News

Dated: 2 August 2012 The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has received confirmation from the Consulate-General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Hong Kong that with immediate effect, HKSAR passport holders do not need a visa for visiting the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands which consist of Aruba, Curaçao, St Maarten and the Caribbean Netherlands (which comprises the Dutch public bodies of Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba). The visa-free period...

The Immigration Department announced today (July 23) that with effect from July 26, 2012, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) passport holders may visit the Republic of Kazakhstan visa-free for a stay of up to 14 days. Likewise, nationals of the Republic of Kazakhstan will also enjoy 14 days' visa-free access to Hong Kong. The HKSAR Government and the Republic of Kazakhstan signed the Agreement on Mutual Exemption of Visa Requirements in May this year. Confirmation has recently been...

The number of expats arriving to take up jobs in Hong Kong from countries such as Spain and Ireland is soaring as European economies struggle Europe's economic troubles are washing up on Hong Kong's shores in the form of a surge in migrants from the continent coming to the city to work. Government figures show there was a nearly 12 per cent increase from 2010 to 2011 in the number of work visas issued to people from seven European Union countries: Spain, Italy, Ireland, Britain, France, Greece...

Foreigners face stricter visa rules amid review Authorities are evaluating duration of stay, which could be cut to 90 days as part of crackdown on illegal expatriates and rise in anti-foreigner sentiment Teddy Ng in Beijing Jun 27, 2012      Foreigners working on the mainland will have the minimum duration of their residential certificates halved to 90 days under a draft law being reviewed by Beijing. It was submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress yesterday following...

Department will review requirement for mainlanders wanting to invest in HK under programme - and it could allow participants to buy property here again. May 25, 2012 The Immigration Department will consider next year whether to seek removal of a requirement for mainlanders to have foreign residency before seeking abode in Hong Kong through an investment scheme. In a review of the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme it may also consider allowing participants to buy real estate again, which the government...

19 April 2012 The Immigration Department announced today (April 19) that the Government of the Republic of Montenegro has confirmed to grant visa-free access to Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) passport holders visiting the country for a stay of up to 90 days. Nationals of the Republic of Montenegro may also visit Hong Kong visa-free for a stay of up to 14 days. The arrangement will come into effect on April 20, 2012. An Immigration Department spokesman said, "The visa-free arrangement...

Foreign domestic helpers do not have the right to apply for permanent residency in Hong Kong, the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the government on Wednesday, overturning a lower court’s controversial ruling. The appeal court held, in a unanimous ruling, that the exclusion of foreign domestic helpers from applying for a permanent identity card was constitutional.  It held that the presence of such workers in the city was special and they were different from refugees and prisoners not in type,...

22 March 2012 The Immigration Department announced today (March 22) that it will extend its Mainland frequent visitors e-Channel service to the Hong Kong International Airport control point with effect from next Monday (March 26). A spokesperson for the Immigration Department said Mainland frequent visitors who have successfully enrolled with the department will be able to use e-Channels for immigration clearance at the Hong Kong International Airport control point. Currently, Mainland frequent...

A female Hong Kong resident who entered into bogus marriages with Mainland residents was convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud in the District Court on February 23 and was sentenced to 10 months' imprisonment today (March 12). The 39-year-old defendant was intercepted on August 19, 2009, for having entered into bogus marriages with Mainland residents. Under caution, the defendant admitted to have entered into bogus marriages for pecuniary reward. "Under the laws of Hong Kong, anyone who commits...

But a Hong Kong professor warns that Beijing official's suggestion would undermine rule of law A former director of the Basic Law Committee in Beijing says the best solution to deter the influx of mainlanders giving birth in Hong Kong is to "let the top court rectify itself", but a Hong Kong legal expert believes this would undermine the rule of law. Currently babies born in Hong Kong to mainland mothers have right of abode regardless of their parents' immigration status, as settled by a 2001 Court...