What it is like to travel with a Hong Kong SAR Passport at selected borders

Traveling with an HKSAR passport has been a somewhat surreal experience. 

Nominally, the passport holder enjoys the so-called best of both worlds: semi-equal status to western passport holders who enjoy visa free entry to 170+ countries, and better treatment in “China-friendly” countries.

Reality on the ground, however, is more complex. Many types of identification papers exist, and it is not uncommon for one country to issue multiple types of passports. How the immigration officials of the other 200+ countries perceive them, on the other hand, is a whole different story, and often leads to interesting experiences.

Smooth Sailing 

Countries where there are no problems of traveling with the HKSAR passport are naturally those that most frequently receive Hong Kongers, namely different borders in the EU, Southeast Asia, East Asia, the US & Canada. Less popular but still frequented include some common traveling destinations like Egypt and Morocco, or some South American countries. In fact, many of these embrace Hong Kongers with open arms, and some even offer special lanes for the passport holders, like Thailand.

It is no wonder some prominent mainland citizens come to the city and own a passport. It is a ticket to avoid all visa trouble while still recognizing full well that you are Chinese.

Syria and Lebanon Border at Masnaa: a Republic of China (Taiwan) citizen

Once returning to Syria through Masnaa border crossing, which I frequented, when crossing into Syria, the officer was trying to figure out what visa I should be on. Although officially a visa was required, the norm here was to issue a visa on arrival.

This border checkpoint had a big lighted display board indicating visa on arrival fees for each country, indicating its relative popularity among foreigners who travel between the countries. It said the following:

• People’s Republic of China: $8
• Republic of China: $24

For some reason, the officer recognized Hong Kong, but assumed it belonged to the Republic of China (going by the logic of anything not mainland = Taiwan?). This oddly became one of those rare times having to defend that I’m part of the PRC in order to get a cheaper visa fee, something that particularly mattered to someone on a student budget. Yet, no matter what he would not budge.

Hence, for that one day, I was treated as a Republic of China citizen.

Mozambique into Malawi through Entrelagos: the border of many hassles

In the more remote corners of the world, crossing a land border while holding a somewhat uncommon passport is a recipe for a semi-adventure.

That morning I had discovered a border crossing not mentioned in Lonely Planet or on online forums. It was traveling at its best - no standard buses or tourist information telling you the way. Through asking around I had figured out another way locals crossed, which turned out to be closer to my destination distance wise, compared to my original border crossing of choice. 

“The border won’t be closed and I can pass?” I asked the local businessman type who was offering me help. 

“Siiim, pode,” as he closed his eyes, lifted his head briefly, and gave a nonchalant look, which to this date I remember vividly.

After a series of long bumpy rides, I arrived at the border checkpoint. 

Three men worked at the border checkpoint - a lower rank clerk manned the office with someone slightly more senior in rank. They did all of the paper processing work. The middle aged officer in charge entered tardily with a leather jacket on, loudly saluting everyone.

My passport was flagged first by the junior officers, and then reported to the officer-in-charge. I was clearly from “China” but had no visa and just an entry immigraiton stamp. They just seemed confused on why I was able to enter the country.

Mozambique has signed a visa-free agreement with the Hong Kong Immgiration Authority. In fact, when I entered the country through a flight, the process was right - I did not need a visa.

At this stage one could only try to make them understand. But explaining the concept of a “Hong Kong passport” and its difference with a PRC one with limited Portuguese vocabulary was close to futile. My sim card data also hadn’t been working since I made it to Cuamba, making it impossible to show them the policy online.

Perhaps out of boredom, or perhaps a chance to display authority, the officer-in-charge made at least five calls, presumably toward the HQ of immigration. From what I could make out, he was saying that the airport officer made a mistake, letting me enter without a visa. During the debacle, he called me a few times to ask for an explanation, but little did the outcome change. When on call, he spoke loudly and slowly, making sure everyone in the office could hear him. At some point his subordinates looked at each other and shrugged.

The two hours of wait was also interesting, allowing me to observe people who crossed. There seemed to be Zimbabweans, Zambians, Mozambican who crossed. But more often it was villagers who were just crossing over to another village across the border. They did not hold passports, just a special pass that required verification and display to the border officers. After all, despite their different official languages, people living next to both sides of the border spoke the same language (Chewa? Not sure which tribe they belonged to). Nation-state borders are arbitrary lines that little reflected how local populations lived or interacted with each other.

