Hong Kong entry is not a mainland China visaVisit days by passport, in official table order
As at 31 December 2025. Hong Kong Immigration Department sets visit days.
180 days
- Britain (British citizens)
90 days
- Australia
- Canada
- France
- Japan
- Korea
- USA
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- Germany
- Italy
- Netherlands
- Singapore
- Spain
30 days
- Indonesia
- Thailand
14 days
- India (complete pre-arrival registration first)
Other passports: use the official 232-row table linked below.
Going on to Shenzhen is a separate mainland entry.
- Hong Kong Immigration Department — visit visa / entry permit table (232 rows) · page dated 26 August 2026 · checked 3 September 2026
- Hong Kong Immigration Department — entry from Chinese Mainland · checked 3 September 2026
Pay in Hong Kong dollars — start with an Octopus cardWhat it is, whether you need one, and three ways to get it
Prices on this page are in Hong Kong dollars (HK$), not yuan. Mainland Alipay / WeChat Pay is not the default here.
What it is
A stored-value tap card. One card covers MTR and the Airport Express, buses, trams, ferries and minibuses, plus convenience stores, supermarkets and fast food — and, from 1 April 2026, taxis too. Tap, no PIN, no signature. Stored-value cap HK$3,000. Same Octopus, contactless bank card or QR: one free regular MTR ride within an hour after Airport Express.
Skip it
You only ride the Airport Express, and you can tap a Visa, Mastercard or UnionPay contactless credit card. That tap works on Airport Express and MTR heavy rail only — not Light Rail or MTR Bus. UnionPay debit is not accepted.
Get one
You will ride buses, trams, ferries, shops or taxis, or you are staying 3 days or more.
Apple Wallet — no extra app
Hong Kong-issued American Express, Mastercard, UnionPay or Visa, or a Chinese Mainland-issued UnionPay card. Deposit HK$50; minimum first stored value HK$100. Path: Wallet → + → Travel Card → Octopus.
Octopus App for Tourists
Other overseas-issued cards take this path. Deposit HK$50, refundable. Needs iPhone X or later, or a listed Huawei phone.
Physical Tourist Octopus
HK$39. No deposit. Card cost is not refunded; remaining value can be. Airport customer service or 7-Eleven (Terminal 1, Level 5, near Counter A13). The airport sells the sold version only — not On-loan. If you arrive late, the counter may be sold out of both tourist and regular cards, and the 7-Eleven may not sell them — carry some Hong Kong dollars.
- Octopus — add via Apple Pay (tourist) · checked 3 September 2026
- MTR — Airport Express tickets and fares · checked 3 September 2026
- Octopus — refund a tourist / Wallet Octopus · checked 3 September 2026
- Octopus — Tourist Octopus (sold version) · checked 3 September 2026
Not every MTR gate takes a foreign bank card. Look for the gates with a bank-card reader — usually one or two per station.
Airport counters and the arrivals 7-Eleven sell the Tourist Octopus (sold card). On-loan Octopus is at in-town MTR customer service, not at the airport.
Plan before you land
Which way into Hong Kong?
Pick by your budget, luggage, destination and whether you are staying in Hong Kong or continuing into the mainland.
Landing after 00:48? The Airport Express and the A-line buses have stopped for the night. That leaves the N11 / N21 night buses, a red taxi (24 h), or a car booked before you land.
Airport Express (機場快綫)
The fastest way in. Take it unless you are counting every dollar, or you land after 00:48.
- Fare
- HK$120 香港站
- Time
- ~24 min
- Runs
- ~10 min · 05:54–00:48
Under 3 travel free. Ages 3–11 pay the child fare. Age 12 and over pay adult. A contactless bank card at the gate is always charged the adult fare — child fares do not apply to bank cards. No car seat — this is a train.
Luggage rides with you in the carriage. Hong Kong Station and Kowloon Station have baggage trolleys.
