Every foreigner enrolled in a Hong Kong educational institution for a program lasting more than 90 days must obtain a student visa to Hong Kong.

Attention! A tourist visa is sufficient for a foreign student to study in short-term programs lasting up to 90 days.

How do I get a student visa to Hong Kong?

In the process of applying for a visa to study in Hong Kong, the host university acts as an intermediary between the foreign student and the country's Migration Service.

Obtaining a student visa to Hong Kong consists of several stages:

1. Collecting documents

Once a student receives confirmation of admission to a Hong Kong educational institution, they can start collecting documents for a visa to Hong Kong.

Documents for a student visa to Hong Kong:

• copy of your international passport;
• photo size no more than 55x45mm and no less than 50x40mm;
• printed and completed ID995A form;
• printed and completed Visa Sponsorship and student's Agreement forms;
• confirmation of admission to an educational institution in Hong Kong;
• student consent to enroll in the University;
• copies of previously obtained diplomas, certificates and other qualifications;
• academic transcripts from the last place of study;
• confirmation of the availability of funds for tuition and accommodation in Hong Kong (bank account statement).

How do I fill out the ID995A form?

Fill out the form in block letters, by a pen with blue or black ink. You must attach a photo and a copy of your international passport to the form.

When filling out the form, the Student provides personal information, information about the Hong Kong curriculum, tuition fees, previous education, and sponsorship from parents or a third party (if the student doesn’t pay for the tuition himself). By signing each page of documents, the student confirms the accuracy of all the information provided.

How do I fill out the Visa Sponsorship and student's Agreement forms?

The student must download these forms directly from the website of the university hosting in Hong Kong. Both forms must be printed out and filled out using your passport data.

2. Sending documents

As soon as the student collects all the necessary documents, they must send them in one package to an educational institution in Hong Kong. Most often, university offices for working with international students are engaged in working with student documents.

3. Applying for a visa

As soon as a University in Hong Kong receives a student's documents, they also fill out the sponsor's certificate form and attach it to the general package of documents. In this form, the University submits documents to the Hong Kong Immigration Service.

4. Getting a visa

Next, The Hong Kong Migration Service reviews the student's documents and makes a decision on issuing a visa. In case of a positive decision, the service sends the visa to the university as an intermediary, and the University sends the visa to the student by courier.

The process of reviewing documents and applying for a student visa to Hong Kong can take up to 2 months, so students are advised to apply for a visa as early as possible.

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The special Immigration Arrangement for Non-local Graduates (IANG) program is valid for foreign graduates of Hong Kong universities and gives them the right to stay in the country for 12 months after receiving their diploma and find a job. 

What is Immigration Arrangement for Non-local Graduates (IANG)?

This visa program is intended for foreigners who have studied at one of the accredited higher education institutions in Hong Kong.

At the same time, IANG divides foreign graduates of local universities into two categories:

• new graduates (Non-local fresh graduates). These are those who have graduated from an accredited Hong Kong higher education institution in the last 6 months.
• returning non-local graduates. these are those who graduated from an accredited Hong Kong higher education institution more than 6 months ago.

The conditions for obtaining an IANG visa are different for the two categories of graduates.

• If the diploma was obtained within the last 6 months.
• New graduates do not need an official job invitation from one of the Hong Kong companies in order to obtain an IANG visa.
• If the diploma was received more than 6 months ago. Returning graduates must submit an official job invitation from a Hong Kong company to obtain an IANG visa. 

How do I get a Yang visa?

• New graduates who is returning for a visa must complete the ID form 990A.
• The employer company of the returning graduate must fill out form ID 990B.

Validity period of the Yang visa:

An IANG visa can be extended, and its validity period depends on what the current visa is.

• First visa-valid for 1 year
• Second visa-valid for 2 years.
• Third visa-valid for 2 years.
• Fourth visa-valid for 3 years.

 Rights of a foreigner with a Yang visa

With this type of visa, you can:

• free entry and exit from Hong Kong without any restrictions;
• change your job and stay in Hong Kong;
• get a job for several months (less than 12 months) and stay in Hong Kong for 1 year, provided that all other immigration rules are met.

A student who has obtained a study visa to Hong Kong must comply with the following rules of stay in Hong Kong:

• They can only study at the university that was originally declared and approved by the Department of Immigration.
• He can't get a job.
• They are not allowed to start their own business or start their own business;
• It is not allowed to become a partner of any commercial enterprise.

You can apply for an internship only if it is approved by the University and is related to the specialty you are studying. However, these internships should not last more than a year or one-third of the standard full-time academic curriculum.