{
  "id": "visa/visa-free-days-vary-by-nationality",
  "signature": "AI tells a traveler Hong Kong grants a flat visa-free stay (e.g. always 90 days, or the mainland China 'permit' model) regardless of passport nationality",
  "signature_zh": "",
  "regex": "(hong kong.{0,20}visa[- ]free|visa[- ]free.{0,20}hong kong|hk.{0,10}90[- ]day.{0,10}visa)",
  "domain": "visa",
  "category": "immigration_risk",
  "subcategory": null,
  "root_cause": "Hong Kong's Immigration Department (IMMD) grants visa-free/visa-on-arrival entry to nationals of roughly 170 countries and territories, but the permitted stay is NOT a single fixed number - it ranges from 7 to 180 days depending entirely on the visitor's nationality (per the officially published country-by-country schedule), with a small number of nationalities requiring a visa with no visa-free option at all. British passport holders get 180 days; most EU, Australian, Canadian, Japanese, and Singaporean passport holders get 90 days; several nationalities (e.g. India, Philippines, Russia) get only 14 days; and the residual default for unlisted nationalities is 7 days. All visa-free/visa-on-arrival entrants are legally barred from taking up employment (paid or unpaid), from establishing or joining a business, and from enrolling as a student - immigration status generally cannot be changed after arrival.",
  "root_cause_type": "generic",
  "root_cause_zh": "",
  "versions": [
    {
      "version": "any",
      "introduced": null,
      "deprecated": null,
      "removed": null,
      "behavior_change": null,
      "status": "active"
    }
  ],
  "os_specific": {},
  "dead_ends": [
    {
      "action": "State or assume Hong Kong gives every visitor the same visa-free duration (commonly guessed as 90 days, by analogy with the EU/US/many other countries' visa-waiver programs)",
      "why_fails": "IMMD's own visit-visa/entry-permit requirements page states durations ranging from 7 to 180 days that vary strictly by nationality: British citizens get 180 days; most European, Australian, Canadian, Japanese, and Singaporean nationals get 90 days; several nationalities (India, Philippines, Russia, Ukraine, many African states) get only 14 days; and the residual default is 7 days. A traveler told '90 days' who is actually only entitled to 14 or 7 can unknowingly overstay.",
      "fail_rate": 0.75,
      "condition": "",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/services/visas/visit-transit/visit-visa-entry-permit.html",
        "https://www.gov.hk/en/nonresidents/visarequire/general/index.htm"
      ]
    },
    {
      "action": "Tell a visa-free/visa-on-arrival visitor they can take up short-term paid work, freelance gigs, or unpaid volunteering/internships during their stay since they already have permission to be in Hong Kong",
      "why_fails": "IMMD explicitly states visitors 'are not allowed by law to take up employment (paid or unpaid), to establish or join in any business, or to enter school as a student' - the visa-free entry only covers tourism, social visits, and certain short business-meeting activities, and does not convert into a work authorization regardless of nationality or the length of stay granted.",
      "fail_rate": 0.6,
      "condition": "Visitor entering visa-free or visa-on-arrival",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/services/visas/visit-transit/visit-visa-entry-permit.html"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "workarounds": [
    {
      "action": "Before travel, check the exact permitted stay for your specific nationality on IMMD's official visit-visa/entry-permit page (or the underlying data.gov.hk Immigration Department dataset) rather than assuming a round number",
      "success_rate": 0.9,
      "how": "IMMD's Visit Visa / Entry Permit Requirements page lists the exact days-of-stay bucket (7/14/30/90/180) and any visa-required exceptions for each nationality; the underlying dataset is also published as open data by the Immigration Department.",
      "condition": "",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/services/visas/visit-transit/visit-visa-entry-permit.html",
        "https://data.gov.hk/en-data/dataset/hk-immd-set4-visit-visa-entry-permit-requirements-hksar"
      ]
    },
    {
      "action": "If work, study, or an extended stay is actually needed, apply for the appropriate visa/entry permit category in advance rather than relying on visa-free entry and trying to change status locally",
      "success_rate": 0.8,
      "how": "",
      "condition": "Intending to work, study, or stay long-term",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/services/visas/visit-transit/visit-visa-entry-permit.html"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "workarounds_zh": [],
  "transition_graph": {
    "leads_to": [],
    "preceded_by": [],
    "frequently_confused_with": [
      "communication/hong-kong-mainland-distinction/hk"
    ]
  },
  "official_doc_url": null,
  "official_doc_section": null,
  "error_code": null,
  "verification_tier": "ai_generated",
  "confidence": 0.8,
  "fix_success_rate": 0.85,
  "resolvable": "true",
  "first_seen": "2026-08-28",
  "last_confirmed": "2026-08-28",
  "last_updated": "2026-08-28",
  "evidence_count": 3,
  "tags": [],
  "locale": "en",
  "aliases": [
    "visa/visa-free-days-vary-by-nationality/hk"
  ]
}