Visa Run to Macau

You can go over have lunch at Fernando's and take a boat back the same day - generally you should be able to renew your HK visa. However if you constantly do this immigration will suspect you are working in HK and eventually they will give you very short visa and force you out...

Ed is right. My first time in HK, I stayed for 10 months as a student. Then, I didn't really have a plan and wasn't ready to go back to small-town America, so I stayed 284 more days on tourist visas, making trips to Macau to renew each 90 days. Towards the end, I got pulled aside from the stamp booth and interrogated on two separate occasions -- on the second time they gave me two weeks to pack up my things and leave... That was just in time for my work visa to finally come through, haha.


Here's some first hand advice on the interrogation, if it ever comes to that:


- There is actually an official list available of things you shouldn't say, which you can ask for at any time during the interrogation. I never bothered to look at it as I kinda knew what to expect.


- Their main concerns are money (where do you get it, and are you spending it in HK), threats to the HK labor market, and making sure you're going to leave within the next period that your tourist visa is extended.


- Be able to prove (or at least promise) that you have a steady flow of money from somewhere outside HK (relatives, investments). They will ask to see how much cash and credit cards are currently on you, but this is mainly for to fill in a required question on their computer screen for statistical purposes. Still, if there's any reason to doubt you'd get back it, it will always look better if you stop at an ATM and stack up your wallet just before. The first time I went through, I'd just blown all my money in Macau and it looked pretty sketchy.


- Say you're staying with a friend, and don't write a hotel address on your entry card -- crashing at a friend's is free and goes along with the money thing. If you say you're staying at a hotel, they'll ask a lot more questions about how you can afford the constant financial drain without working here.


- Stick with "tourism" or "visiting friends" 100% as your reason for wanting to enter. Never mention anything about work, school, etc in HK, even if you've done some innocent volunteer work or some kind of semi-professional hobby like photography. Any unnecessary info will just lead to confusion or grey areas, and more unwanted questions.


- Tell them you have a definite date that you plan to leave HK, even if you don't. If you're entering HK in January and your tourist visa would expire in March, tell them you're definitely leaving at the end of February -- if you indicate that you don't know when you're going to leave, they'll almost definitely cut you short with the two week visa.


- You can use your cell phone when you're sitting in the waiting area (they'll spend about 20 minutes putting all your passport stamps in order on a computer to see where you've been and checking up for police records, etc.).


- From what I've noticed with people sitting next to me, if you're SE Asian, they will be much more impatient and even rude to you. Just be pleasant and polite no matter how mean they get.


- Make sure your girlfriend isn't waiting on the other side for an hour, because she WILL be pissed off and crying when you finally make it through!



Don't worry about all this now... you still have a year or two before it comes to interrogations.

BonjourMyFriends - thanks for the advice. It made me feel a lot more confident when my wife and I came back from Macau last weekend - my first trip there.


Unfortunately, however, I think the time of interrogations is already upon us. I had been in HK for almost 90 days, and my wife (who joined me here at a later date) about 30 days. We got pulled aside and interviewed extensively.


Their main points of concern were that we had arrived on different dates and how I was able to take up to 6 months of work in my home country. We were eventually granted another visa, but more I think because our story was too complicated for them to get their head around than us genuinely convincing them. Needless to say I will not be able to pull this off again in the future.


Granted, our whole situation looked a little "irregular" - but the fact is I don't think they are willing to overlook irregularities (such as making multiple Macau trips) as much as they used to.

Hey all, this is an update, as the last post is about 10 months old, and we all know how fast everything is changing.


I just returned from Macau, and I was stopped and rigorously questioned by Immigration. I have a US passport, and I have been visiting my girlfriend in Hong Kong since September.


I overstayed my last tourist visa by 6 days, and if there is any question that this is something 'they might be cool with', IT IS NOT. Upon realizing I was overstayed, I ran and tried to jump on a ferry to Macau on Friday morning. I did not make it through customs, and was sent to Immigration Tower to apply for an extension on my visitor visa. I was granted the extension which was good until the following Sunday, meaning I needed to travel by 11:59pm Sunday night.


Later on Friday, I went back to the ferry, successfully and painlessly made it through, and spent Friday night and Saturday in Macau, returning to HK a few hours ago, today, Sunday.


Upon returning, I was pulled aside, most likely because the extension set off 'alarms'. I was questioned thoroughly, and was told that 'I should think about putting an end to my holiday.' I was threatened with a 1-week visa to get any affairs in order, before I would have to leave HK. I was told that I was bad for society, I am not special, etc... They asked me to state a time when I would go back to the US, which I gave them. They asked me all about where my money comes from and how I expected to sustain myself in HK.


What ultimately appeased them was clearly stating a time frame for when I might leave, as well as clearly stating that I would not abuse the ease with which I could run to Macau. I was granted another 90 day visa, but I do not know if I will be able to travel from HK and receive a new one upon my return. In other words, this one might be my last, I am not sure...


Everyone should know that Immigration are not stupid or naive. They are well organized, can pull up everywhere you have been and for how long you stayed, and they do not like to feel taken advantage of. I have a unique case because I tried a 'visa run' after overstaying, so they very well may be trying to 'scare me'. Again, it might still be possible to get away with visa runs to Macau as long as you haven't broken any of their rules in the past, but I would recommend mainland, Philippines, Taiwan, or somewhere else you need to fly to, or where will spend more than a weekend.


This all being said, I know people who have lived in HK on visitor visas for up to 8 years. However, this might say more about the past 8 years than it does about the present.


My main piece of advice is:

Do not ever overstay your visitor visa, no matter how busy you are, and waiting until the 85th day is just as bad.