Latest News & Events
Hong Kong SAR
The information provided is designed to give a summary of the immigration requirements. It is not offered as legal advice and should not be taken as such. The firm and the contributing authors expressly disclaim all liability to any person in respect of anything done or omitted in reliance upon the contents of this information sheet. Immigration rules and requirements frequently change without notice and you should contact our Global Immigration team for further information and advice.
Who needs a visa?
Business Visa
Work Authorization
Family
Penalties
Do's and Don't
Hong Kong operate a system which allows nationals of over 170 countries to visit for a 14 - 90 day period without obtaining a visa prior to entry.
14 days: Algeria, Angola (Diplomatic/Official Passport), Bahrain, Bangladesh (Diplomatic/Official Passport), Benin, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Burundi (Diplomatic/Official Passport), Cameroon (Diplomatic/Official Passport), Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Republic of Congo (Diplomatic/Official Passport), Croatia, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia (Diplomatic/Official Passport), Gabon, Ghana (Diplomatic/Official Passport), Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, India, Jordan, Kuwait, Lesotho, Macedonia, Madagascar, Mali, Republic of Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, Mozambique, Niger, Oman, Pakistan (Diplomatic/Official Passport), Palau, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka (Diplomatic/Official Passport), Suriname, Togo (Diplomatic/Official Passport), US territory of Pacific Islands and Vatican City.
30 days: Bolivia, Republic of Cape Verde, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Morocco, Paraguay, Peru and Samoa (Western), South Africa, Thailand, Tunisia, Uganda, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
90 days: Andorra Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, Brazil, Britain (British Overseas Territories citizens, British Overseas citizens, British subjects and British Protected persons), British Antarctic Territory, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica (Commonwealth of), Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Falkland Islands & Dependencies, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, Gambia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Guyana, Hungary, Iceland, Republic of Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Montserrat, Namibia, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, St Helena & Dependencies (Ascension, Tristan Da Cunha), St Kitts - Nevis Anguilla, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, The South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, Turks & Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uruguay, USA, Vanuatu and Venezuela.
180 days: Great Britain
Nationals of countries not listed above must apply for a visa at the nearest Chinese Embassy or Consulate in their country of residence before travelling to Hong Kong.
If required, a visa should be obtained at the Consulate of China. The Chinese Consulate has recently established a system whereby applicants can file their application online, and submit the supporting documents thorough one of the Chinese Visa Application Service Centres.
Processing time:
Processing times of business and training visas vary according to the country where the application is filed.
Business visa applications in the UK may be processed within 10 working days from the date of submission.
Validity:
Business visit visas are generally issued for 90 days.
For an up-to-date list of required supporting documentation, please contact our Global Immigration Team..
Foreign workers wishing to undertake paid or unpaid work in Hong Kong must obtain prior authorisation. There are a number of schemes which facilitate foreign nationals working in Hong Kong.
1. Quality Migrant Admission Scheme:
The Quality Migrant Admission Scheme ("QMAS") is a quota-based scheme which seeks to attract highly skilled or talented persons to work and settle in Hong Kong, in order to enhance Hong Kong's economic competitiveness in the global market.
This Scheme is not available to nationals of Afghanistan, Albania, Cambodia, Cuba, Laos, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Nepal and Vietnam.
Applicants do not require a Hong Kong employer to sponsor the application.
To be eligible for the QMAS, applicants are required to fulfil a number of prerequisites before being awarded points under one of two points based tests - the General Points Test and the Achievement Points Test.
Stage 1 - Prerequisites:
The foreign worker must fulfil the below prerequisites before scoring points under the two tests.
Be at least 18 years old
Demonstrate they have financial means to support and accommodate themselves and any dependants during their stay in Hong Kong
Not have any criminal record or adverse immigration record in Hong Kong or another country
Be proficient in written and spoken Chinese (with Mandarin or Cantonese) or English.
Have at least a Bachelor degree or equivalent
Stage 2 - Points Test
Once the foreign worker has fulfilled all of the Stage 1 prerequisites, they can choose to qualify under the either the General Points Test or the Achievement-based Points Test.
a) General Points Test:
The current minimum number of points required to qualify under the General Points Test is 80 points. The minimum number of points is subject to change. Please contact our Global Immigration team for further information.
Points can be collated through a number of attributes:
- Age - maximum of 30 points
- Academic/Professional qualifications - maximum of 45 points
- Work experience - maximum of 50 points
- Language proficiency - maximum 20 points
- Family background - maximum of 10 points
Please contact our Global Immigration team for further details.
b) Achievement-based Points Test:
This test is designed for foreign workers of exceptional talent or skill(s) who have outstanding achievements.
Those who are considered to have met the criteria below will be awarded 165 points and will qualify for an entry permit under the QMAS.
- The foreign worker has received an award of exceptional achievement i.e. Olympic medals, Nobel prize, national/international awards; or
- The foreign worker can show that their work has been acknowledged by their peers or has contributed significantly to the development of their field i.e. lifetime achievement award from industry
Evidence of achievement can include published work; press articles; research award certificates; international award/honour certificate; proof of ownership of intellectual property rights; reference letter from peers.
Validity:
If the application is successful, the foreign national will be issued with a visa valid for up to 12 months, which is extended periodically up to a period of seven years. On completion of seven years in Hong Kong under the QMAS, the foreign national may be eligible for permanent residence in Hong Kong.
