Public Services

Introduction

The following gives a general account on the immigration requirements for overseas Chinese or Chinese residents of Taiwan coming to Hong Kong for visit, in transit, taking up employment, joining in or establishing a business, study or for residence.

Holders of People's Republic of China (PRC) passports

PRC passport holders living overseas wishing to enter the HKSAR for visit, employment, training, study or residence should apply for an appropriate entry permit. Please refer to paragraphs 18-22 for application procedures.

Transit

PRC passport holders who are in transit through the HKSAR to and from another country or territory may be granted a stay of seven days on each landing without the prior need to obtain an entry permit provided that usual immigration requirements are met, including possession of valid entry facilities for the destination and confirmed onward booking for the overseas journey.

Visit

PRC passport holders should apply for entry permits for social and business visits to the HKSAR.

Employment

General Employment Policy - Employment as Professionals or Investment (to establish/join in business)

PRC passport holders who have obtained overseas permanent residence wishing to come to work in the HKSAR should apply for entry permits. However, PRC ordinary passport holders who do not have permanent residence overseas but are presently residing overseas may also apply for entry permits to work in the HKSAR if they have lived overseas for at least 1 year immediately before an application is submitted. The policy governing entry for employment includes, inter alia, that they must possess a special skill, knowledge of value to and not readily available in the HKSAR. For entry for investment (to establish/join in business), the applicants should also be in a position to make substantial contribution to the economy of Hong Kong.

Immigration Arrangement for Non-local Graduates

PRC passport holders who have obtained a degree or higher qualification in a full-time and locally accredited programme in Hong Kong may apply to stay/return and work in Hong Kong under the Immigration Arrangement for Non-local Graduates if they have obtained overseas permanent residence; or have been residing overseas for at least 1 year immediately before the submission of applications and the applications are submitted from overseas. Applicants who submit applications to the Immigration Department within 6 months after the date of their graduation (i.e. the date shown on the graduation certificate) are not required to secure an offer of employment upon application.

Training

PRC passport holders who are employees or business associates sponsored by multinational firms or well-established companies in Hong Kong may apply to enter the HKSAR for short term training not exceeding 12 months.

Study

PRC passport holders who have obtained overseas permanent residence may apply to study in registered private educational institutions and recognised tertiary institutes in the HKSAR.

Residence

Residence as Dependants

PRC passport holders who have obtained permanent residence in an overseas country may apply for entry as dependants. PRC passport holders who have resided overseas for not less than 1 year may apply for entry as dependants to join sponsors who have resided overseas for not less than 1 year and been admitted to take up employment or as entrants under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme in the HKSAR.

For a sponsor who is a Hong Kong permanent resident or a resident who is not subject to a limit of stay (i.e. a resident with the right to land or on unconditional stay), the following dependants may apply to join him/her for residence in Hong Kong:

1. his/her spouse;
2. his/her unmarried dependent child under the age of 18; and
3. his/her parent aged 60 or above.

For a sponsor who has been admitted into Hong Kong to take up employment (as a professional, for investment to establish/join in business, or for training) or studies (in a full-time undergraduate or post-graduate programme in a local degree-awarding institution) or as an entrant under the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme or the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, the following dependants may apply to join him/her for residence in Hong Kong:

1. his/her spouse; and
2. his/her unmarried dependent child under the age of 18.

Dependants of persons who have been admitted into Hong Kong to study are not permitted to take up employment in Hong Kong.

Capital Investment Entrant Scheme

PRC passport holders who have obtained permanent residence in an overseas country may apply for residence in Hong Kong under the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme. The objective of the Scheme is to facilitate the entry for residence by capital investment entrants (the entrant), i.e. persons who make capital investment in Hong Kong but would not be engaged in the running of any business here. The entrant is allowed to make his choice of investments amongst permissible assets without the need to establish or join in a business.

Quality Migrant Admission Scheme

PRC passport holders who have obtained permanent residence in an overseas country; or have been residing overseas for at least 1 year immediately before the submission of applications and the applications are submitted from overseas, may apply for residence in Hong Kong under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme. The Scheme is a quota-based entrant scheme that seeks to attract highly skilled or talented persons to settle in Hong Kong. Successful applicants are not required to secure an offer of local employment before their entry to Hong Kong for settlement.

