Changing a passport or permit with a Hong Kong visa: endorsement transfer and records

Before you start

Visitors and non-permanent residents can request transfer of endorsement to show current Hong Kong immigration status in a replacement document. Immigration advises carrying both old and new documents for clearance until transfer is completed. Complete and sign ID405; a parent or legal guardian signs for under-sixteens. A new document with a different nationality requires evidence of that acquisition, while a lost document calls for the police loss record indicated by the form. Transfer records existing status rather than granting a new stay period.

What to do, step by step

1. Keep old and new personal-particulars pages, Hong Kong admission records and e-Visa, listing numbers, dates and replacement reason. If the stay limit is also close, investigate renewal separately. A transfer request cannot be treated as a way to repair expired permission.
2. Complete ID405 and assemble the new document, old document where available and case-specific evidence. Read the applicable requirements for nationality changes, relevant Hong Kong birth endorsements or loss instead of assuming that a routine renewal checklist covers each situation.
3. Submit through the official transfer channel, retain the reference and produce originals as instructed. The applicant must be in Hong Kong for payment and e-Visa collection. Before imminent travel during processing, confirm the documentary arrangements with the responsible section rather than relying on a scan alone.
4. After collection, check the new number, name and current status recorded. Update relevant employer or institution records and retain the old document or loss report with the transfer result. The next renewal bundle can then clearly explain why its document number differs from earlier records.

Costs, timing, and things to check

For a Mainland resident admitted for employment, training, residence or study who loses the Exit-entry Permit in Hong Kong, the official procedure allows the applicable transfer without a replacement permit. Approval provides an e-Visa and a letter for arranging the new permit separately.

A non-permanent resident's return must meet the valid-stay and unchanged-circumstances requirements. Check the carrier, Mainland exit-entry authority and Hong Kong Immigration requirements separately; a transfer letter is not a universal travel document for every authority along the route.

A practical example

An overseas national working in Hong Kong brings both passports and the current e-Visa for transfer and separately schedules renewal of permission expiring in two months. A Mainland colleague who lost the permit follows the loss procedure and replacement-document arrangements instead.