By The SUN
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| Photo of how the new e-visa will look like |
Foreign domestic helpers and non-local graduates will be the first to benefit from Immigration Department’s new online visa application process that will start on Tuesday next week.
Instead of going to
Immigration in person to have their visa labels stuck on their passports, applicants
can now opt to do the whole process online - from the application, collection
and payment for their e-visa.
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They can complete and submit forms through
the department’s website or mobile app, as well as the GovHK website.
While applicants can still
send their forms by post, their visas will still be issued as PDF documents and
sent to the email address they provided starting on Dec 28.
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Applicants are advised to keep the digital document safe as they will still need to present it
at Immigration checkpoints when traveling.
The new document will look
similar to the current visa label, but will include a QR code that can only be
opened using the department’s app. Visa holders and their employers, on the other hand, can use the app's internal camera function to scan the code and retrieve their information.
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The department said the new
digital document will replace sticker labels for visas for extension of stay,
entry visas for foreign domestic helpers, and for visas issued under
immigration arrangements for non-local graduates, which collectively make up
80% of all applications.
Immigration plans to digitize
all visas by the middle of next year.
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Assistant principal immigration officer Hui Yat-ling said the new system will be more convenient for visa applicants
"The new services not only save the time
required for traditional means of application submission and visa collection,
but also reinforce the anti-epidemic measures to maintain social distance as
well as promoting paperless," she said.
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Immigration assured that the visa application fee will remain
unchanged.
