Hong Kong entry requirements: passports, visas and arrival steps

Find your passport in the official visa table

The Immigration Department’s visa/entry-permit requirements page in Sources is the starting point for every passport, including those absent from this selection. These visitor allowances were checked on 2026-10-16; special travel documents and diplomatic passports can have different arrangements.

The following are common passport examples, not a single rule for all visitors. Visa-free eligibility does not guarantee entry to Hong Kong.

• British citizens can visit Hong Kong visa-free for up to 180 days.
• Australian passport holders can visit Hong Kong visa-free for up to 90 days.
• Canadian passport holders can visit Hong Kong visa-free for up to 90 days.
• US passport holders other than diplomatic passport holders can visit Hong Kong visa-free for up to 90 days.
• Japanese passport holders can visit Hong Kong visa-free for up to 90 days.
• Republic of Korea passport holders can visit Hong Kong visa-free for up to 90 days.
• Singapore passport holders can visit Hong Kong visa-free for up to 90 days.
• Malaysian passport holders can visit Hong Kong visa-free for up to 90 days.
• New Zealand passport holders can visit Hong Kong visa-free for up to 90 days.
• German passport holders can visit Hong Kong visa-free for up to 90 days.
• French passport holders can visit Hong Kong visa-free for up to 90 days.
• Italian passport holders can visit Hong Kong visa-free for up to 90 days.
• Spanish passport holders can visit Hong Kong visa-free for up to 90 days.
• Portuguese passport holders can visit Hong Kong visa-free for up to 90 days.
• Dutch passport holders can visit Hong Kong visa-free for up to 90 days.
• Irish passport holders can visit Hong Kong visa-free for up to 90 days.
• Swedish passport holders can visit Hong Kong visa-free for up to 90 days.
• Thai passport holders can visit Hong Kong visa-free for up to 30 days.
• Indonesian passport holders can visit Hong Kong visa-free for up to 30 days.
• Philippine passport holders can visit Hong Kong visa-free for up to 14 days.
• Vietnamese ordinary passport holders need a visa before visiting Hong Kong.
• Taiwan residents have a separate Hong Kong entry-permit or pre-arrival registration arrangement.

Passport validity, documents and a longer stay

Passport-validity requirements depend on the passport and entry arrangement. German travel documents must remain valid for at least one month beyond the intended Hong Kong stay. For travellers on a full British citizen passport from the UK, the passport must remain valid for at least one month after the planned departure from Hong Kong. These are passport-specific rules; the Indian registration requirement is in the next section. If your passport is not covered by these examples or the Indian registration rule, use the Immigration Department enquiry route on its official visa-requirements page in Sources before booking. Give your nationality, exact travel-document type, expiry date, planned entry and departure dates, and destination after Hong Kong; establish the required validity beyond your stay and whether the document gives adequate returnability to your place of residence or citizenship. Do not substitute another nationality’s numerical rule.

Visitors need enough money for their stay without working, and onward or return tickets unless they are in transit to Macau or mainland China. Keep your travel document, relevant permission and onward booking accessible rather than buried in checked luggage. Keep your accommodation details handy too.

Visitors cannot take paid or unpaid employment, establish or join a business, or enrol as a student. For a visit longer than your passport’s visa-free allowance, obtain the appropriate visa or entry permit before travelling.

For a visit visa, the Immigration Department’s Visit/Transit page accepts online applications and supporting documents. Its checklist includes the application, photograph, travel-document copy, financial evidence, transport arrangements and evidence of the proposed visit. On 2026-10-16 it gave a normal processing time of four weeks after all required documents arrive; approval is discretionary. Indian visit-visa applications go directly to the Immigration Department. Fees checked on 2026-10-16: the official Fee Tables list HK$330 for an ordinary visa in the “others” category and HK$170 for a transit visa. For applications made directly to the Immigration Department, pay after approval using the link in the result notification; you can then download or print the e-Visa. Use the official Fee Tables in Sources for the category that applies to your application.

For a special or urgent need to extend a visit already under way, the same page allows an online application when the remaining permitted stay is within 14 days, or an application by other means within 7 days before expiry. An extension is considered on its merits; applying does not itself extend your permission. Plan to leave by your existing limit unless an extension is granted.

Indian pre-arrival registration before boarding

Indian passport holders using pre-arrival registration need a passport valid for at least six months and can visit for up to 14 days; registration is free. Complete it successfully online before boarding for a visa-free visit; the system gives the result immediately.

Print and sign the successful pre-arrival registration notification slip on blank white A4 paper and travel with the same Indian passport used for the registration. A renewed or replacement passport, or changed personal particulars, requires a new registration. For a registrant under 16, a parent or legal guardian checks the details and signs the slip.

Pre-arrival registration lasts six months and allows multiple visits of up to 14 days each, subject to normal immigration requirements. If registration cannot be completed, apply directly to the Immigration Department for an entry visa before travelling.

