No HK visa-free entry for Indians |
Indian travellers will not be eligible for visa-free entry to Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, from January, when a “pre-arrival registration” process will be put in place.Indian nationals can currently enter Hong Kong without a visa for a period of up to 14 days.The Pre-arrival Registration for Indian Nationals will be implemented on January 23, 2017. The online service for ‘Pre-arrival Registration for Indian Nationals’ is now opened. 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. The pre-arrival registration is valid for six months, during which the applicant can visit Hong Kong multiple times. Indian nationals must furnish an “approval slip” before boarding a plane or ship to the city.The new rules will affect hundreds of thousands of Indians who visit the former British colony every year for tourism and trade. India was chosen as a “testing point” because it is one of the major sources of asylum-seekers. Some reports also suggested the new rules were being introduced because of pressure from China.
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