CACN - Hong Kong Visa Policies and Sanctions - Nov 16, 2020

Key Messages

Canada’s longstanding bilateral relationship with Hong Kong reflects our deeply rooted political, economic, and people to people ties.
Canada welcomed over 175,000 travellers from Hong Kong in 2019.
Visitors holding Hong Kong passports are visa-exempt for travel to Canada, and require an Electronic Travel Authorization before flying to Canada.
The vast majority of people from Hong Kong are peaceful, law-abiding citizens who do not pose a threat to Canada.
In practice, Canada imposes a visa requirement only if it is determined that the risks posed by the visa-free access outweighs the benefits.

As part of the whole-of-Government response to the situation in Hong Kong, and in line with our international partners, my Department has focused on measures to support the people of Hong Kong who want to come to Canada.
Hong Kongers are not typically seen as posing a risk to Canada, and most travel for tourism or to visit family.
The current visa-exemption for Hong Kong passport holders is not currently under review.
The Government will continue to monitor the situation.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs is responsible for applying sanctions under the Special Economic Measures Act, and the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Sergei Magnitsky Law) concerning gross violations of human rights or significant corruption.
Individuals subject to sanctions under these Acts may be rendered inadmissible to Canada through the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and denied entry.
For more information, I would refer you to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

A person who was arrested or charged for peacefully demonstrating or for simply being present at a protest would not be inadmissible to Canada as these actions are not considered crimes in Canada.

Holders of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) passports, and British National Overseas passports are required to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) before flying to Canada.
In 2019, approximately 177,000 Hong Kong residents travelled to Canada from Hong Kong (note that this figure captures residents of Hong Kong, not specifically Hong Kong SAR passport holders).
In 2019, IRCC issued 70,695 eTAs to holders of Hong Kong SAR passports (the number of eTAs issued to holders of British National Overseas passports was minimal). Of these eTAs issued, 77% were automatically approved (with the remainder receiving approval following varying degrees of manual review by an officer).
Between July 2020 (i.e., after the National Security Law came into effect) and September 30 2020, IRCC has issued over 1,300 eTAs to holders of Hong Kong SAR passports. Note that this issuance figure is also likely impacted by Canada’s COVID-related travel restrictions and the current inability for most of these eTAs to be used by individuals at this time while border and travel restrictions remain in place.

British National Overseas (Hong Kong) passport
- Are issued by the Government of the United Kingdom to persons who were permanent residents of Hong Kong before the United Kingdom’s handover of the city to China on 30 June 1997.
HK Special Administrative Region (SAR) passport:
- Are issued by the Immigration Department of the Government of Hong Kong under the authorization of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China to those who are permanent residents of Hong Kong and who hold Chinese citizenship
- Mainland Chinese nationals are required to reside in Hong Kong for 7 years in order to become permanent residents of Hong Kong.

Decisions regarding Canada’s visa requirements are guided by a dedicated framework designed to assess each population of foreign nationals, in order to weigh the risks and benefits of granting facilitated access. Individuals holding passports from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (and British National Overseas passports) have always enjoyed visa-free access to Canada. These groups have historically been considered low-risk from both a program integrity and a public safety perspective.
As a visa-exempt population, these individuals have been flying to Canada on a light-touch eTA since the program was implemented in 2015. Prior to that, they flew to Canada without any pre-travel screening. They also continue to enter Canada from the U.S. via the land border without any pre-travel screening.
As with all groups of foreign nationals, Canada reserves the right to change the visa requirement for this population if conditions change and the risk of visa-free access is determined to be unsustainable.
Mainland Chinese nationals require a Temporary Resident Visa in order to visit Canada. They are also required to provide their biometrics (photo, fingerprints) as part of the application process.

Broadly, for crimes committed outside Canada, an immigration officer must determine whether that same act—if it occurred in Canada—would be considered a crime in Canada. Immigration officers must examine the circumstances of the arrest and base their inadmissibility decision on evidence, such as police reports, newspaper clippings, court records or statutory declarations.
A person would not be inadmissible if they were arrested/charged with peacefully protesting or for being present at a protest as there is no equivalent crime in Canada.
However, if the demonstrations were violent and there is evidence that the person contributed to or was responsible for any damage or injury, then there would be an equivalent crime in Canada and the person could be found inadmissible for criminality under section 36 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.