Hong Kong student visa: who qualifies, forms and work rules

If you are not a Hong Kong resident and want to study here, you need a student visa or entry permit from the Immigration Department (ImmD). The application starts with a school or university accepting you. You then apply on forms ID 995A and ID 995B, normally lodged through the institution as your sponsor. Degree students may work in limited ways, but only within ImmD’s rules.

Who qualifies

ImmD’s students page sets the rules. You need:

• a school acceptance letter confirming you have been accepted for a course of study
• the means to pay the course fees, your living expenses and your accommodation without working and without recourse to public funds.

The school matters too. ImmD’s page says:

• you may study at private schools registered under the Education Ordinance or the Post Secondary Colleges Ordinance
• you may enrol in a full-time course on the register of non-local higher and professional education courses
• except for post-secondary education, entry to study at public or aided schools is not permitted, other than English Schools Foundation schools and Direct Subsidy Scheme schools.

There are age limits for school pupils:

• For primary education, you must be aged from 5 years and 8 months to 11.
• For secondary education, you must be below 20.

Residents of the Mainland, Macao and Taiwan, and overseas Chinese, should also read ImmD’s entry arrangements page, which sets out the routes that apply to them.

How to apply, step by step

1. Get your acceptance letter from the school or institution.
2. Complete form ID 995A, the applicant’s form. ImmD asks for a recent photograph and a copy of your travel document showing your personal details, issue and expiry dates, and any re-entry visa.
3. Your sponsor completes ID 995B. Both forms are on ImmD’s study forms page.
4. Lodge the application. ImmD says applications are submitted through the education institution that granted the acceptance, which acts as sponsor. Ask your admissions office how it collects them.
5. Wait for ImmD’s decision. Check the current processing time and fee on the students page. If you qualify for work permission, ImmD tells you with a No Objection Letter when it approves your entry.

Working while you study

ImmD’s study policy FAQ sets the standing rules for non-local students (not exchange students) on full-time locally accredited local programmes at undergraduate level or above, lasting at least one academic year:

You need the Director of Immigration’s prior permission for any of these. Eligible students get it through the No Objection Letter and in general do not need to apply separately for on-campus part-time work and summer jobs.

On top of those rules, the government temporarily exempted full-time non-local postgraduate students from the part-time work restrictions from 1 November 2023, on a two-year trial, and extended the exemption to undergraduates from 1 November 2024. Under it, eligible students could work without limits on hours or workplace during their studies. These were time-limited measures. Check the ImmD FAQ for whether they cover your academic year before you take an off-campus job.

Family, extensions and after graduation

• Family. Dependants of people admitted to study can apply under ImmD’s dependant policy. They may study, but may not work unless the Director of Immigration gives prior permission.
• Extensions. If your course runs past your limit of stay, you may apply to extend within four weeks before it expires. See our extension of stay guide.
• After graduation. Graduates of eligible full-time programmes can look at the IANG arrangement for non-local graduates. It is a separate application.

Common mistakes and getting help

• Starting a job before getting ImmD’s permission or a No Objection Letter.
• Assuming exchange students get the same work rights. They do not.
• Taking an internship that your institution has not arranged or endorsed.
• Relying on an old article about the part-time exemption without checking whether it still applies.
• Letting your stay expire while the course continues.

Ask your institution’s admissions office first, since it lodges the application as sponsor. ImmD decides every application, and Hong Kong has no immigration consultant licence. If your case is unusual, compare the visa firms on our list.