Hong Kong may raise passport fees by $60 starting September

The government plans to raise application fees for the HKSAR passport by HK$60, with the new charges expected to take effect in September.

According to a document submitted to the Legislative Council Panel on Security, the Immigration Department proposed to increase the cost for a 48-page passport with 10-year validity to HK$520, up from the current HK$460, while the 32-page version will increase to HK$430 from HK$370.

For applicants under 16, fees will rise by HK$30, with the 48-page passport priced at HK$260 and the 32-page version at HK$215.

Additional charges for express delivery or mailing of passports to other regions will see increases ranging from three to 51 percent, with the highest surge for express to North America and Europe, rising from HK$205 to HK$310.

Other visa-related fees, including those for the Hong Kong Re-entry Permit, will also go up by 14 to 46 percent.

Notably, the fee for an endorsement to a travel document without a specified charge will surge by 46 percent, from HK$240 to HK$350.

Meanwhile, the application fee for the APEC Business Travel Card, valid for up to five years, will jump by 30 percent from HK$540 to HK$700, while replacement fees for the card will increase by 24 percent from HK$210 to HK$260.

The ImmD estimates that the new fee structure for 28 items will generate an additional HK$140 million in annual revenue while acknowledging that one-time adjustment to fully recover costs was “impractical”.

The department emphasized that the hikes would have a minimal impact on most residents’ daily lives and only a limited effect on general business activities.

The ImmD also stated that it would regularly review operational procedures and implement efficiency measures to control service costs, with savings factored into the revised fee calculations.

(Ayra Wang)