAY	30 Days
152.	PERU	30 Days
153.	Special Peruvian passports	–
154.	PHILIPPINES	14 Days
155.	PITCAIRN, HENDERSON, DUCIE & OENO ISLANDS	90 Days
156.	POLAND	90 Days
157.	PORTUGAL	90 Days
158.	QATAR	30 Days
159.	ROMANIA	90 Days
160.	RUSSIAN FEDERATION	14 Days
161.	RWANDA	14 Days
162.	SAMOA	30 Days
163.	SAN MARINO	90 Days
164.	SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE	14 Days
165.	SAUDI ARABIA	30 Days
166.	SENEGAL	–
167.	SERBIA (REPUBLIC OF) (holders of Serbian biometric passports only)	14 Days
168.	SERBIA (REPUBLIC OF) (holders of Serbian non-biometric passports or Serbian passports issued by the Coordination Directorate in Belgrade)	–
169.	SEYCHELLES	90 Days
170.	SIERRA LEONE	–
171.	SINGAPORE	90 Days
172.	SLOVAK REPUBLIC	90 Days
173.	SLOVENIA	90 Days
174.	SOLOMON ISLANDS	–
175.	SOMALIA	–
176.	SOUTH AFRICA	30 Days
177.	SOUTH SUDAN	–
178.	SPAIN	90 Days
179.	SRI LANKA	–
180.	ST. HELENA	90 Days
181.	ST. HELENA DEPENDENCIES (ASCENSION, TRISTAN DA CUNHA)	90 Days
182.	ST. KITTS – NEVIS ANGUILLA	90 Days
183.	ST. LUCIA	90 Days
184.	ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES	90 Days
185.	SUDAN	–
186.	SURINAME	14 Days
187.	SWAZILAND	90 Days
188.	SWEDEN	90 Days
189.	SWITZERLAND	90 Days
190.	SYRIA	–
191.	TAJIKISTAN	–
192.	TANZANIA	90 Days
193.	THAILAND	30 Days
194.	THE SOUTH GEORGIA AND THE SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS	90 Days
195.	THE SOVEREIGN BASE AREAS OF AKROTIRI AND DHEKELIA	90 Days
196.	TOGO	–
197.	TONGA	90 Days
198.	Tongan National passports	–
199.	Tongan Protected Persons passports	–
200.	TRINIDAD & TOBAGO	90 Days
201.	TUNISIA	30 Days
202.	TURKEY	90 Days
203.	TURKMENISTAN	–
204.	TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS	90 Days
205.	TUVALU	90 Days
206.	TUVALU (with national status stated as ‘I-TUVALU’)	–
207.	UGANDA	30 Days
208.	UKRAINE	14 Days
219.	UNITED ARAB EMIRATES	30 Days
210.	URUGUAY	90 Days
211.	Uruguay passports issued under Decree 289/90	–
212.	U.S.A.	90 Days
213.	US TRUST TERRITORY OF PACIFIC ISLANDS (holders of US Trust Territory passports only)	14 Days
214.	UZBEKISTAN	–
215.	VANUATU	90 Days
216.	VATICAN CITY	14 Days
217.	Vatican Service passports	–
218.	VENEZUELA	90 Days
219.	VIETNAM	–
220.	YEMEN (REPUBLIC OF)	–
221.	ZAMBIA	90 Days
222.	ZIMBABWE	90 Days
223.	All ‘stateless’ travel document holders	–
224.	Nationals of other foreign countries do not require visas for a visit	7 Days

Application of VISA via local sponsor

In case your visit requires a VISA, apart from proceeding to the nearest Chinese diplomatic and consular missions and apply for it from there, you may proceed to a local sponsor to shorten the processing time in some case.

A local sponsor must be either a valid Hong Kong company with valid Business Registration or a Hong Kong resident with valid Hong Kong identity card.

