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Living In UAE Visa+Immigration

Nationals from 164 countries can travel to Hong Kong without a visa

Hong Kong offers visa-free travel options for 14, 90 or 180 days. Check your eligibility



Citizens from about 164 countries and territories can visit Hong Kong visa-free, to stay for anywhere between 14 to 180 days. Picture used for illustrative purposes.
Image Credit: Jimmy Chan/Pexels

Dubai: Did you know that citizens from about 164 countries and territories can visit Hong Kong visa-free, to stay for anywhere between 14 to 180 days? Find out whether you are eligible for this policy and how long you can stay in Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, you might also want to know that UAE residents can participate in Hong Kong’s 500,000 flight tickets giveaway in May 2023, and potentially visit the city with free tickets.

According to the Immigration Department of Hong Kong, these are the nationalities who can visit Hong Kong visa-free for 14 days, 30 days, 90 days, or 180 days.

14-day visit

If you are from one of these 35 countries or territories, and you meet the additional mentioned below, you can visit Hong Kong visa-free for 14 days:

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1. Albania (holders of Albanian biometric passports only)
2. Algeria
3. Benin
4. Bhutan
5. Bosnia and Herzegovina
6. Burkina Faso
7. Chad
8. Comoros
9. Djibouti
10. Equatorial Guinea
11. Gabon
12. Guinea
13. Haiti
14. India (pre-arrival registration required)
15. Kazakhstan
16. Lesotho
17. Madagascar
18. Mali
19. Marshall Islands
20. Mauritania
21. Micronesia
22. Mongolia
23. Montenegro
24. Mozambique
25. Niger
26. North Macedonia
27. Palau
28. Philippines
29. Russian Federation
30. Sao Tome and Principe
31. Serbia (holders of Serbian biometric passports only)
32. Suriname
33. Ukraine
34. US trust territory of pacific islands (holders of US trust territory passports only)
35. Vatican City

How to complete the pre-arrival registration
You can follow these steps to complete the registration:

- Access the form via this link: https://webapp.es2.immd.gov.hk/applies2-client/i-par-reg/en-US/disclaimer?svcId=753&applicationId=753&ticketId=753-d2a9fee0-d5ef-4ce7-91b1-59ff617a677c.
- Fill in all information correctly as per your passport.
- Afterwards, the registration result will be shown to you instantly.
- If your registration is successful, you must print the ‘notification slip for pre-arrival registration for Indian nationals’ (the notification slip) on a A4 size paper.
- If your registration is unsuccessful, you will need to apply for an entry visa to the Immigration Department of Hong Kong.
- Sign the notification slip.

The printed and signed notification slip should be used in conjunction with your passport when traveling to Hong Kong. The validity of the registration is six months. During this time, you can visit Hong Kong multiple times visa-free.
A list of Indian citizens who are exempted for pre-arrival registration
- Holders of a valid Indian diplomatic or official passport.
- Holders of United Nations Laissez Passer, who are visiting Hong Kong or transiting via Hong Kong for official United Nations events.
- Those who have successfully enrolled for e-channel service for frequent visitors.
You can access detailed information on the service via this link, by selecting ‘e-channel service for frequent visitors’ in the drop-down menu on top of the page: https://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/services/echannel_visitors.html#fv.
- Those who are transiting via Hong Kong to a third destination without exiting the airport transit area.
- Holders of a valid travel pass for Hong Kong.
- Those who have obtained a valid entry visa for Hong Kong.

30-day visit

If you are from one of these 26 countries or territories, you can visit Hong Kong visa-free for 30 days:

1. Armenia
2. Bahrain
3. Belarus
4. Bolivia
5. Cape Verde
6. Costa Rica
7. Dominican Republic
8. El Salvador
9. Guatemala
10. Honduras
11. Indonesia
12. Jordan
13. Kuwait
14. Morocco
15. Oman
16. Panama
17. Paraguay
18. Peru
19. Qatar
20. Samoa
21. Saudi Arabia
22. South Africa
23. Thailand
24. Tunisia
25. Uganda
26. United Arab Emirates

