Hong Kong sets how long you can stay by passport, and the actual day count is a nationality-by-nationality table on the Immigration Department’s own page. We are not reproducing that table here. A hand-copied version of a per-nationality list is exactly the kind of thing that is wrong for someone, and the source above is one click away for your own passport. What this article covers instead is the mechanism: how the visa process runs for those who need one, and how extending a stay actually works once you are in Hong Kong.
If you need a visa, it runs on 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.” That clock starts once your paperwork is complete, not when you first submit.
The paperwork itself is specific: “Applicant should complete application form (ID 1003A) The sponsor should complete application form (ID 1003B).” Alongside the forms, you provide photocopies of your travel document showing personal particulars and validity dates, along with financial proof, your flight itinerary, and proof of your proposed visit.
One detail is easy to miss until it applies to you: any document that is not in Chinese or English needs a certified translation, from a sworn translator, court translator, authorised public translator, certified translator, expert translator, or official translator. An informal translation from a friend does not meet that bar.
Meeting every requirement does not guarantee approval
The department is explicit that discretion sits above the checklist: “The Director of Immigration reserves absolute discretion to refuse any application even if the application meets all eligibility criteria.” There is no described appeal mechanism on the Immigration Department’s page, so treat approval as never automatic, no matter how complete your application is.
Do not chase the application
This is stated as official guidance, not as a courtesy: “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.” Calling to check on status is presented as something that can actively slow you down.
Once you are in, a visit or transit visa comes with real restrictions
Holding this kind of visa is not a general permission to do as you like while in Hong Kong. The rule is that 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 restrictions apply regardless of whether the work or study would be paid.
Extending your stay runs on its own separate clock
The extension process has 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.” In practice, that means tracking your own stay’s expiry date and acting inside one of those two windows, rather than waiting until the day it runs out.
How many days you get isn’t listed here
It does not state how many days any specific nationality, including US passport holders, is granted on arrival. That figure lives in the nationality table on the Immigration Department’s own page, and it is the one thing worth checking directly rather than trusting a secondhand summary. The source also 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.