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Nationals of Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Somalia require visas for Hong Kong

4 July 2005

Nationals of Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Somalia will require a visa for Hong Kong from July 11, 2005, for any purpose, including airside transit.

An Immigration Department spokesperson said today (4 July 2005) that this was due to security and immigration control reasons.

At present, nationals of Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia may visit Hong Kong visa-free and stay for up to 14 days while Somalis are currently required to obtain a visa for visiting Hong Kong unless they are in transit and remain on the airside.

"Hong Kong adopts a liberal visa policy under which nationals of about 170 countries and territories may visit Hong Kong without a visa and stay for up to 7 to 180 days," the spokesperson said.

"The Immigration Department regularly reviews its visa policies and will take into account factors such as the social, economic and political situations of countries and territories concerned in order to devise a visa policy which will accord maximum facilitation to genuine visitors while maintaining effective immigration control.  We will continue to review our policies in the light of ongoing developments."