'Minimum' visa changes after Hong Kong handover

JAKARTA (JP): The visa application process for people wanting to visit Hong Kong for two weeks or more will not change under Chinese rule, a Chinese embassy official said yesterday.

The former British territory returned to China today.

Consular Liu Yonggu said the only major change was that people had to apply for a visa at the Chinese embassy instead of the British embassy.

Yonggu said the government was trying to make as few changes as possible for visitors. Application forms for a visa are now available at the Chinese embassy.

Media Tour travel agent Linda Sahuleka said that visas were not necessary for visits of less than two weeks.

Linda said that visitors had to go to the embassy to show their passports and give photographs to prove their identity before departure.

But identification documents for Hong Kong residents will change, Antara reported.

Of the four types of documents held by Hong Kong residents, the Certificate of Identity, the Document of Identity and the British Dependent Territories Citizen would be changed from today for a Special Administrative Region (SAR).

Holders of SAR passports will need a visa to visit Indonesia, a policy that the Indonesian government intends to uphold for the next two years before evaluating it.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas said that Indonesia would recognize holders of British National Overseas (BNO) passports, which means visa-free visits for six months from today.

"The visa-free status for BNO passport holders is recognized as a tourist visa," Alatas said Sunday on arrival in Hong Kong for the handover.

Antara said that 3.5 million of the 6.3 million people in Hong Kong held BNO passports. They are entitled to visa-free travel to Indonesia.

BNO passports are recognized in 100 countries, Yonggu said.

Alatas said the Chinese government's decision to request a declaration of citizenship from Hong Kong's residents of Chinese descent was the government's way of finding out how many Chinese citizens lived in Hong Kong.

Those who have not declared their citizenship will automatically be classified as Chinese from today.

Alatas said that Indonesia would notify China of all its citizens residing there, including permanent residents, or else they would automatically become Chinese citizens under the new government.

He said the Indonesian Consulate General in Hong Kong would start collecting data on July 3 to find out how many Indonesians had permanent resident status in the territory.

Also on July 3, the Special Administrative Region's government will issue a declaration of citizenship to expatriates who qualify for permanent residency.

This declaration is in keeping with a resolution approved by the People's National Congress of China on May 22, 1996.

The resolution regulates the main aspects of citizenship including those of mainland Chinese, Chinese descendants born outside of Hong Kong, foreigners of Chinese descent and holders of foreign passports.

About 36,000 Indonesians reside in Hong Kong, 3,000 of them are permanent residents, 21,000 are female workers and 12,000 are non-permanent residents. (01)