As required by the Hong Kong Immigration Department, non-local students planning to study in Hong Kong must obtain a student visa.

Since the whole visa application process may take up to 8-10 weeks from the day HKUST receives your application, you are strongly advised to send in your visa application documents to HKUST as soon as possible. Once the visa application is submitted, you should not change the port of departure, or you will be responsible for any delays on the visa application process and program registration.

For Degree-seeking UG Students
The Undergraduate Recruitment and Admissions Office (URAO) will assist you with your student visa/entry permit application.  Please apply according to the instructions provided by URAO.

Receiving your Student Visa/Entry Permit
As a non-local student, you require a student visa or an entry permit for taking up your studies at HKUST.

Once your visa application is approved by the Hong Kong Immigration Department, they will inform HKUST. HKUST will pick up the visa and courier it to you. To help us get the visa label to you in time, please make sure that we have your correct mailing address.

Arriving in Hong Kong Without a Student Visa/Entry Permit
From past experience, most students receive their student visa in time for their departure to Hong Kong. For a small number of students, for reasons such as late release of examination results (Freshmen only) or complications at the Hong Kong Immigration Department, the student visa may not be approved in time. If HKUST expects that your student visa will not be ready in time for your departure to Hong Kong, we will let you know in advance. In this case, you should plan to enter Hong Kong as a tourist. On arrival at HKUST, we will advise you on the procedures for picking up and activating your student visa.

Activating your Student Visa/Entry Permit
Your student visa/entry permit will be issued as a self-adhesive label.  After receiving it from HKUST, please affix the label to your travel document, noting the below details:

For students holding Mainland Chinese travel documents
After you receive the entry permit issued by the Hong Kong Immigration Department, you should apply for an "Exit-entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao" (EEP) and a relevant exit endorsement from the Public Security Bureau office where your household registration is kept. Please affix the entry permit label onto a blank endorsement page of the EEP on which your relevant exit endorsement has been obtained. You should present the EEP for immigration examination upon arrival in Hong Kong.  In case your EEP bearing the relevant exit endorsement is an electronic EEP, it should be presented together with the entry permit label issued to you for immigration arrival clearance.

For students holding Macau SAR passport
You should affix the entry permit label onto your "Visit Permit for Residents of Macao to HKSAR”.

For students holding Taiwan passport
You will be issued with a single-journy entry permit to take up studies in Hong Kong. After entering Hong Kong on the strength of the single entry permit, you may apply for a "Multiple Entry Permit" (MEP) and transfer of endorsement onto the MEP to facilitate future travels to and from Hong Kong.

For students holding all other passports
You should affix the sticker label on a blank page in your passport.  

When you arrive at the immigration counter at the Hong Kong International Airport or other immigration checkpoints, please present your passport with the page where the student visa sticker label is stuck. Do not expect the Immigration Officer to look for the label. If they do not see it, they may enter you into Hong Kong as a visitor/tourist. Ensure that the Immigration Officer sees the visa label and that s/he issues a landing slip which bears your name, travel document number, arrival date, conditions and limit of stay in Hong Kong. The landing slip should say "Student-Permitted to remain until DDMMYYYY" and the name of the Hong Kong university you will be enrolling in. Without this landing slip, your student visa is not activated and you will not be permitted to register at HKUST.

No-Objection Letter (for Degree-seeking Students)
Non-local regular students will receive a No-Objection Letter (NOL) together with your student visa label. It is a letter from the Immigration Department, confirming your eligibility to engage in part-time on-campus employment at the University and summer employment. Should you later engage in such employment, you will be asked by the employer to present this letter, so please take care and keep this letter safe. This NOL has the same validity period as your student visa. If you lose it, you will need to re-apply for one.

In addition to the two types of employment, mentioned above, non-local regular students are also eligible to take up curriculum-related internships during your studies. This will require the application for a separate NOL, when the need arises, after you begin studies at HKUST. You can receive information about this after you enter HKUST.

For visas/permits issued after March 2014, the limit of stay granted on a student visa is in line with the normal duration of the study program, subject to the validity remaining on the travel document on the day of entry to Hong Kong. For example, in general, a student visa with a 4-year validity will be granted if you are enrolled in a 4-year program. However, if your travel document will expire in one year's time from the day you enter Hong Kong, then the limit of stay granted will only be one year. You will need to apply for a student visa extension later on. For your convenience, we advise that you obtain a travel document with longer validity before you proceed with your student visa application.

If the validity of your student visa is shorter than the normal duration of your study program, you should apply for an extension of stay four weeks before your limit of stay expires. The limit of stay will be extended in line with the remaining duration of your study program, subject to:

• A maximum period of six years upon entry as a student under the same study program in the same institution.
• The validity of your travel document.

To apply for visa extension, you need to first obtain a testimonial from the HKUST Academic Records and Registration (ARR), Academic Registry. With this supporting document, you may apply at the Hong Kong Immigration Department. You should apply in person or authorize in writing a representative to submit the application on your behalf. However, you (the applicant) must be physically in Hong Kong on the date of submission of your visa/entry permit extension and on the date of collection of your new student visa/entry permit.

For details about visa extension, please visit the Hong Kong Immigration Department webpage.