'Minimum' visa changes after Hong Kong handover

'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)