Hong Kong Withdraws Visa Free Entry Facility for Indians from January 2017

Hong Kong, the special administrative region of China has taken a major decision to withdraw visa-free entry facility for Indians effective from January 23, 2017. Indians, hence should now enter Hong Kong with pre-arrival registration from January.

The online service for applying pre-registration for the visa is currently open, said the Hong Kong immigration department said in an announcement on its official website.

Indian nationals must apply for and successfully complete pre-arrival registration online before they can visit or transit the HKSAR visa-free (if seeking to enter the HKSAR during transit).  Pre-arrival registration is not required for Indian nationals in direct transit by air and not leaving the airport transit area, mentioned in the official website

This decision from Hong Kong is a big set back for many Indian nationals who visit Hong Kong for holidays, business and trade. As of now, Hong Kong permits Indians to enter the country and stay for 14 days with a valid passport without a visa.

There is a major concern that Hong Kong's decision had China's pressure behind which made this move.

Hong Kong officials said that the decision on India is a testing point and are considering to expand the decision to other major countries.