Applying for an HKSAR Passport for a Child Under 11 in 2026
If your child is under 11 and does not already hold a Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card, the passport application and the permanent identity card application go in together, a parent or legal guardian must sign the form, and the passport issued will generally be valid for five years. Those three points come from the Hong Kong Immigration Department's "Travel Documents" FAQ page (as of October 2026), which adds that the child's permanent identity card is issued at the same time as the passport.
Who can apply for an HKSAR passport for a child under 11?
An HKSAR (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region) passport is open to a Chinese citizen who has the right of abode in Hong Kong and holds a valid Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card. Children do not qualify for their own entry in a parent's passport, because the passport is machine-readable and holds only the holder's own data.
Children under 11 normally do not need an identity card at all. The identity card FAQ lists children under 11 among the people exempt from registration, with one exception: a child who is a Hong Kong permanent resident applying for an HKSAR passport, and who therefore needs a permanent identity card at the same time. So the passport application is what pulls your child into the identity card system, not the other way round.
The Immigration Department points to two documents for the detail: ID(C)842A, the notes on applying for an HKSAR passport, and ROP(C)149, the notes on applying for a Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card for a child under 11 who is applying for an HKSAR passport.
How long is a child's passport valid?
A passport issued to a child under 16 is generally valid for five years from the date of issue. Passports for other applicants are generally valid for 10 years unless stated otherwise.
The five-year cycle matters for planning. A passport issued shortly after your child is born will expire while your child is still small, and the photo and biographic page stored in the contactless chip will be years out of date by then. Families who travel on a foreign passport as well should keep both expiry dates somewhere they will actually look.
Who has to sign the application form?
The application form must be signed by the child's parent or legal guardian. Which parent can sign is governed by the Guardianship of Minors Ordinance (Cap. 13).
Under section 3(1)(b) of that Ordinance, a mother has the same rights and powers as the law gives to a father, the rights and powers of both parents are equal, and either one may exercise them alone. If the child was born outside marriage, section 3(1)(c) gives the mother the same rights she would have had if the child had been born in marriage; a father has rights only to the extent a court orders them on an application under section 3(1)(d).
Separation or divorce does not change this by itself. Unless a court has made an order, either natural parent can still apply for a child under 16, or sign consent for a child who is 16 or over but under 18. The Immigration Department also states that without a court order it cannot block one parent from applying, simply because the other parent asked it to.
What do you need to submit, and what does it cost?
The department processes an application once it has the required documents, the fee and the photo. You submit:
- The application form, signed by a parent or legal guardian.
- A photograph meeting the Immigration Department's specifications for HKSAR travel documents.
- The supporting documents listed in ID(C)842A and ROP(C)149.
- The fee.
On fees, the travel documents FAQ quotes HK$215 for a five-year, 32-page passport and HK$260 for the 48-page version, in the context of replacing a passport because of a change of personal particulars. Treat the official fee tables page as the current figure for your own application.
Applications can be made in Hong Kong or overseas. Overseas applicants can obtain forms and notes from Chinese diplomatic and consular missions abroad, from the offices in the mainland, or from the Immigration Department.
Two points that catch people out. Submitting an application over the internet or through the Immigration Department mobile app does not mean it has been approved; the department may still ask for another photo or more documents. You can check status online afterwards using the application file number plus the year and day of the applicant's date of birth.
How long does processing take?
For a child under 11 who does not hold a Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card, the department's pledge is to complete processing within 10 working days of receiving the documents, fee and photo. Working days are Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays. Other applications are pledged at five working days.
You can generally collect the new passport on the next working day after processing is finished. If the application was not submitted in person — by post or drop-in, for example — allow an extra two to three working days for the handling. Applications made because a passport was lost, damaged or needs changed personal details can take longer. The department notes that whether the pledge is met depends on the individual case and on how many applications arrive during that period.
Collection itself needs no appointment. Once the department issues a collection notice setting out the deadline and location, you go directly to the office named in it.