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90-day visit

If you are from one of these 102 countries or territories, and you meet the additional requirements given below, you can visit Hong Kong visa-free for 90 days:

1. Andorra
2. Anguilla
3. Antigua & Barbuda
4. Argentina
5. Australia
6. Austria
7. Bahamas
8. Barbados
9. Belgium
10. Belize
11. Bermuda
12. Botswana
13. Brazil
14. Britain (British overseas territories citizens, British overseas citizens, British subjects and British protected persons)
15. British Antarctic Territory
16. British Indian Ocean Territory
17. British Virgin Islands
18. Brunei Darussalam
19. Bulgaria
20. Canada
21. Cayman Islands
22. Chile
23. Colombia
24. Croatia
25. Cyprus
26. Czech Republic
27. Denmark
28. Dominica
29. Ecuador
30. Egypt
31. Estonia
32. Eswatini
33. Falkland Islands and dependencies
34. Faroe Islands
35. Fiji
36. Finland
37. France
38. Germany
39. Gibraltar
40. Greece
41. Greenland
42. Grenada
43. Guyana
44. Hungary
45. Iceland
46. Ireland
47. Israel
48. Italy
49. Jamaica
50. Japan
51. Kenya
52. Kiribati
53. Korea
54. Latvia
55. Liechtenstein
56. Lithuania
57. Luxembourg
58. Malawi
59. Malaysia
60. Maldives
61. Malta
62. Mauritius
63. Mexico
64. Monaco
65. Montserrat
66. Namibia
67. Nauru
68. Netherlands
69. New Zealand
70. Norway
71. Papua New Guinea
72. Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Island
73. Poland
74. Portugal
75. Romania
76. San Marino
77. Seychelles
78. Singapore
79. Slovak Republic
80. Slovenia
81. Spain
82. St. Helena
83. St. Helena dependencies (Ascension, Tristan da Cunha)
84. St. Kitts and Nevis
85. St. Lucia
86. St. Vincent and the Grenadines
87. Sweden
88. Switzerland
89. Tanzania
90. South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
91. The sovereign base areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia
92. Tonga
93. Trinidad and Tobago
94. Turkey
95. Turks and Caicos Islands
96. Tuvalu
97. Uruguay
98. United States of America (except for diplomatic passports)
99. Vanuatu
100. Venezuela
101. Zambia
102. Zimbabwe

180-day visit

If you are a British citizen from the United Kingdom, you can visit Hong Kong visa-free for 180 days.

Mainland China passport-holders, transiting through Hong Kong

Permit for visiting Hong Kong - As per article 22(4) of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), for entry into HKSAR, people from other parts of China must apply for approval – this includes mainland residents. Mainland residents who wish to enter Hong Kong, must apply to their local Public Security Bureau in their place of resident for approval. The approvals are in various forms of permits and are issued based on your travel purpose. You should contact your local Public Security Bureau for the details.

However, this is applicable only if you are visiting Hong Kong from Mainland China. If you are a mainland China passport holder living in the UAE, you can get a seven-day permit-free transit in Hong Kong, under these two conditions:

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1. You are transiting via Hong Kong to a third country or region from the UAE, other than your departing country. Documents you need to provide in this case:
• Valid passport.
• If you are transiting to a third country or region other than mainland China or Macau, you should provide onward ticket to the country or region from Hong Kong, dated within your seven-day stay.
• If you are transiting to mainland China or Macau, you don’t need to provide your onward tickets.

2. You are transiting via Hong Kong from mainland China to a third country or region, including the UAE. Documents you should offer in this case:
• Valid passport.
• Onward tickets to this country or region from Hong Kong, dated within your seven-day stay.
• Valid visa or resident permit for the third country or region.

7-day visit

According to the Immigration Department of Hong Kong, 7-day visa-free visit is also available for certain countries. You can check your eligibility by contacting them via these channels:
• 24-hour general enquiry hotline: +852 2824 6111
• General enquiry email address: enquiry@immd.gov.hk

They also advised that you should consult them on your visa-free status before you travel there, as the information on visa requirements for visitors may be subject to changes.

Do you have any questions related to the topics covered in the Living in UAE section? Write to us at readers@gulfnews.com

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