Border control at Hong Kong airports: what happens to travellers and their data

Arriving: the steps at the border

Visitors clear immigration at a counter or, if enrolled, at an e-Channel. Visitors must have enough money for their stay without working. They must hold onward or return tickets, except when in transit to the Chinese Mainland or Macao. The Immigration Department (ImmD) says officers can refuse permission to land to anyone other than people with the right of abode or right to land ¹.

Visitors may not work, paid or unpaid, start or join a business, or enrol as students. ImmD says a change of status after arrival is allowed only in the most unusual cases ¹.

Visitors get a landing slip instead of a passport stamp. An e-Channel prints a slip with the conditions and limit of stay on arrival ⁴. Eligible visitors who clear at a counter receive a slip bearing the Smart Departure logo ⁵.

Entry permission: visa-free stays and pre-arrival registration

ImmD says nationals of most foreign countries do not need a visa for a visit. The allowed stay depends on nationality. ImmD says the chapter was updated in August 2026 ¹.

For a small group of nationalities, ImmD says a visa is needed for any purpose, including transit in the airside area. Visa applications go through Chinese diplomatic and consular missions, or straight to ImmD by post or through a local sponsor. Visit visa applications from Indian nationals go to ImmD direct ¹.

Indian nationals must apply for and complete pre-arrival registration online before they can visit or transit visa-free for up to 14 days. Registration is free and the system gives a result at once. It is valid for six months and covers multiple visits. The passport must be valid for at least six months. Travellers print a notification slip, sign it and carry it with the linked passport for boarding and arrival ².

Direct airside transit is exempt. So are holders of Indian diplomatic or official passports, e-Channel enrolees, holders of a valid HKSAR Travel Pass or HKSAR entry visa, and operating crew. ImmD revised the page on 27 November 2025 ².

Biometrics and e-Channel gates

Smart Departure started on 10 October 2017. It lets eligible visitors use e-Channels to leave without enrolling ³. Users must be aged 7 or over, at least 1.1m tall, and hold an ICAO-compliant electronic travel document from a country or region ImmD has designated. The visitor scans the passport data page, stands on a foot marker and looks at a camera for face verification. It works at all control points ⁵.

Frequent visitors can enrol for e-Channel entry if they are aged 18 or over, have no adverse record and meet one more test. That test is two or more visits through Hong Kong International Airport in the past 24 months, or holding an HKSAR Travel Pass, an APEC Business Travel Card coded HKG or a card from a participating airline frequent flyer scheme. Enrolment is free ⁴.

Holders of electronic passports sign an electronic consent form and have a photo taken. Holders of non-electronic documents give fingerprints as well. People enrolled with an electronic document on or after 27 February 2026 clear by face verification. Others press an enrolled finger on a scanner ⁴.

Eligible frequent visitors can enrol before travel in the Go Hong Kong mobile app. The app reads the passport chip and runs a face check. The traveller must enter Hong Kong by the expected arrival date, within three months, or the record lapses ⁴.

An enrolment lasts two years. Each entry extends it by two more years, up to the expiry of the passport or visa ⁴. Reciprocal schemes cover passport holders from Australia, Germany, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Thailand. These enrolees give fingerprints and a photo ⁴. Since 26 June 2025, eligible holders of People's Republic of China electronic ordinary passports can use e-Channels without enrolling when in transit through Hong Kong ^3,4.

Passenger data: API

The Secretary for Security made the Immigration (Advance Passenger Information) Regulation under section 6A of the Immigration Ordinance. It was gazetted on 24 March 2023. It applies to flights heading to Hong Kong, not to flights leaving ⁷.

ImmD launched the API System on 3 September 2024. At check-in the airline captures data from each travel document and sends it with flight details. The system returns a board or no-board direction for each traveller, and the airline must act on it ⁶.

More than 100 aircraft operators had to connect, so the rollout came in phases with a transition of about 12 months. Offences and defences under the regulation took effect on 1 September 2025 ⁶.

The government said the system meets an ICAO requirement adopted in 2018 ⁷. It said the aim was to stop undesirables, including potential non-refoulement claimants, from boarding. ImmD said the system will not issue a no-board direction against Hong Kong permanent residents with the right of abode ⁶.

Watch lists and checks

The API System lets ImmD run a risk assessment before departure and issue boarding directions ⁷. Enrolment in the Korean e-Channel scheme requires no adverse record in the HKSAR ⁴. ImmD lists enforcement, removal and non-refoulement claim records among the personal data it holds ⁹.

Your data: the law and how to ask for records

ImmD says it handles personal data under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance. Travel records, including data collected at immigration clearance, are one of five categories of data it holds. Its Data Protection Officer is the Principal Immigration Officer (Records and Data Management) ⁹.

On retention, ImmD says it manages records under government records management guidelines. Its privacy statement does not give a retention period for travel records ⁹.

Under the Ordinance, a person can ask whether ImmD holds their data and ask for a copy. Requests can be made online, by post or in person. ImmD charges the standard photocopying fee and says it will provide the information within 40 days ⁸. ImmD keeps log books of refused access and correction requests with the reasons ⁹.

Who runs the systems

The Immigration Department runs immigration clearance, the e-Channels and the API System ^4,6. The Security Bureau drafted the API regulation ⁷.

For aviation security, the Civil Aviation Department sets screening measures. The Airport Authority Hong Kong works with its service provider, the Aviation Security Company Limited (AVSECO), on staffing and facilities ¹¹.

Security screening on departure

The Civil Aviation Department brought in liquids rules for all departing flights on 21 March 2007. It followed ICAO guidelines drawn up after a plot to carry liquid explosives onto aircraft was foiled in the UK in August 2006 ¹¹.

Liquids, aerosols and gels in hand baggage must be in containers of 100ml or less, inside one transparent resealable bag of up to 1 litre. Medicines, baby food and special dietary items can be exempt after checks ¹⁰.

Hong Kong International Airport says its smart security channels use CT-based X-ray scanning. Passengers there can leave liquids and electronic devices in their bags. Passengers aged 7 or over with an electronic travel document can use e-Security Gates. Passengers walk through a metal detector and may be hand searched ¹⁰.

Since 13 August 2018, transfer passengers carrying liquids in tamper-evident bags go through extra screening with specialised equipment. Passengers may carry no more than two power banks, in hand baggage only ¹⁰.