Indian nationals in direct airside transit do not need pre-arrival registration; exemptions also cover valid Indian diplomatic or official passports, valid Hong Kong entry visas or Travel Passes, and successful frequent-visitor e-Channel enrolment. The official page also lists official United Nations travel with a United Nations Laissez Passer and operating aircrew, seacrew or contract-seaman arrangements; use that page for their exact scope.

Arrival by air, ferry or bridge, and returning from Macau

For a normal airport arrival, follow signs for Hong Kong immigration and present the passport and permission for your entry arrangement. Then collect checked bags and follow Customs directions before taking public transport. Visitors do not need to complete arrival or departure cards for Hong Kong immigration clearance. There is no arrival-card deadline to build into this plan; Indian pre-arrival registration remains a separate requirement. Before leaving clearance, ask the officer to identify the record of your permission and the last date you may stay; check it and keep the record with your passport. Indian travellers admitted using pre-arrival registration receive a landing slip showing their name, passport number, conditions and limit of stay. Use the admitted limit, rather than the example dates in this guide, for your departure or extension deadline.

Visitor e-Channel access for arrival clearance requires successful enrolment under an eligible visitor scheme. The frequent-visitor e-Channel scheme covers visitors holding specified documents or with at least two Hong Kong visits through Hong Kong International Airport in the 24 months immediately before enrolment, after successful enrolment. Check the Immigration Department’s eligibility rules before planning to use a visitor e-Channel. A first visit alone does not establish eligibility; use staffed visitor clearance if you have no eligible enrolment.

Hong Kong Macau Ferry Terminal is on the third floor of Shun Tak Centre, 200 Connaught Road Central, Sheung Wan. TurboJET and Cotai Water Jet’s current city routes use Sheung Wan for Hong Kong arrivals. A ferry ticket does not replace entry permission: keep your documents ready for clearance at the terminal. The Hong Kong–Macau crossing guide will help you choose the port and operator once your entry arrangements are settled.

The HZMB port shuttle runs between Hong Kong Port and Macau Port 24 hours a day. For a bridge arrival from Macau, leave the shuttle at HZMB Hong Kong Port and complete Hong Kong entry clearance before continuing into the city. It is a port-to-port shuttle, so the city transfer is a separate leg.

Treat a return from Macau as another Hong Kong entry check. Have the passport and any visa or registration needed for that entry, and do not plan around an automatic renewal of your visitor allowance. Macau has its own entry arrangements; check the Macau entry guide before buying the crossing.

SkyPier ferry services are for airport transit passengers and cannot be used after entering Hong Kong through immigration. Do not follow the landside arrival plan here if your actual booking is an eligible bonded airport transfer. The Express Rail Link at West Kowloon is outside this route. Mainland China needs its own entry check; this site does not cover it.

Customs and the advice to read before packing

The following Customs rules and travel advice were checked on 2026-10-16. At designated entry control points, declare cash and bearer negotiable instruments totalling more than HK$120,000 to Customs through the Red Channel. When leaving Hong Kong or arriving away from a designated control point, disclose cash and bearer negotiable instruments totalling more than HK$120,000 if a Customs officer asks, and make a declaration if required.

An accompanying adult who knows that a child under 16 holds cash and bearer negotiable instruments totalling more than HK$120,000 must declare or disclose it for the child.

Hong Kong applies zero tolerance to drugs, including cannabis and every CBD product, with no distinction between ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ drugs; even small amounts, including in airport transit, can bring long prison sentences, and some medicines sold in Europe, such as codeine cough remedies and certain sleeping pills and tranquillisers, also count as drugs. Pack your own bags and never carry anything for someone else. Do not bring e-cigarettes, vapes, heated-tobacco products, herbal cigarettes or e-liquids to Hong Kong: importing them is banned and can mean up to seven years in prison, possessing or using them in public has been illegal since 30 April 2026, and any in your luggage must be disposed of before you arrive. Stun guns and other electric-shock weapons, items with sharp points or edges such as swords, and martial-arts equipment such as knuckledusters are banned in Hong Kong, even in transit baggage; a stun gun can bring a HK$100,000 fine and up to 14 years in prison.

Hong Kong’s 2020 National Security Law and 2024 Safeguarding National Security Ordinance apply to every visitor, whatever their nationality, including on arrival and in transit, and they cover acts and statements made outside Hong Kong and years in the past. Political statements, including on social media, can lead to prosecution; penalties reach life imprisonment, some offences can lead to removal to mainland China, and refusing to give device passwords in a national security investigation is itself an offence.

Choose a first night you can reach with your bags

Keep all four nights in Tsim Sha Tsui. The Salisbury City View Suite is the room behind this example; compare other bases in the Hong Kong lodging guide.

