Invitation-Only Entry Scheme Extended to 11 Central Asian and Gulf States From 1 October

A last-minute policy update is set to broaden Hong Kong’s talent and event pipeline. In a notice posted just before midnight on 27 September, independent travel intelligence site Deep Arrival confirmed that the government will add 11 countries—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—to its Invited Persons Entry Scheme effective 1 October 2026. The same date will see the city’s Short-Term Activities Scheme expand to cover the social-welfare sector, raising the number of designated activity categories to 18. The Invited Persons Scheme allows government bureaux and departments to issue electronic invitations that fast-track visa processing and grant easier access to self-service immigration clearance lanes. Crucially, the measure is not a blanket visa-waiver; ordinary tourists from the 11 jurisdictions will still need to follow existing visit-visa rules unless they hold an official invitation. For corporates the changes bite on two levels. First, executives and subject-matter experts from Central Asia and the Gulf can now attend trade fairs, board meetings or GBA study tours in Hong Kong with fewer bureaucratic hurdles—good news for financial institutions courting Islamic-finance investors or logistics firms eyeing the Belt-and-Road corridor. Second, NGOs and universities gain new flexibility to bring in social-welfare practitioners for workshops without having to sponsor employment visas, provided the visit lasts no more than 14 days and fits the approved activity scope. Immigration lawyers urge hosts to scrutinise which scheme—Invited Persons or Short-Term Activities—actually applies, because each carries different limits on remuneration and permissible stay. Travellers should also remember that an invitation email is not itself a visa; those who ordinarily require a visit visa must still obtain one in advance. Nonetheless, the expansion signals Hong Kong’s intent to project ‘open for collaboration’ vibes to regions that are pivotal to its ambition of becoming a fully global connector.