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LCQ8: Visa requirements for visitors to Hong Kong
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     Following is a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Ambrose S K Lee, to a question by the Hon Paul Tse in the Legislative Council today (February 11):

Question:

     Regarding the policy on issuing visas to visitors to Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) whether it has, in the past three years, considered relaxing the visa requirements for citizens of fast-developing Southeast Asian countries (such as Vietnam) and simplifying the relevant procedure; if it has, of the details; if not, whether it will expeditiously consider adopting such measures; if it will not, the reasons for that;

(b) which countries are being considered for relaxing the visa requirements for their citizens or simplifying the relevant procedure; the expected annual increase in the number of visitors to Hong Kong after the implementation of such measures; and

(c) whether it has, in the past three years, conducted assessment on the benefits and other impact on the local tourism industry as well as the overall economy that will be brought about by the further relaxation of the visa requirements for visitors and simplification of the relevant procedure; if it has, of the assessment results; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

(a) Hong Kong maintains a liberal immigration regime.  Persons from about 170 countries or territories may visit Hong Kong visa-free (for a stay ranging from seven to 180 days).  The HKSAR Government from time to time reviews the policy on visa requirements.  Suitable adjustments will be made in the light of changes in circumstances.  We will take into account factors such as reciprocity; bilateral economic and trade relations; immigration control and security considerations; the circumstances of individual country or territory; etc. in the review.

     Currently, visa is required for nationals of only four Southeast Asian countries (i.e. Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam).  Among these countries, the immigration arrangements for Vietnamese nationals have already been streamlined in recent years.  With effect from January 2006, Vietnamese nationals holding APEC Business Travel Cards as pre-cleared by the APEC economies (including Hong Kong, China) can enjoy visa-free access to Hong Kong.  Since March 2006, the Immigration Department (ImmD) has streamlined the procedures for vetting applications for visit visas of eligible Vietnamese nationals (e.g. those joining group tours organised by specified agencies), hence applicants can obtain their visas within a short time.  Moreover, the requirements for applications for multiple-journey visit visas of Vietnamese nationals have been relaxed since June 2007.  We believe that the existing visa requirements for nationals of Southeast Asian countries have struck an appropriate balance between providing travel convenience, promoting economic and trade activities, and maintaining an effective immigration control.  

(b) We expect to sign a mutual visa-free access agreement (VAA) with Russia shortly.  In 2008, the number of visitor arrivals from Russia was over 37,000, which represents a growth of about 13% over 2007.  We believe that implementation of the mutual VAA will help promote Hong Kong in this source market and entice more Russian visitors.  The actual increase will depend on other factors that may affect the performance of global tourism, such as economic environment; exchange rates; etc.  Moreover, we are exploring the concluding of such agreements with a few Central Asian and Eastern European countries.

(c) Relaxation of visa requirements generally helps attract more visitors to Hong Kong, but the magnitude of such increase will depend on the external factors mentioned above.  Over the past three years, other than Vietnam, ImmD has relaxed the immigration arrangements (e.g. extension of visa-free visit period) for nationals of seven countries, including Russia and Saudi Arabia in mid 2007 and early 2008.  According to the information provided by the Tourism Commission (see Annex), both increase and decrease in the numbers of visitor arrival from these countries were registered in 2008 as compared to 2007 upon implementation of the facilitation measures.  These markets are still at an early stage of development and account for not more than 0.5% of Hong Kong's total visitor arrivals.  In the long run, these markets will provide new impetus for the development of the local tourism industry.  Immigration facilitation would also foster exchanges in areas such as trade and culture between Hong Kong and these countries.

Ends/Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Issued at HKT 17:01

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