Expiration 7 years | Type of document Travel document | |
Eligibility requirements Residents of Hong Kong who are unable to obtain national passports | ||
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Document of Identity for Visa Purposes is a biometric travel document issued by the Hong Kong Immigration Department to residents of Hong Kong who are unable to obtain national passports. It is usually valid for seven years. The majority are issued to citizens of the People's Republic of China who have migrated to Hong Kong on a One-way Permit, have lost their mainland hukou thus are unable to obtain a PRC passport, but have not resided in Hong Kong for the 7 years required to be eligible for a HKSAR passport. In 2009–2010, 54,554 Documents of Identity for Visa Purposes were issued.
Contents
Eligibility
The Document of Identity can be issued to the following categories of individuals who are connected with Hong Kong and who are unable to obtain a national passport or travel document from any other country:
Use
As an international travel document, the Hong Kong Document of Identity may be used for entry into and exit from Hong Kong. However, since it is not a formal passport, there are certain restrictions. Few foreign countries and dependent territories which offer visa-free access to Hong Kong SAR passport holders confer the same privilege to holders of the Hong Kong SAR Document of Identity.
Since some holders of the Hong Kong SAR Document of Identity are not Chinese citizens (the majority are new immigrants from other parts of China to Hong Kong and have been unable to obtain an ordinary Chinese passport), they are not entitled to the consular protection offered by the People's Republic of China government while overseas. However, Chinese foreign missions are able to assist should a Document of Identity become lost or stolen whilst abroad.