Hong Kong SAR passport eligibility in 2026: nationality, right of abode and PR card
If you live in Hong Kong and hold a foreign passport, you may still be able to hold an HKSAR passport. According to the Hong Kong Immigration Department's Travel Documents Frequently Asked Questions page, three conditions apply together: you must be a Chinese citizen, you must have the right of abode in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), and you must hold a valid Hong Kong permanent identity card. The foreign passport is not the deciding factor. Nationality is.
Do I qualify if I already hold a foreign passport?
Possibly — the department's test never asks whether you hold another passport. It asks three things that must all be true at the same time:
- You are a Chinese citizen.
- You have the right of abode in the HKSAR.
- You hold a valid Hong Kong permanent identity card.
The same three conditions are repeated in the department's answer on how to apply, and it states that applications may be submitted from Hong Kong or overseas. For someone assembling a multi-jurisdiction document portfolio, the useful reading is this: the HKSAR passport is not a substitute for a foreign passport, and obtaining one is not treated as a change of nationality. The two documents can sit side by side, and each is recognised differently depending on where you present it.
What makes you a Chinese citizen for this purpose?
Chinese nationality is determined under the Chinese Nationality Law as elaborated in "the interpretation of Chinese Nationality Law when applying in the HKSAR", passed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on 15 May 1996. The department's general statement is that you may have Chinese nationality if you are a Hong Kong resident of Chinese descent and were born in Hong Kong or other parts of China — and this holds notwithstanding that you hold, or have held, any foreign passport.
Where the picture is mixed, two articles of the Nationality Law do the work:
- Article 4: a person born in China whose parents are Chinese nationals, or one of whose parents is a Chinese national, has Chinese nationality.
- Article 5: a person born abroad whose parents are both Chinese nationals, or one of whose parents is a Chinese national, has Chinese nationality — unless the parents are both Chinese nationals who have both settled abroad, or one parent is a Chinese national who has settled abroad, and the person acquired foreign nationality at birth.
Assume an applicant born in Vancouver to one Hong Kong-born Chinese-national parent who had already settled abroad, and who acquired Canadian nationality at birth. On the wording of Article 5 above, that person would not have Chinese nationality, and the HKSAR passport route would be closed on the first condition. The department states plainly that each case has to be considered individually against these provisions — so read the rest of this article as general orientation, not as a determination of your own status; where your position turns on place of birth, whether a parent had settled abroad, or a possible change of nationality, confirm it against the Immigration Department's published guidance.
Does keeping a foreign passport cost you the HKSAR passport?
No, provided you have returned to settle in Hong Kong and have not been approved for a change of nationality by the Hong Kong Immigration Department. In that situation you remain a Chinese national and are eligible for an HKSAR passport. "Settled" here means ordinarily resident in Hong Kong and not subject to any restriction on the period of stay.
The department also answers the follow-on question directly: if you remain a Chinese national, you can keep your foreign passport and travel on it. Within Hong Kong and other parts of China, that foreign passport will be regarded as a travel document only. This is the single most important line for anyone planning around two or more documents — the same physical passport is a nationality document in one jurisdiction and only a travel document in another.
Why does the permanent identity card matter as much as the right of abode?
Because the right of abode and the card are separate conditions. Having the right of abode does not remove the requirement to hold a valid Hong Kong permanent identity card, and a card that has expired will not carry the application.
The card also controls the details printed in the passport. Personal particulars in the passport must be identical to those shown on the permanent identity card, so a change of name or other registered particulars has to be made at the Registration of Persons Office before you apply to amend the passport. For eligible children under 11 who do not hold a permanent identity card, the card application must be submitted together with the passport application, signed by a parent or legal guardian, and the card is issued together with the passport.
How does the HKSAR passport fit alongside other documents in a portfolio?
The department describes the HKSAR passport as machine-readable, embedded with a contactless chip holding the photograph and data shown on the data page, and containing only the personal particulars of the holder. It states that the holder has the right to return to the HKSAR and that it is valid for all countries. Validity is normally 10 years from the date of issue, except that a passport for a child under 16 is normally valid for 5 years.
Three portfolio consequences follow from that description:
- It is not a family document. Children of any age must hold their own passport; you cannot have a child included in yours.
- It does not replace Mainland or Macao travel documents. When passing through Hong Kong immigration control points to or from the Mainland or the Macao SAR, a Hong Kong resident does not need a Re-entry Permit if he can produce, for those aged 11 or above, a valid locally issued Hong Kong permanent identity card or a Hong Kong identity card bearing the '', '**' or 'R' symbol, or, for a minor below 11, a valid locally issued Hong Kong permanent identity card together with a valid HKSAR passport. For entering or departing the Mainland, the traveller must still observe the documentation requirements of the Mainland authorities, such as the Home Visit Permit.
