How to apply for study visa in Hong Kong

The following is the Immigration Department information of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: http://www.immd.gov.hk/chtml/id996.htm#III. Introduction This guide is intended for those who intend to come to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ( (hereinafter referred to as the "Hong Kong SAR")), an overview of the relevant entry arrangements. II. Application Qualifications 2. Applications for visa/entry permit to study in Hong Kong will be considered for approval if they meet the following requirements: The applicant: has obtained an undergraduate degree from an institution under the Education Ordinance (Chapter 279) or the Admission from private schools registered under the Colleges Ordinance (Chapter 320) (Except for tertiary institutions, applications to study in public or aided schools in Hong Kong will not be approved); Study in full-time locally accredited post-secondary courses ( (including short-term courses), part-time locally accredited postgraduate courses, full-time exchange courses at bachelor’s level or above not exceeding one year; or registration for non-local higher education or professional courses Courses on the register established under the Non-local Higher and Professional Education (Regulation) Ordinance (Chapter 493); Applicants are: aged 5 years 8 months to 11 years old, applying for admission studying in primary school; or under the age of 20, applying for admission to secondary school; the applicant holds a letter of admission from the school, proving that he has been admitted to study a certain course; and the applicant does not need to work or rely on public funds and can afford it. Tuition fees, living expenses and accommodation fees in Hong Kong. 3. This entry arrangement does not apply to: Chinese residents in the Mainland and Taiwan; former Mainland Chinese residents who settled in Macao after January 14, 1979; and Afghanistan, Albania, Cambodia, Nationals of Cuba, Laos, North Korea, Nepal and Vietnam. 4. However, Chinese residents from the Mainland, Macao and Taiwan who meet the conditions in subparagraph 2 (c) and (d) above can apply to come to Hong Kong to study: full-time locally accredited post-secondary courses Note 1; for a period of A full-time exchange program of no more than one year at bachelor's degree level or above; or a short-term program, provided that the following conditions are met: The program concerned is offered by a Hong Kong higher education institution with degree-awarding authorization Note 2 (excluding continuing education programs of the institution) and professional education departments); and the cumulative period of study for students taking short-term courses shall not exceed 180 days in any 12-month period.

In addition: Chinese residents in Macau and Taiwan can apply to study part-time locally accredited postgraduate courses; Chinese residents in the Mainland can apply to study part-time locally accredited postgraduate courses offered by universities funded by the University Grants Committee. Postgraduate courses; and Chinese residents in the Mainland can also apply to come to Hong Kong to study in Hong Kong, accompanied by teachers from the Mainland, to study short-term exchange student courses in secondary schools approved by the Education Bureau for a duration of not more than two weeks. Note 1: The agreement reached between the Mainland and Hong Kong on mutual recognition of higher education degrees does not apply to associate degree, professional diploma and advanced diploma courses. Mainland residents come to Hong Kong to study such courses under the circumstances that the country does not prohibit citizens from going to various overseas educational institutions for further studies in a private capacity. Note 2: Including eight University Grants Committee-funded institutions, the Open University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Shue Yan University, Chu Hai College and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. III. Application method Application form 5. The applicant should fill in the application form ID 995A, and the guarantor should fill in the application form ID 995B. Relevant application forms (ID 995A and ID 995B) can be obtained free of charge from the following offices: Immigration Department Headquarters; Immigration Department branches; Chinese embassies and consulates overseas; Immigration Section of the Hong Kong SAR Government Office in Beijing; and Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong, Hong Kong SAR Government. The application form can also be downloaded from the Immigration Department website www.immd.gov.hk. Guarantor in Hong Kong 6. If you want to apply to study in Hong Kong, the applicant must nominate a local guarantor. The local guarantor can be the institution that admitted the applicant or an individual. If the guarantor is an individual, he should meet the following conditions: he is 18 years old or above; he is a Hong Kong resident who truly lives in Hong Kong; he is familiar with the applicant; and he has the financial ability to bear the applicant's living expenses and provide him with accommodation. 7. In addition, if the applicant is under 18 years old, his or her father or mother must authorize a guarantor or a relative or friend in Hong Kong to serve as the applicant’s guardian in Hong Kong, and submit a consent letter signed by both the parent/parent and the guardian in Hong Kong. Supporting Documents 8. Please refer to Part VIII Application Form and Documentation Checklist. Submit Application 9. All completed forms must be duly signed. If the application is accompanied by dependents (see information in Part VI below), each dependent must complete and sign Part B of Application Form ID 995A.

If the applicant or dependent is a child under 16 years of age, the form must be signed by the child’s parent or legal guardian. Completed application forms (ID 995A and ID 995B) together with all supporting documents should be submitted to the Immigration Department in one of the following ways: Directly by post or through a sponsor in the Hong Kong SAR:

Wan Chai, Hong Kong 7 Gloucester Road

2nd Floor, Immigration Building

Hong Kong Immigration Department Receiving and Receiving Team

Applicants residing in overseas countries or regions may submit the application form together with Relevant supporting documents and travel documents must be submitted in person to the Chinese embassy or consulate in a foreign country nearest to the place of residence.

Foreign passport holders residing in Mainland China may submit application forms and supporting documents to the Immigration Section of the Beijing Office of the Hong Kong SAR Government (hereinafter referred to as the "Beijing Office"), and must submit their travel documents , so that after the application is approved, the Immigration Affairs Section of the Beijing Office will issue a visa/entry permit. The address of the office is:

Xicheng District, Beijing, China

No. 71, Di'anmen West Street

(Postal code 100009) 10. From the Mainland Applications submitted by Chinese residents must be submitted to the Immigration Department through the institution that admitted the applicant (guarantor). IV. Required Travel Documents 11. If the application is approved, the applicant will be issued a visa/entry permit label. The relevant label will be collected by the guarantor from the Immigration Department and then handed over to the applicant. If the application is submitted at the Chinese embassy or consulate in a foreign country or the Immigration Affairs Section of the General Office in Beijing, the visa/entry permit will be issued through the relevant Chinese embassy or consulate in the foreign country or the Immigration Section of the General Office in Beijing (as appropriate) to the applicant. 12. The applicant should affix the visa/entry permit label to the blank visa page of the applicant’s travel document so that it can be presented to the Immigration Department staff upon arrival in Hong Kong. 13. Mainland Chinese residents who have been approved to come to Hong Kong must apply for a private travel pass to Hong Kong and Macao from the Public Security Bureau that maintains their household registration and the relevant endorsement to travel to Hong Kong. The applicant should affix the entry permit label to the blank endorsement page of the private travel permit to Hong Kong and Macao with the relevant endorsement to Hong Kong, and must show it to the Immigration Department staff upon arrival in Hong Kong.