Booking conditions checked on 2026-10-16: The Salisbury offer is subject to availability, must be confirmed and guaranteed at least 7 days before check-in, and is non-refundable, with cancellation charged at 100% of the entire stay. For check-in on 26 October, confirmation and guarantee are due by 19 October 2026; the hotel note below covers the offer’s other conditions for these dates.

From HKG, take Airport Express to Hong Kong Station, walk to Central MTR Station, take the Tsuen Wan Line to Tsim Sha Tsui and walk to The Salisbury. Reverse this route on departure. Pay the Central–Tsim Sha Tsui ride separately with an accepted contactless bank card; this example does not rely on a free Airport Express connection. Use the Hong Kong transport guide for station-specific first and last trains and alternative airport transfers.

A five-day arrival example and its costs

This is a simple city stay to show how the entry check turns into a booking: arrive on 26 October 2026, sleep four nights on 26–29 October and depart on 30 October. For a fuller sightseeing plan, use the first-trip Hong Kong guide; these days leave room around arrival and departure.

Transport prices and timetables checked on 2026-10-16: Airport Express trains from the airport towards the city run from 05:54 to 00:48; the timetable effective from 13 September 2026 gives 24 minutes to Hong Kong Station, 22 minutes to Kowloon and 14 minutes to Tsing Yi. Towards the airport, Airport Express departures run from 05:50 to 00:48 at Hong Kong Station, 05:53 to 00:52 at Kowloon and 06:00 to 00:59 at Tsing Yi. Airport Express normally runs every 10 minutes, with gaps of up to 12 minutes in the early morning and late evening.

Buy Airport Express single or round-trip tickets at a Customer Service Centre, a ticket machine or online; online QR tickets let you enter the gates directly. Star Ferry runs between Central and Tsim Sha Tsui from 06:30 to 23:30 daily, with departures every 6–12 minutes depending on the time and day. Star Ferry adult single fares between Central and Tsim Sha Tsui are HK$5 on the upper deck or HK$4 on the lower deck Monday–Friday excluding public holidays; on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays they are HK$6.50 and HK$5.60 respectively.

The Tsuen Wan Line links Central and Tsim Sha Tsui; the adult Octopus or contactless single fare is HK$10.60. MTR accepts Visa, Mastercard and UnionPay contactless credit, debit and prepaid cards, excluding UnionPay debit cards; use the same physical card or device to tap in and out at the designated gates. MTR contactless bank cards charge the adult Octopus fare; child, elderly and other concession fares do not apply, and contactless bank cards are not accepted on Light Rail or MTR Bus. Each adult should use their own accepted card or device. Pay for Star Ferry with Octopus at the gates or with Hong Kong dollar cash, or buy a ticket at the pier’s self-service machine with a credit card or one of the supported digital wallets. Star Ferry has no reserved seating. Star Ferry allows items no larger than 40 cm long, 40 cm wide and 17.5 cm high. Leave larger bags at the hotel for the day-2 outing.

For two adults sharing one suite, the model below covers every recommended night and the complete airport-and-city route. Prices checked on 2026-10-16. For two adults sharing the City View Suite for four nights, 26–29 October 2026, allow about HK$8,364 for the room and the included breakfasts, including the 10% service charge. The Salisbury is exempt from hotel accommodation tax.

Airport Express: two Hong Kong Station adult return smart tickets, 2 × HK$215 = HK$430. MTR: four Central–Tsim Sha Tsui adult contactless singles for arrival and departure, 4 × HK$10.60 = HK$42.40. Star Ferry: four adult weekday upper-deck singles for the day-2 return outing, 4 × HK$5 = HK$20. Walking is the remaining transport; the plan includes no paid attraction. The room, included breakfasts and this transport total about HK$8,857 for two adults.

Not included: meals beyond the included hotel breakfasts, flights, shopping, extra transport and optional paid sights. Ask about food allergies when ordering; ingredients and kitchen practices differ between venues.

• Day 1, 26 October: clear HKG immigration and Customs, take Airport Express to Hong Kong Station, walk to Central MTR Station and take the Tsuen Wan Line to Tsim Sha Tsui. Walk to the hotel and keep the rest of the day for settling in.
• Day 2, 27 October: take Star Ferry to Central, walk the streets around Sing Heung Yuen for a noodle lunch and return by the same ferry. The harbour crossing is the main experience: water, ferries and the two dense waterfronts rather than a sequence of bookings.
• Day 3, 28 October: walk north through Jordan and Yau Ma Tei, with Australian Dairy Company as an optional extra breakfast and Hing Kee for claypot rice on the Temple Street route. Walk back to the same hotel.
• Day 4, 29 October: keep the day around Tsim Sha Tsui’s waterfront and Tak Fat Beef Ball at the Haiphong Road bazaar. This avoids another transfer before departure.
• Day 5, 30 October: walk to Tsim Sha Tsui MTR Station, take the Tsuen Wan Line to Central, walk to Hong Kong Station and use the return Airport Express ticket for HKG. Leave time for your airline’s check-in and departure procedures.