Fares, in-town check-in, and the slower route
- Hong Kong Station: HK$120 Octopus or contactless card / $130 smart ticket. Kowloon $105 / $115. Tsing Yi $73 / $80.
- 24 minutes to Hong Kong Station. Same card or QR: one free regular MTR ride within an hour.
- In-town check-in (MTR, checked 3 September 2026): Hong Kong Station and Kowloon Station only — not Tsing Yi. Entering the check-in area charges the full Airport Express fare (Octopus, contactless bank card, QR or Airport Express ticket). Use the same card or ticket at the check-in gate and the platform gate. That is the same as buying that day’s Airport Express ride.
- Airlines on the MTR table: Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong Station 06:00–23:00 / Kowloon 06:00–15:00); China Airlines (Hong Kong Station 09:00–18:00 / Kowloon currently not available); Hong Kong Airlines (06:00–19:00 / 06:00–15:00); Mandarin Airlines (09:00–18:00 / Kowloon currently not available); Qantas (07:00–18:35 / 07:00–15:00); Singapore Airlines (09:00–17:20 / Kowloon currently not available). Codeshare flights operated by another airline do not qualify.
- Earliest 24 hours before departure, latest 90 minutes before, and only inside that airline’s hours that day. Self-service kiosks need a valid electronic travel document; everyone else checks in at the airport. Bag drop at the in-town counters is up to 145 × 100 × 85 cm and 32 kg — that is the in-town system limit, not a limit on the Airport Express train.
- Slower and cheaper: S1 bus (HK$3.5) to Tung Chung, then the Tung Chung Line. Add the Tung Chung Line fare at the station board.
Sources
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Airport bus (機場巴士)
The cheap way in. Take it when you are not in a hurry and your stop is on an A, E, or N route.
- Fare
- A11 HK$41.9 · A21 HK$34.6
- Time
- 45–75 min
- Runs
- A11 05:35–00:30
Lower deck has luggage racks. Cityflyer’s airport-bus page says they take large and small bags. Under 12: half fare. Each adult can bring up to two children under 4 who do not take a seat, free. Pay Octopus, exact cash, or the electronic payments the driver accepts — no change.
Route fares and night buses
- A11 to North Point via Central: HK$41.9, 05:35–00:30. A21 to Hung Hom via Tsim Sha Tsui: HK$34.6, 05:30–24:00.
- A10: HK$49.7. A29: HK$44. Cheaper E-series: E21 Kowloon HK$14.5, E11 Hong Kong Island $21.7. Journey 45–75 minutes.
- After the Airport Express: N21 to Tsim Sha Tsui HK$23.80, N11 to Central $31.
After the last Airport Express at 00:48, night buses and taxis still leave the airport. Check the board for that night’s N-routes — this is not a timetable.
Sources
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Taxi (的士)
Door to door, 24 hours. Take a red taxi for Central, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, or the rest of the urban area.
- Fare
- ≈ HK$290–375
- Time
- ~35–45 min
- Runs
- 24h
Child restraints: since 1 November 2025, under-8s under 1.35 m need one in private cars — taxis are exempt, but a rear seat belt must be worn; a driver can refuse an unbelted rider.
HK$6 surcharge per bag: any boot bag, or cabin bag over 140 cm (length + width + height). Hand baggage, prams, wheelchairs and walking sticks ride free.
Legal max: 6 passengers. Check the green-on-white seat plate front and rear — some cars still show 5.
Meter, tunnel toll, and airport table
- Red taxi meter: HK$29 flagfall, then $2.1 per 200m (dropping to $1.4/200m once the fare passes $102.5).
- There is also a cross-harbour tunnel toll of about HK$25, and some drivers charge it in both directions (roughly HK$50 total) depending on the route.
- Airport table (1 September 2026, tolls in, not luggage): about HK$375 to Central / Admiralty, about HK$290 to Tsim Sha Tsui. Watch the meter. No night surcharge on the official tariff.
