Hong Kong Visa for Indians - Definitive Guide

Whenever a foreigner is willing to travel to Hong Kong, there are certain formalities to be followed. One of the most important one is the issuance of a visa for Hong Kong. There are different kinds of activities one can do depending on the type of their permit. The permit allows the holder to carry out leisure activities and tourism, visit their friends and family members residing in the country, and carry out business activities as well. The validity of the permit will vary as per the type and so will the permitted stay per visit and the number of entries. A special feature a Hong Kong visa for Indians has is that the applicant can register for the permit before travelling to the country and issue it then. The processes and other details of this permit are mentioned further.

To apply for a Hong Kong visa for Indians, the applicant has to perform a pre-arrival registration (PAR) online. PAR is free of charge. Also, you can apply after you have confirmed if you are eligible for the same. The procedure that is followed with the PAR is as follows:

1. Visit the official website of the Hong Kong Immigration to register for the permit.
2. Fill out the application form with correct details.
3. The system will provide the result for the registration instantly.
4. A Notification Slip will be generated which is to be printed out on an A4-size paper.
5. Travel to Hong Kong with your passport, Notification Slip and other requirements if requested.
6. You will then be cleared by the Immigration Officer to enter the country.

The holder is permitted multiple entries and is allowed to stay in Hong Kong for 14 days. Although, there are chances that the PAR may not go through and you will denied the permit with this process. Thus, it is essential that you acquire professional assistance. However, there is another way you can get a permit without the PAR which involves applying to the Hong Kong Immigration Department offline. The process is given as follows:

1. Download the Hong Kong visa application form.
2. Print the application form, fill it out and sign the document.
3. Collect all the required documents.
4. Attach the hard copies of all the required documents and your photograph to the application form.
5. Air mail the hard copies of the documents to the Hong Kong Immigration Department.
6. Along with the documents, also mail an International Bank Draft in favor of ‘The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’ for HK$190.
7. After the processing, the visa label will be air mailed back to you which is to be pasted on a blank page in your passport.

When you are mailing the documents, make sure that the documents are in good condition. Also, you can fax the documents to save time but you’ll still have to air mail your completed and duly signed original copy of application form and photograph. The details in the application form need to be correct as well and should be verifiable. If in case there is any information that is incorrect or cannot be verified, there are chances that your application may get rejected. A visa rejection can affect your future applications to get a visa for Hong Kong or to any other country.

There are different kinds of permits that are issued for Hong Kong. These can be differentiated based on the certain factors like purpose of visit, duration of stay, and others. Some of the common types of short-term permits are listed as follows:

• Hong Kong Tourist Visa
  This is the type of permit that is issued to the travellers whose purpose of visit is tourism and other leisure activities. The validity of this permit will depend on your requirement of stay and the Immigration Department.
• Hong Kong Business Visa
  This visa for Hong Kong is issued to the business persons who wish to travel to the country for carrying out their business activities. The holder is also permitted leisure activities.
• Hong Kong Visitor Visa
  It is similar to the tourist visa except for the purpose of visit in this case differs. A visitor visa is issued to those applicants whose purpose for travelling to Hong Kong is visiting their friends and family members.

The requirements for the issuance of a Hong Kong Visa change as per the type of the permit. The  documents required for Hong Kong visa from India with and without PAR are as follows:

• With PAR
  • Valid passport
  • Valid Notification Slip
  • Recent photographs

• Without PAR
  • Photocopy of passport.
  • Completely filled and signed application form.
  • Recent photograph.
  • Flight Itinerary.
  • Proof of purpose of visit - hotel reservation, invitation letter, travel itinerary, etc.
  • International Bank Draft in favor of ‘The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’.
    
    
    

• Two copies must be provided
• Hong Kong visa photo size: 40mm x 50 mm.
• Coloured copy must be provided.
• The face must cover about 70-80% of the frame.
• Head should well-centred.
• The picture must not be older than 6 months.
• The background must be white.
• Neutral expressions.
• Both the ears must be visible.
• The teeth should not be shown in the photograph.
• Glasses are not permitted.
• Headgears are not allowed except for religious reasons.
• Clothing shouldn’t match the background.

The fee for the issuance of a visa for Hong Kong depends on the procedure that you follow. With PAR, you will have to pay the fee after arrival to the HKSAR (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region). The Hong Kong Visa Fee for the offline permit, that is acquired without PAR is to be paid before air mailing the documents and the form to the Hong Kong Immigration Department.

For the PAR process, you do not need to check status as the result will be known immediately after the completion of the process. While in the case without PAR, you can check the status after air mailing the documents online on the Hong Kong Immigration Department website.

To get the visa issued, you can apply for PAR and if that fails, you can apply directly to the Hong Kong Immigration Department. You can even apply through the visa agencies. You will need to have all the requirements and the documents must be verifiable. At times, the process may seem complicated and the formalities involved can seem difficult to be carried out individually. In such cases, professional visa consultation from the visa agencies can prove to be useful. This will allow you to have your documents handled professionally and the procedure may even be quicker. This way, the chances of visa rejection also get nullified