Eligibility for Certificate of Exemption
Under the Registration of Persons Regulations, the aged, the blind or the infirm who satisfy a registration officer that their personal attendance for registration of Hong Kong identity cards will injure their health or the health of others are not required to register or apply for the issue or renewal of an identity card. They can instead apply for a Certificate of Exemption, which is issued free of charge. However, as residents not residing in Hong Kong are not required to register for Hong Kong identity cards, they are not required to apply for the Certificate of Exemption.
No fee is payable for the issue of the Certificate of Exemption. However, when such person applies for an identity card upon improvement of his/her health condition, he/she will need to pay for the replacement if his/her identity card had been lost, destroyed, damaged or defaced before he/she applied for the Certificate of Exemption.
Introduction on Application (Video) : Application for Certificate of Exemption
Collection of Certificate of Exemption
If the application is approved, the applicant or his/her representative will be asked to collect the Certificate of Exemption at the Registration of Persons Office he/she has chosen. The applicant's identity card, if any, should be returned to the Registration of Persons Office upon collection of the Certificate of Exemption.
Notes
When the health of the applicant permits, he/she should apply for a new identity card by returning his/her Certificate of Exemption to any Registration of Persons office.
The Certificate of Exemption is not a travel document and cannot be used for immigration clearance.