Hong Kong has moved decisively to broaden the geographic reach of its flagship Immigration Facilitation Scheme for Invited Persons. From 1 October 2026, the scheme’s fast-track visa-free entry channel—originally limited to Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) nationals—will extend to five Central Asian republics (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) as well as the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates). The change, announced on 24 September by the Immigration Department, means that any Hong Kong policy bureau or department—not just the five founding agencies—can issue invitation letters to high-value visitors. Eligible invitees will benefit from streamlined pre-arrival paperwork, an electronic one-stop application portal and the right to use automated immigration gates immediately on arrival. Crucially, nationals of eight of the newly covered countries who still require visas for ordinary visits will see application data requirements sharply reduced. Officials say the expansion answers two strategic needs: diversifying Hong Kong’s commercial partnerships beyond traditional North-east Asian and Western markets, and back-stopping the city’s aggressive bid to become a middle-East–Asia super-connector under the Belt and Road Initiative. In practical terms, event organisers will gain flexibility to fly in keynote speakers, investors and entrepreneurs at short notice—a common road-block cited by conference planners. Corporate mobility managers should review internal invitation workflows so that business units, not just HR, can trigger the scheme when pressing opportunities arise. Employers must still ensure invited persons engage only in the exchange or business activity specified in the invitation letter and, if remunerated, comply with Hong Kong tax and labour rules. The Immigration Department signalled that it will audit usage patterns to guard against displacement of local workers, but added that more than 56,000 visitors have already used the scheme without major compliance issues. With the Asia-Pacific travel recovery accelerating and Middle-Eastern capital flocking to the region’s fintech and infrastructure sectors, the broader scheme positions Hong Kong to capture a larger share of deal-making traffic. Companies operating regional headquarters in the city should update travel policy matrices and briefing notes immediately ahead of the 1 October go-live date to avoid missed opportunities.
Source: HKSAR Government Press Release
