How long you may stay in Hong Kong depends on your passport. The day count is in a nationality-by-nationality table on the Immigration Department’s own page, and we do not copy it, because a hand-copied table is wrong for someone. Check your own passport at the source. This guide covers the visa process for those who need one and how to extend a stay once you are in.
If you need a visa: two forms and a four-week clock
The Immigration Department states that “It normally takes four weeks to process a visit/transit visa/entry permit application upon receipt of all the required documents.” The clock starts when your paperwork is complete, not when you first submit.
The forms: “Applicant should complete application form (ID 1003A) The sponsor should complete application form (ID 1003B).” Alongside them you provide:
- photocopies of your travel document showing personal particulars and validity dates
- financial proof
- your flight itinerary
- proof of your proposed visit
A document not in Chinese or English needs a certified translation from a sworn translator, court translator, authorized public translator, certified translator, expert translator or official translator. A friend’s informal translation does not qualify.
Approval is never automatic
The department keeps discretion above the checklist: “The Director of Immigration reserves absolute discretion to refuse any application even if the application meets all eligibility criteria.” The Immigration Department’s page describes no appeal mechanism.
Do not chase the application
The guidance is official: “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.”
Restrictions on a visit or transit visa
The holder “shall not take up any employment whether paid or unpaid; he/she shall not establish or join in any business; and he/she shall not become a student at a school, university or other educational institution.” All three apply whether or not the work or study is paid.
Extending your stay
There are two paths, depending on timing: “visitors may apply online for extension of stay when their remaining limit of stay is within 14 days, or make an extension of stay application by other means within 7 days before their limit of stay expires.” Note your own expiry date and act inside one of those windows, not on the day the stay runs out.
What the page does not say
It gives no day count for any nationality, including US passport holders. That figure is in the nationality table on the Immigration Department’s page. It does not describe what happens if an extension application is filed and then refused close to the expiry date, and the Immigration Department does not publish a fee schedule for visa or extension applications.