Hong Kong is one of the most attractive places in the world, with an amazing lifestyle, incredible destinations to visit, unbelievable exquisite cuisines, and more. Hong Kong welcomed more than 50 million travelers annually before the pandemic but it has declined drastically post Covid spread. However, the airline industry is gearing up with smooth Hong Kong transit for travelers.
Let us learn about Transit and Hong Kong Transit requirements for a traveler
What is Transit?
Transit in airlines means the passengers who would use the airport only for less than 24 hours. Basically, travelers who wish to onboard another flight with a connecting flight to reach their destination and accomplish a safe journey are called transit passengers. The transit passengers are generally required to apply for a transit visa but it is not applicable for all scenarios. International transfers might need to confirm whether the transit country has a visa mandate. If they have strict rules for transit visas then if the passenger doesn’t have one they will be sent back to their countries without being able to complete their journey.
Hong Kong transit requirements?
All travelers are supposed to make arrangements while either visiting or transiting from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The travelers who don’t enjoy the benefits like a concession or visa waiver can obtain the entry permit beforehand so that they can stay for more time than the required Visa period. The entry arrangement is a mandate for visitors other than Chinese residents of the Mainland and Taiwan (other than People’s Republic of China passport holders and Chinese residents of Taiwan living overseas).
Eligibility Criteria for Hong Kong transit:
The airport authorities favor considering visa or entry permit applications from travelers who fulfil these requirements: people whose bona fides are not in doubt, the person applying can survive in the country even if they are unemployed for the period they are staying, which basically means the applicant must have enough finances to cover basic needs. Moreover, it is considered for people who are continuing onboarding to another flight to reach their destination which is not the Mainland of China or Macao.
Generally, any person without the right of abode or right to land in the HKSAR must ensure they get approval for the stay with valid transit or entry permit in order to stay for a longer duration. Every application has unique attributes however all the applications must be eligible to meet the normal immigration requirements. The immigration policies require the traveler to have the following:
- Valid travel documents
- Proper validation to return to their own country or place of citizenship
- Must not have any criminal record
- Must not be in any way a threat to national security or raise any criminal concerns to the HKSAR
- Must not pose any traits that will make him/her a burden on the country.
Apart from these the relevant specific eligibility criteria must be followed. Further, the criteria for eligibility keeps changing from time to time which should be considered before transit.
Processing Time
The time taken to complete the processing of the transit permit generally takes four weeks after the traveler sends all the valid and required documents. The immigration department will only start the process after receiving all the documents. The travelers must refrain from making inquiries on the status of the process of application. The immigration department keeps the processing discreet and the approval may change depending on the alterations in the policies.
The different ways in transit are: domestic to domestic, domestic to international lines, international lines to domestic, and international lines to international lines. The traveler in transit can expect completion of the transit process with the same airline. But if the airlines are changed the traveler must check the baggage policy as they can differ. If the airlines don’t have baggage agreements for inter airlines the traveler is responsible for the check-in and baggage delivery.