Hong Kong QMAS
Renewals & living
Understand eligibility, prepare employment or business evidence for renewal, and work through renting, schools and banking.
2026 renewal filing arrangements
Apply within 3 months before expiry
Submit at least 6 weeks before expiry
Applying, renewing or settling in:
find the information you need now
Choose the section that fits what you are working on. You will find steps, document checklists, common questions and official links to refer back to.
Planning a QMAS application
Check your eligibility and assessment route, then prepare documents for yourself and your family and see how to apply online or send further evidence.
- Eligibility and the two assessment routes
- Application evidence, online submission and follow-up
- e-Visa, first arrival and family arrangements
Preparing your next renewal
First and later renewals have different requirements. Prepare evidence for your employment or business, then plan your submission dates and travel to Hong Kong.
- Three-calendar-month and six-week milestones
- Employment, business and document checklists
- Dependants, further evidence, expiry and collection
Settling into Hong Kong
Schools, phone services and a place to live take time to arrange. These guides also cover tax, MPF, healthcare and other matters you will encounter once you start working.
- School selection, placement and language adjustment
- SIM cards, tenancy, banking and identity registration
- Tax, MPF, healthcare and transport
Tenancy, schools and SIM cards:
start with the task at hand
How do you compare schools, check a tenancy or get a SIM card? Start with a guide to see what to do and where to ask for help.
Browse all living guides
Reading a residential tenancy: term, repairs, deposits and notice
Check the parties, payments and early termination alongside handover and deposit return, using a practical agreement review list.
Choosing a Hong Kong school: public, DSS, private and international
SIM real-name registration: documents, activation and fraud prevention
Everyday transport: routes, transfers, payments and backups
Opening a bank account: documents, checks and security
Three dates to keep in mind:
add them to your calendar
Three months means calendar months; six weeks means 42 days. Prepare your evidence before the window opens and submit early within it.
Replace the prefilled date with your own permitted stay expiry date. No documents are uploaded.Use the limit of stay on your landing slip, or the permitted stay date on your latest extension permission or e-Visa. Do not use the visa entry-before date or your travel document expiry date. Immigration Department instructions- Submission window opens
- Three calendar months before expiry
- Latest submission date
- Submit at least six weeks before expiry
- Current permission expires
- A pending application does not extend your stay
You must be in Hong Kong when submitting, paying and collecting the extension e-Visa. Read the full submission guide
For important rules,
check the official source
Each guide links to its sources. Before applying or making arrangements for schools, phone services or a tenancy, check the latest requirements with the relevant authority.
Immigration Department
QMAS policy, application notes, renewals and e-Visas.
EDBEducation Bureau
School information, newly arrived children and adaptation support.
OFCACommunications Authority
SIM registration, service contracts and consumer information.
IRDInland Revenue Department
Tenancy stamp duty, salaries tax and first-time filing.