Residents of Taiwan

Chinese residents of Taiwan living overseas who wish to enter the HKSAR for transit, visit, employment, training, study, residence as dependants or as entrants under the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme or the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme should apply for an appropriate entry permit. Please refer to paragraphs 18-22 for application procedures.

Chinese residents of Taiwan currently in Taiwan should apply for entry permits relating to their purposes of entry through one of the authorised airline companies. For entry other than the purpose of visit, applicants may also submit their applications by sending the completed application forms together with the required documents to the Immigration Department through their sponsors (by post or in person) in Hong Kong. For those who wish to visit Hong Kong, they may apply for a single entry permit or a multiple entry permit through the authorised airlines. They may also choose to apply for the iPermits at the office of the authorised airline (or its authorised agents) in Taiwan provided that they are not in possession of any travel document issued by other authorities outside Taiwan (except "Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Residents" (commonly known as "Tai Bao Zheng"); and Entry Permit and iPermit issued by the Immigration Department), but they must hold a travel document valid for at least 6 months for re-entry to Taiwan. Please refer to paragraphs 18-22 for application procedures.

Chinese residents of Taiwan may also apply for pre-arrival registration to visit Hong Kong through the GovHK website (www.gov.hk/par) free of charge, provided they were born in Taiwan (or born outside Taiwan but have been admitted to Hong Kong as Taiwan residents before) and are not in possession of any travel document issued by other authorities outside Taiwan (except "Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Residents" (commonly known as "Tai Bao Zheng"); and Entry Permit and iPermit issued by the Immigration Department). Please refer to the "Guidance Notes on Pre-arrival Registration for Taiwan Residents" ID(C) 1016 (Chinese version) or ID(E) 1016 (English version) for details.

Taiwan residents holding a valid "Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Residents" (commonly known as "Tai Bao Zheng") may enter Hong Kong as visitor and stay for up to 30 days irrespective of whether they are transiting Hong Kong to/from the Mainland or coming to Hong Kong for visit, provided the normal immigration requirements are met.

Application Procedures

Application Forms and Guidebooks

Applicants should according to their entry purposes complete the appropriate application forms. For details, please refer to Annex.

Fees

For overseas applications submitted to the Immigration Department directly, a standard entry permit fee of HK$ 160 is charged. Payment of fees should be made by the sponsor / reference in Hong Kong at the time of collecting the entry permit. If the applicant does not have a sponsor / reference in the HKSAR to pay the fee, he / she should send in the fee with the application in the form of a cashier order or bank draft in Hong Kong currency. The cashier order or bank draft should be one from a bank which has a connected bank in the HKSAR and made payable to 'The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region'.

For Chinese residents of Taiwan currently in Taiwan, a standard fee of HK$ 160 is charged for a single entry permit, HK$ 325 for a multiple entry permit with one-year validity and HK$ 650 for a multiple entry permit with three-year validity. The prescribed fee for an iPermit is HK$50, and the iPermit is valid for two months and good for two trips to Hong Kong. The authorised airlines and their agents may levy a charge for handling the applications and the charges may vary among airlines and agents.

Additional Information

It normally takes 4 weeks to process an overseas entry permit application and 2 working days for a multiple entry permit submitted through authorised airlines in Taiwan. An acknowledgement will be sent upon receipt of application by the Immigration Department if the application is submitted to the Immigration Department direct. Please refrain from making enquiries about the progress of the application unless it is absolutely necessary, as it may delay the processing of the application.

For other enquiries, please telephone the Immigration Department on (852) 2824 6111 or by fax (852) 2877 7711.

Annex

Note:
The existing entry application forms, i.e. Application for Entry for Employment as Professionals in Hong Kong (ID 990A), Application for Entry for Training in Hong Kong (ID 992A), Application for Entry for Study in Hong Kong (ID 995A), and Application for Entry for Investment (to establish/join in business) in Hong Kong (ID 999A) have built in the accompanying dependant's application. The sponsor may include his/her accompanying dependant's application for entry for residence when completing the aforesaid entry application forms, and the accompanying dependant will not be required to complete application form (ID 997) separately.