2. General Employment Policy (GEP)
Foreign workers who do not meet the eligibility criteria under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, but possess special skills, knowledge or experience of value to and not readily available in Hong Kong may qualify for a GEP.
The eligibility criteria include:
- No criminal record and no security objections
- Good educational background
- A genuine job vacancy
- A confirmed offer of employment by a company in Hong Kong
- A remuneration package in line with the national rate
Validity:
If the application is successful, the foreign worker will be granted permission to remain for a period of 1 year, which is extendable for at increments up to a maximum period of 7 years.
3. Training scheme
This scheme is not available to nationals from Afghanistan; Albania; Cambodia; Cuba; Laos; Democratic People's Republic of Korea; Nepal; Vietnam and Chinese residents of Mainland China (other than Mainland employees and business associates of well-established and multinational companies based in Hong Kong).
The eligibility criteria include:
- No criminal convictions and no security objections
- Evidence that the company is registered with the authorities in Hong Kong
- Bona fide company able to provide training
- Contract between the foreign worker and the Hong Kong company
- Written guarantee from the company that they will pay the foreign worker's maintenance and accommodation
- Justifiable training programme
Validity:
If successful, the training visa may be granted for a period up to 12 months.
4. Hong Kong Working Holiday Visa
Hong Kong has a bilateral agreements with Australia, Ireland and New Zealand. Whereby nationals aged between 18-30 of the participating country, whose main intention is to holiday in Hong Kong can take up short-term employment and/or enrol in a short educational course. Irish nationals are prohibited from enrolling on short educational courses.
A quota system is operated, where the annual quota for Australian nationals is 1000, the annual quota for Irish nationals is 100 and for New Zealand nationals is 200.
To meet the eligibility criteria, the applicant must:
- Hold a valid national passport issued by Australia, Ireland or New Zealand
- Have a primary intention is to have a holiday in Hong Kong
- Be aged between 18-30
- Are able to produce evidence of having the minimum required financial sums to show they can maintain and accommodate themselves during the holiday
- Hold a return ticket or evidence that they can pay for a mode of transport leaving Hong Kong
- Hold health insurance covering their period in Hong Kong
Validity:
If successful, the applicant will be granted a period of stay up to 12 months.
General process for the schemes covered above:
The foreign worker can apply directly to the Immigration Department in Hong Kong, or the employer can apply on the foreign worker's behalf. Applications usually take 4-6 weeks, but can take longer if the Immigration Department has queries regarding the application. If the application is successful, the entry visa will be issued and sent to the foreign worker overseas. The entry visa must be presented to the immigration officer upon arrival at the port of entry.
Working Holiday applications can also be submitted at the Chinese Consulate/Embassy in Australia, Ireland or New Zealand. Once applications are approved, the applicant will be sent an entry visa which they will be able to use to facilitate entry into Hong Kong.
For an up-to-date list of required supporting documentation, please contact our Global Immigration Team.
5. Hong Kong Non-local Graduates (IANG) scheme
If the foreign national does not qualify for any of the above schemes, they may be able to remain in Hong Kong to work if they have studied and graduated from an accredited university in Hong Kong.
This scheme is not available to nationals from Afghanistan, Albania, Cambodia, Cuba, Laos, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Nepal and Vietnam.
To meet the eligibility criteria, the foreign national must:
- Have completed a full-time course of at least degree level or higher and which is accredited in Hong Kong
- Submit their applications within 6 months after the date of graduation
Processing time:
Applications must be submitted to the Immigration Department in Hong Kong and may take up to four weeks to be processed.
Validity:
If the application is successful, the foreign national may be granted permission to work and reside in Hong Kong for a period up to 12 months.
For an up-to-date list of required supporting documentation, please contact our Global Immigration Team.
Dependants:
The legal spouse, unmarried children under the age of 18 and parents over 60 can join the foreign worker if they are in Hong Kong under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme or the General Employment Policy.
Dependants may be granted permission to remain in line with the foreign worker.
If the foreign worker is applying for an entry permit under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme and relies on his/her spouse's qualifications to score points under the General Points Test, the spouse's entry permit application must be submitted at the same time as that of the foreign worker.
Dependants of foreign workers are entitled to work and study in Hong Kong.
Working Holiday visa holders will not be permitted to bring their dependants.
Unmarried partners/Same-sex partner:
The authorities in Hong Kong do not recognise unmarried partners or same sex partners as dependants. Unmarried partners or same-sex partners will therefore need to qualify for an employment in their own right or obtain a prolonged visitor visa. If they obtain a prolonged visitor visa, they will not be permitted to work.
Employer:
Hong Kong employers who do not comply with the immigration laws can be fined the sum up to HK$ 350,000 and responsible staff members could be imprisoned for a period up to 3 years. Responsible staff members include the Human Resources or Personnel department, Directors of the company or Lines managers.
Employee:
Foreign workers who do not comply with the immigration laws of Hong Kong may be fined a sum up to HK$ 50,000 and imprisoned for a period up to 2 years.
Do:
- Check whether you require a visa before travelling to Hong Kong
- Contact our global immigration team as soon as possible regarding any potential working application as there are a number of steps that must be followed and applications can take a long time to be processed
Don't:
- Breach any immigration rules
The information provided is designed to give a summary of the immigration requirements. Please note that the information was correct at the time of writing, however the immigration rules and regulations of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, like many other countries, frequently change without notice and you should contact our Global Immigration team for further information and advice.