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Following is a written reply by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Stephen Lam, (in the absence of Secretary for Security) to a question by the Hon Paul Tse in the Legislative Council today (March 18):
Question:
Earlier on, several travellers of Hong Kong who intended to travel to Palau by air via transit in the Philippines were refused by the airline ground crew to check in for them, for the reason that the entry requirements of Palau had been changed. In this regard, I wrote to the Immigration Department (ImmD) to enquire. The ImmD replied that travellers who wished to go to Palau should enquire with the embassies/consulates of the Republic of Palau on their own. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it has assessed if the ImmD has the responsibility to collect and make public the entry requirements imposed on holders of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passports by various countries/regions worldwide; if no assessment has been made, whether it will expeditiously conduct such an assessment;
(b) whether it has assessed if the ImmD has the responsibility to clearly inform travellers of Hong Kong who wish to go to Palau or any other place of the details of their latest entry requirements and changes; if no assessment has been made, whether it will expeditiously conduct such an assessment; and
(c) whether it knows if the general policies and measures, adopted by the immigration authorities of the governments of European and American countries concerning clearly informing their nationals of the entry requirements imposed on them by other countries/regions, are the same as the ImmD's aforesaid style of work (i.e. asking its nationals to make enquiries with the relevant embassies and consulates on their own)?
Reply:
President,
(a) At present, 137 countries / territories have granted visa-free access or visa-on-arrival to Hong Kong Special Adminstrative Region (HKSAR) passport holders. Relevant information has been uploaded on the websites of the HKSAR Government, including the Immigration Department (ImmD): (http://www.gov.hk/en/residents/immigration/traveldoc/hksarpassport/) and (http://www.immd.gov.hk/ehtml/topical.htm)
ImmD maintains close contact with immigration authorities of other places on the visa requirements for HKSAR passport holders visiting these places. Apart from uploading the information on the aforementioned websites, press releases to disseminate the latest updates are issued when necessary.
(b) ImmD received formal notification from authority of the Republic of Palau in late 1999 that HKSAR passport holders visiting the country do not need to apply for a visa beforehand, as they will be granted visa-on-arrival for a stay of 30 days. The HKSAR Government subsequently made public announcement on this and uploaded the information on the relevant government websites.
Recently, ImmD received information from the travel industry that Palau has changed the entry requirements for HKSAR passport holders visiting the country. As the HKSAR Government has not received any notification of the new visa requirement or arrangements from the Palau authority, ImmD took the initiative to seek clarifications from the Palau authority in February this year. A reply is still awaited. In the interim, we have posted a remark in the relevant websites, advising travellers intending to visit Palau to check with the relevant authority on the entry requirements.
(c) According to our information, countries in Europe and America adopt similar practice as the HKSAR Government in disseminating information on visa requirements. They would provide general information on entry requirements imposed on their nationals by other places through government websites. Furthermore, travellers are advised to approach the relevant foreign consulates in case they want to know more about the special circumstances of individual country or any detailed requirements. However, there are some countries which do not provide any information on visa requirements. They would just advise their nationals to enquire with the relevant foreign consulates direct.
Ends/Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Issued at HKT 14:36
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