With effect from January 17, 2025, the Immigration Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region further promoted electronic services for visa applications. Applicants under the following admission policies/schemes are required to complete their entire application process for entry permits or extensions of stay online through the electronic visa application services, and applications submitted in person, by post or drop-in-box are no longer accepted:
1. General Employment Policy (including both employment and investment as entrepreneurs);
2. Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals;
3. Capital Investment Entrant Scheme;
4. Training;
5. Working Holiday Scheme; and
6. Residence as Dependants.
Electronic services for a visa application allow applicants to complete the entire process of an application submission, payment and collection of an “e-Visa” through the ImmD mobile application, the ImmD’s website (www.immd.gov.hk/eng/index.html) or the GovHK website (www.gov.hk/en/nonresidents/), without having to visit an Immigration Office in person.
For applications to study in Hong Kong, they are now required to submit their applications online, directly by post, or through a guarantor in Hong Kong. Chinese diplomatic missions abroad no longer collect or forward these applications. The arrangement for Chinese mainland residents to submit their applications for studying in Hong Kong to the Hong Kong Immigration Department through their admission institutions remains unchanged.
In addition to the aforementioned new arrangements, applications must be submitted online under the following six admission policies/schemes for entry permits and extensions of stay applications where electronic visa application services have already been implemented:
1. Top Talent Pass Scheme;
2. Technology Talent Admission Scheme (TechTAS);
3. Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates (IANG);
4. Quality Migrant Admission Scheme;
5. Admission Scheme for the Second Generation of Chinese Hong Kong Permanent Residents (ASSG);
6. New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (New CIES).