- From 1 April 2026, all Hong Kong taxis must accept at least two electronic payment methods (an AlipayHK/WeChat Pay HK QR code plus Octopus or a card) — but keep some cash as backup.
Blue Lantau taxis are scarce — expect a wait, longer in rain, at shift change, or weekends toward places like Tai O. Some closed Lantau roads take only blue taxis; Uber cars generally can’t enter.
Hong Kong taxis rarely carry a child seat; Uber’s child-seat option often shows no car, and rear-facing seats are harder to find.
Sources
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Ride-hailing (Uber)
Fare quoted in the app, paid by card. Pickup is in a car park, not the taxi rank.
- Runs
- 24h
Note: Hong Kong only passed a law to license ride-hailing in 2025, with licensed services expected from around late 2026, so Uber has operated in a legal grey area — the official taxi rank remains the fully licensed option if you prefer certainty.
Fares and vehicle types
- The app quotes the fare before you confirm; UberX, Uber Comfort, Uber Black and an Uber Taxi option are offered.
- UberX vehicles in Hong Kong must be 4-door, 5-seater or 7-seater. UberXL is for groups of up to 6 riders and must be a 7-seater.
- Pay in-app by card — no Octopus or cash required.
Pickup is in a car park, not the taxi queue. First-time arrivals can miss the assigned park; follow the in-app walk, including if it sends you toward the Regal Airport Hotel.
Sources
Hong Kong doesn't run the mainland's Didi or Alipay ride-hailing — Uber is what works here (see Ride-hailing below for the car park pickup point). Taxis are the licensed alternative, but only red urban taxis serve Central, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon and the rest of the main urban area; green taxis run only the New Territories, and blue ones only Lantau — take the red rank for downtown (see Taxi below for the meter and all-in fare).
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Cross-boundary to the mainland (跨境往內地)
Only if you are going on to Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai, or Macau without entering Hong Kong first.
Fares and current routes
- Coach fares were not confirmed on an official page at the time of writing — check the counter board on the day.
- Ferry and coach routes to the mainland change often. Several SkyPier routes have been suspended with no announced restart date, including at times the Macau Taipa line, the Zhuhai line, and the Shenzhen–HK ferry link — do not assume a route is running.
- Always verify current routes and schedules on hongkongairport.com before you commit to this option.
Sources
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You do not need a mainland-China firewall VPN in Hong Kong. Some sites can still be restricted under Hong Kong law. That is not the mainland firewall.
The free Airport Express hotel shuttle was discontinued on 30 June 2020 and has not come back — do not expect a free ride to your hotel door. A few private hotels run their own paid or limited shuttles; ask yours directly. In-town check-in is at Hong Kong Station and Kowloon Station only (not Tsing Yi) — details under Airport Express below.
Navigate to your hotel
Open Hong Kong International Airport in Google Maps, then set your hotel as the destination. Google Maps works in Hong Kong; this page does not use Amap or Baidu here.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How we verify airport routes
- We prefer airport, metro, rail, and government operator pages for route, ticketing, terminal, and schedule claims.
- If an exact fare, pickup bay, or last-train time is not confirmed on an operator page, we tell travelers to check it instead of publishing a number.
- Last-updated dates mark when source links and page claims were reviewed.
Airport and transport sources
- MTR Airport Express — Tickets and Fares— MTR Corporation· Reviewed 2026-09-03
- MTR Airport Express — Timetable— MTR Corporation· Reviewed 2026-09-03
- MTR Airport Express — Privileges and Complimentary Services (free MTR connection)— MTR Corporation· Reviewed 2026-09-03
- Tourist Octopus (Sold version)— Octopus Cards Limited· Reviewed 2026-09-03
- Entry Arrangements for Mainland, Macao, Taiwan & Overseas Chinese Residents— Hong Kong Immigration Department· Reviewed 2026-09-03
- To & From Airport — Overview— Airport Authority Hong Kong (HKIA)· Reviewed 2026-07-13
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