At the end, the officers were kind enough to stamp me out, presumably getting the okays from HQ. It was kind because, in retrospect ,they could have gone the harder route of sending me to another border and thus delaying my stay in the country for an extra day. That, of course, would have also added to the officers’ workload.

The motorcycle driver took me across the border, and I tipped him extra for the extra waiting time. A humble man, who seemed surprised and grateful to have got it.

Entering Malawi: Sure, sure - A lesson for bureaucratic flexibility 

If in Mozambique I learned to somehow step through bureaucratic hurdles, in Malawi the lesson was bureaucratic flexibility.

But more importantly in both countries, it was that official visa policies had no control to how border immigration offices executed them.

The immigration office was a little house. It was lunch hour by now, and at first a tall well-built man in his late 20s received me. He was obviously relatively well fed, evidenced by his round tummy.

He checked my passport. Same story. 

“No visa, not allowed. This is a China passport. China passport requires visa.”

“Yes, sir. But this is a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport. It should be visa free according to your visa policies.”

“What is Hong Kong?” Or he might have asked, what is the difference between Hong Kong and China? 

“Hong Kong was a British colony, just like Malawi. Later it was handed back to China.”

Curiosity about far away lands makes good conversation. I learned that he was from Zomba as well, which was my destination.

Then he also asked, “It’s lunch, and I’m hungry. Do you have something for me?”

“I have a fanta.”

“Sure, sure.” He replied with a smile.

I gave him a fanta I had to buy earlier to get spare change.

15 minutes later, the boss came back from his lunch break. He was a considerably shorter man in his late 40s or early 50s - skinny, had a mustache and wore glasses.

The station chief studied a little, and repeated the same verdict. The issue was that since this was a small border crossing, they did not have the authority/procedures to issue a visa.

Now that I had left Mozambique, though, things were a bit more complex as I was in between states. It probably would not have been ideal to turn back and enter Mozambique again.

Flexibility is the norm I learned. The station chief managed to grant me a provisional pass, with which I was to visit the immigration office in Zomba the next morning to obtain a full visa.

“So what do you have for me?” Before he processed the papers, he was sure to ask. The asking style in Malawi is rather overt, yet somehow manages to slip smoothly into the context of a conversation.

“Uh.. I have.. Biscuits?” Reserved snacks for the road.

He laughed, thought a little and nodded. “Sure, sure. My granddaughter will love biscuits.”

He touched the bible on his desk, as he had done many times during our conversation. 

In the Zomba Immgiration Office the next day, I went prepared with the official Malawi immigration office visa policy page opened on my phone, which indicated Hong Kong was visa free. 

On the immigration office wall there was a list of visa-required countries, and Hong Kong was on the list. Clearly they were to follow their office instructions.

Gaps of national policy and its local execution - inconsistency is the only consistency. This happens in big organizations, but nations alike, when governance falls apart.

More anecdotal learnings? In Mozambique, officers always spoke Portuguese with each other. In Malawi, it was a local language (guessing it to be Chewa). Choice of the different administrative languages is perhaps a testament to the different colonial administrative philosophy of the two European powers.

Few Final Words

As I have come to learn in the several borders, in many China-friendly countries, one country reigns over two systems. It is a matter of perception and sphere of influence. The simple reality is that the China emblem is the one more likely to be recognized in more remote corners in the world, and the subtlety of HKSAR's existence is a distant knowledge for many (Jacky Chan, on the contrary is far more popualr symbol of Hong Kong in far flung corners).

HKSAR passport's status certainly has evolved, a process more evident at some borders than others. Whereas it used to be a symbol of freedom of movement, it is now also a supporting doucment that enables some to seek asylum. 

People have often asked what would happen in 2047. That timeline is now seen as being shifted forward by 17 years. The HKSAR passport will likely still keep its special status for the foreseeable future because there will be a lot of push for it to continue to be so. The real shift of freedom enjoyed by its holder perhaps lies not in the freedom to enter other countries, but the freedom to leave their own.