If you live overseas and collect the passport abroad
If you choose to collect the new passport at a Chinese diplomatic or consular mission abroad or at an office in the mainland, the processing times above do not include delivery. Hongkong Post handles that delivery, and actual delivery depends on aviation security checks, airmail capacity and customs clearance at the destination. More remote destinations take longer.
The practical consequence is that the whole exercise — applying, processing and delivery — can run well past the 10-working-day pledge. If you are booking flights around a new passport, build in more time than the processing figure alone suggests.
If your child was born outside Hong Kong
Chinese nationality decides whether your child can hold an HKSAR passport at all, and for a child born abroad it turns on Article 5 of the Chinese Nationality Law. A person born abroad with one or both parents being Chinese citizens has Chinese nationality, unless a Chinese-citizen parent had settled abroad and the child acquired foreign nationality at birth. The FAQ states that every case is considered individually against those provisions.
Two related rules help overseas families. A Chinese citizen who has returned to settle in Hong Kong and has not obtained the Immigration Department's approval for a change of nationality remains a Chinese citizen and can apply. And a Chinese citizen who obtains an HKSAR passport can keep a foreign passport and travel on it; within Hong Kong and the rest of China, that foreign passport is treated only as a travel document.
On the form, a child born abroad needs only the country of birth — Canada, Thailand, and so on — not a province or city. The passport prints the country name only. Where the place entered is not a country name, the department may ask for supporting documents.
Nationality turns on the facts of each family, and this article describes published rules in general terms rather than advising on your child's position; confirm against the official pages or take professional advice before you rely on it for a specific application.
Does your child need other travel documents as well?
For mainland China, follow whatever the mainland authorities require for entry and exit, such as a Home Return Permit. For Macao, the position is set out in the department's re-entry permit FAQ: a child under 11 who does not hold a Hong Kong Re-entry Permit must show a locally issued valid Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card and a valid HKSAR passport for identity checking. At Hong Kong control points for travel to the mainland or Macao, an under-11 child needs the same pair of documents.
A single appointment can cover up to four travel document applications, so a passport and a re-entry permit for two children can be booked together rather than over separate visits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my child need a Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card to get an HKSAR passport?
A child under 11 who is a Hong Kong permanent resident and does not hold a permanent identity card must apply for one at the same time as the passport. The two are issued together. Children under 11 are otherwise exempt from identity card registration.
How long is my child's HKSAR passport valid?
A passport issued to a child under 16 is generally valid for five years from the date of issue. Passports for other applicants are generally valid for 10 years unless stated otherwise.
Can one parent sign the application alone?
Yes. Under section 3(1)(b) of the Guardianship of Minors Ordinance (Cap. 13), the rights and powers of the mother and father are equal and either may exercise them alone. If the child was born outside marriage, the father's rights exist only to the extent a court has ordered them.
My child was born abroad and holds a foreign passport — is my child still eligible?
Possibly. Under Article 5 of the Chinese Nationality Law, a child born abroad to a Chinese-citizen parent has Chinese nationality unless a Chinese-citizen parent had settled abroad and the child acquired foreign nationality at birth. The Immigration Department considers each case individually, and holding a foreign passport does not by itself end Chinese citizenship.
How long does an application for a child under 11 take?
The department pledges 10 working days from receiving the required documents, fee and photo, for a child under 11 without a Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card. Collection is generally on the next working day after processing, plus two to three extra working days if the application was not submitted in person.
Can my child be included in my passport?
No. The HKSAR passport is machine-readable and carries only the holder's own personal data, so every child, at any age, needs a separate passport.
Can we collect the passport overseas if we live abroad?
Yes, you can nominate a Chinese diplomatic or consular mission abroad or an office in the mainland for collection. Delivery is handled by Hongkong Post and is not included in the processing pledge; actual delivery time depends on aviation security checks, airmail capacity and customs clearance at the destination.