Fine looms as HKID upgrade nears end

Jane Cheung

Residents are being reminded to renew their smart Hong Kong ID cards by mid-January, when replacement centers are set to be closed at the end of a four-year exercise.

The deadline for the third last age group -- people born between 1992 and 1995 - is next Thursday.

On that, a Standard reader born in 1994 said most if not all the online booking slots before then have been taken.

The reader, Lee, said she had not realized the application period for her group opened for less than three months from July 25.

"I've heard we could be fined HK$5,000 for not renewing our HKID on time," she added. "Now I don't know what I can do."

But an Immigration Department spokesman told The Standard that regardless of age group and deadlines people can still make appointments at any of the nine replacement centers on the booking site.

The department launched the card-replacement exercise as a free service to encourage people to upgrade their cards to a version that has strengthened security features.

But since the launch of the exercise in December 2018 the centers have been closed intermittently amid anti-fugitive protests in 2019 and Covid clamps.

It is understood the HK$5,000 fine has not been enforced strictly. In fact, no one has been fined for failing to renew a card on time.

But while latecomers can still renew cards after the deadline they will be asked to provide a reason for their late application.

"The Immigration Department will make flexible arrangements according to individual cases and officers at replacement centers will offer help," the spokesman said.

For the previous 16 age groups, each has been allowed an application period of two to 10 months, depending on the numbers involved.

But it has been common for booking slots to be more in demand in the first two weeks of applications for a group opening and the last two weeks.

Although the public has been strongly advised to make appointments in advance through going online, the spokesman said each replacement center has a small walk-in quota depending on their daily capacities.

The application period for people born between 1996 and 2000 will open next Friday until December 10, while for the final group - born in 1954 or earlier, which began on April 8 - the end will be on January 14.

"The replacement exercise will end early next year," the spokesman stressed.

jane.cheung@singtaonewscorp.com