- The region has separate documents for separate gaps. A Re-entry Permit is issued to Chinese citizens who have either acquired the right of abode or been granted unconditional stay, and to persons not of Chinese nationality who have been granted unconditional stay but cannot obtain a national passport or travel document of any other country or region. It comes as a single permit valid for 6 months for one journey or a multiple permit valid for 5 years.
What if you are not of Chinese nationality?
A Hong Kong permanent identity card and the right of abode do not by themselves create entitlement to an HKSAR passport, because Chinese citizenship is a standing condition. The HKSAR Document of Identity for Visa Purposes exists for part of this gap. It is issued to persons on a limit of stay who cannot obtain a national passport or travel document of any other country or territory; to persons on unconditional stay who do not have the right of abode and cannot obtain such documents; and to persons not of Chinese nationality who have the right of abode in the HKSAR and hold a permanent identity card of the Region, but cannot obtain a national passport or travel document of any other country or territory. It is valid for 7 years and comes in a standard 44-page or jumbo 92-page format.
What does an application actually involve?
Submitting an application online or through the Immigration Department Mobile Application is not approval. The department may ask for another photograph or additional documents, and you can check status online using your application reference number plus your day and year of birth.
The department pledges to complete the process in 5 working days after receiving all necessary documents, the application fee and a photograph; for children aged under 11 not holding a Hong Kong permanent identity card, the pledge is 10 working days. Working days are Monday to Friday excluding general holidays. Applications not submitted in person, such as those via a drop-in box, may need an extra 2 to 3 working days for formalities, and processing may be longer where the application follows loss, damage or an amendment of personal particulars. Whether the pledge is met depends on the circumstances of individual applications and the volume received at the time, so the department advises applying early if you have travel plans. For collection via Chinese diplomatic and consular missions or the Immigration Divisions of the Mainland Offices, dispatch time is excluded.
Collection does not require an appointment: you attend the office stated on the Notice of Collection. Self-service collection kiosks are installed at the Immigration Headquarters and at the Hong Kong Island, West Kowloon and Tuen Mun offices. Your previous passport is produced for cancellation — it is cancelled by cutting a corner of its back cover and returned to you.
Fees quoted on the page are: HK$430 (32 pages) or HK$520 (48 pages) for a 10-year passport, HK$215 (32 pages) or HK$260 (48 pages) for a 5-year passport, and HK$110 to amend personal particulars. If your existing passport carries a visa that is still in force, you can apply to cross-link the old and new passports at the same time as the replacement: the fee is HK$200 on Form ID 879, the old passport must still be valid on the date the endorsement is printed, must contain a valid visa, residence permit or entry permit, and must have at least one blank page. Cross-link applications must be submitted in person or by proxy.
If a passport is lost abroad, the department's guidance is to report the loss to the local police and request a copy of the police report; with that proof, replacement can be sought through the Chinese diplomatic and consular mission in that country, and information and assistance are also available from the Immigration Department's Assistance to Hong Kong Residents Unit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I hold an HKSAR passport and a foreign passport at the same time?
Yes. If you remain a Chinese national, you can keep and travel on your foreign passport. Within Hong Kong and other parts of China, that foreign passport is regarded as a travel document only.
I was born abroad to a Hong Kong parent — am I still a Chinese citizen?
Under Article 5 of the Nationality Law, a person born abroad to Chinese-national parents generally has Chinese nationality. The exception is where both parents are Chinese nationals who have both settled abroad, or the Chinese-national parent has settled abroad, and the person acquired foreign nationality at birth. Each case is considered individually.
Do I qualify just because I hold a Hong Kong permanent identity card?
No. The card is one of three cumulative conditions. You must also be a Chinese citizen and have the right of abode in the HKSAR, and the card itself must be valid.
How long is an HKSAR passport valid, and can my child be included in mine?
It is normally valid for 10 years from the date of issue, unless otherwise specified; a passport for a child under 16 is normally valid for 5 years. No child can be included — children of any age need their own passport.
How long does an application take?
The department's pledge is 5 working days after receiving all necessary documents, fee and photograph, and 10 working days for children under 11 not holding a permanent identity card. Applications not submitted in person may need an extra 2 to 3 working days, and loss, damage or amendment cases may take longer.
Can I apply while living overseas?
Yes. The department states that an application can be submitted from Hong Kong or overseas. If you choose to collect via a Chinese diplomatic and consular mission or a Mainland Office immigration division, the dispatch time is excluded from the processing pledge.
I am not of Chinese nationality but I have the right of abode — what can I travel on?
The HKSAR Document of Identity for Visa Purposes covers persons not of Chinese nationality who have the right of abode in the HKSAR and hold a permanent identity card of the Region, but cannot obtain a national passport or travel document of any other country or territory. It is valid for 7 years.