Entry assessment to visitors

For visitors to Hong Kong applying visiting Visa or just landed in Hong Kong at the border, you are advised be prepared for questions from the officers regarding the following:

• Tourism / Social visitor
  • Return tickets to your home country
  • Place of accommodation in Hong Kong
  • A route or proposed route of your visit
  • Companions of your visit
  • Reasonably sufficient funds for staying in Hong Kong
• Business visitor (in addition to above items):
  • Place of residence and office outside Hong Kong in your home country
  • Your intended period of stay in Hong Kong
  • Wages sourced from Hong Kong during your business visit to Hong Kong
  • Financial proof to your stay in Hong Kong
  • Business related planning about your stay in Hong Kong.

Once the visitors has landed in Hong Kong with valid permit or VISA, the visitors can apply for the first extension before the expiry date of its existing permit.

The application of first extension is usually not difficult to obtain approval when the visitor retain the statue of bona fide visitor to Hong Kong. The officer exterminate and may interview with applicant during the application.

The visitor must prepare a written letter to justifying the sound reasons for staying in Hong Kong and be present to officer with those application form. The reasons stated should be sound like realistic with reasonable proof.

Theoretically, unlimited number of extension can be granted by Hong Kong government to a visitor. In practices, most of the visitors can only get approved for their first extension. The application of further extension requires strong and solid supporting from third parties such as a local business body as well as the local person to show the importance of your present in Hong Kong is beneficial to Hong Kong society (e.g. to increase the tax income to Hong Kong government). The procedure of application to further extension is the same as that of first extension.

Refusal and Appeal

No appeal is available for all of the rejected VISA application.

The visitor VISA and permit of a visitor can be removed by Hong Kong government without any notice at any moment.

Shuttle between Hong Kong

By the law, a visitor is able to make shuttle trip between Hong Kong and Macau (Macau SAR) or Shenzhen (the nearest city in Mainland China) where both regions are adjacent to Hong Kong and stay at these cities for a short period, and immediately re-enter hong Kong as visitor again for a new permit of stay in Hong Kong.

However, the re-entering visitor may alert the immigration officers in Hong Kong since they may not pass the entry assessment and get rejected to entry.

Hong Kong government offers Travel Pass providing simplified immigration procedures for frequent business visitors who hold valid passports and are eligible to come to Hong Kong without a visa or entry permit for their visit.

Who can apply for?

The visitors must fulfill the circumstances as follows:

• with genuine business need to visit Hong Kong frequently, and
• previously visited Hong Kong on not less than 3 occasions (not include shuttle visiting to Mainland China or Macau) in the 12 months prior to the application, or
• your visits could bring substantial benefits to Hong Kong and the Immigration Department is satisfied with your proposal.

Using Hong Kong residents’ counters and e-Channel service for simplified immigration clearance are the major benefit of Travel Pass holders procedures.

Frequent visitor to Hong Kong (including Travel Pass holders) can applied for using computerized self-service e-Channels to enjoy quick and easy immigration clearance in the border where e-Channels are available.

Who can apply for?

• Holder of a valid visit visa;
• Holder of one of the following documents:
  • HKSAR Travel Pass;
  • APEC Business Travel Card bearing “HKG” on its back
  • Hong Kong International Airport Frequent Visitor Card
  • Frequent Flyer Programme membership card issued by qualified airlines
  • Holding valid travel document which is not required to have entry visa / permit for entering Hong Kong SAR;
  • Have made visits to the Hong Kong SAR by air via the Hong Kong International Airport for no less than 3 times in the past 12 months immediately before enrollment for the e-Channel service
• No adverse record in the Hong Kong SAR

Where are the e-Channel services available at?

Successfully enrolled visitors can use the Frequent Visitor e-Channels at the following control points.

• Hong Kong International Airport
• Lo Wu
• Lok Ma Chau Spur Line
• Shenzhen Bay
• Macau Ferry Terminal
• China Ferry Terminal
• Kai Tak Cruise Terminal
• Man Kam To