Hong Kong visit visa: visa-free stays and when you need one

Most visitors to Hong Kong do not need a visa. Nationals of about 170 countries and territories can come visa-free for between 7 and 180 days, and the period depends on your nationality. If your nationality is not on that list, you apply to the Immigration Department (ImmD) for a visit visa before you travel. Either way, a visitor may not work, run a business or study here.

How visa-free access works

ImmD’s visit visa and entry permit requirements page is the only list to rely on. It groups nationalities by visa-free period: 180 days, 90 days, 30 days, 14 days and 7 days. Some entries carry conditions, such as a biometric passport. Find your nationality there rather than relying on a travel site.

How to apply for a visit visa

1. Check the requirement. Confirm on ImmD’s nationality page that you need a visa, and read the Visit/Transit page and the guidebook, ID(E) 1004.
2. Complete the forms. You complete ID 1003A, Application for Entry for Visit/Transit in Hong Kong. Your sponsor completes ID 1003B.
3. Submit. ImmD says you can send the forms and supporting documents to its Receipt and Despatch Unit, Ground Floor, Administration Tower, Immigration Headquarters, 61 Po Yap Road, Tseung Kwan O, by post or through a local sponsor. Some Chinese diplomatic and consular missions pass visa applications from holders of foreign ordinary passports to a Chinese Visa Application Service Center, so ask the nearest mission how it works where you live.
4. Wait. ImmD normally takes four weeks once it has all the required documents.
5. Pay and print the e-Visa. If approved, ImmD issues an e-Visa. After payment you can download or print it yourself. Check the current fee on ImmD’s Visit/Transit page.

What visitors may do

ImmD keeps a list of permissible activities for visitors. It includes:

• attending business meetings and short-term seminars
• concluding contracts or submitting tenders
• examining or supervising the installation or packaging of goods or equipment
• taking part in exhibitions or trade fairs, but not selling goods or supplying services direct to the public, and not building the booth yourself
• settling compensation or other civil proceedings
• taking part in product orientation
• delivering speeches or presentations without pay (accommodation, travel, meals or expenses are allowed), for up to 14 consecutive calendar days in each permitted stay.

Paid speaking is allowed only under ImmD’s Immigration Facilitation Scheme for visitors in sector-specific speaking engagements. Read the scheme page before you accept a fee.

What visitors may not do

ImmD says visitors may not:

• take any employment, paid or unpaid
• establish or join in any business
• become a student at a school, university or other educational institution.

Unpaid work is still employment. Trade fairs have their own limits: ImmD says exhibitors may not sell goods direct to the public or take money from them, and should hire lawfully employable people to sell goods and build booths.

Staying longer or changing plans

If you have a special or urgent need to stay longer, you can apply online for an extension when your remaining limit of stay is within 14 days, using ImmD’s visitor extension service. It is not a way to start working. If you want to work, study or settle, you need the right visa first. Start with our guides to the General Employment Policy, the Top Talent Pass Scheme and the student visa.

Common mistakes and getting help

• Relying on a travel site’s visa-free list instead of ImmD’s nationality page.
• Indian nationals travelling without completing pre-arrival registration.
• Doing “a few days’ work” for a Hong Kong client while visiting. Paid or unpaid, it is employment.
• Selling at a trade fair or building your own booth.
• Accepting a speaking fee outside the facilitation scheme.

ImmD decides every visa, and Hong Kong has no immigration consultant licence. Most visitors do not need outside help. If your case is unusual, or you are planning a move to work here, compare the visa firms on our list.