Travel & Visas

  For international delegates who plan to attend all three segments of the Conference (Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hong Kong programs), CTBUH recommends that you travel to the Conference by flying into Shenzhen, if at all possible, and flying out of Hong Kong. With this travel plan, you will only need two visas – a China visa and a Hong Kong visa. If you fly into Hong Kong and out of Hong Kong, you will need a multiple-entry visa for Hong Kong and also a China visa. Alternatively, if you fly into Shenzhen and out of Shenzhen, you will need a multiple-entry visa for China and also a Hong Kong visa. Please check with your local Chinese diplomatic representative or consular offices, or other institutions authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of People’s Republic of China to confirm the arrangement with your country. CTBUH will provide a visa support letter – see bottom of this page. See below for details on travel options and visas.

Travel Options (for international attendees)

To Shenzhen:

To Guangzhou:

To Hong Kong:

Visas

Shenzhen and Guangzhou:

Foreigners entering China should apply for a visa to the Chinese diplomatic representative or consular offices, or other institutions authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of People’s Republic of China. While applying for a visa, a visa invitation issued by an authorized Chinese organization must be presented. During the conference registration process, you will have the option to request a visa invitation letter. If you will be leaving Mainland China for the trip to Hong Kong, and entering Mainland China again for further itineraries or the return journey of your flight, please ensure that you applied for a multiple entry visa. You cannot enter Mainland China again if you only have a single entry visa once you have visited Hong Kong.

Hong Kong:

Although Hong Kong is part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), as a Special Administrative Region (SAR), it has its own entry regulations. This also means that you might need a visa to the HKSAR from the Chinese mainland and one to enter the Chinese mainland back from Hong Kong – so if you are on the mainland and want to visit Hong Kong and return, you must have a valid multi-entry Chinese visa. Generally, Hong Kong is very open to foreigners who simply want to visit as a tourist or to conduct business activities such as visiting clients or attending trade fairs. Most tourists do not require a visa for a visit to Hong Kong, please see countries with visa-free travel to Hong Kong. All arriving visitors at Immigration control points will be issued with landing slips in lieu of stamping on their passports/travel documents. Conditions and limit of stay in HK, as well as visitor’s personal information and arrival date will be included in the landing slip. Upon departure, no slip will be issued and the travel documents will not be stamped. There is full information on the HK Immigration Department webpage. In particular, you can get all the forms and the guidelines from http://www.immd.gov.hk/en/forms/hk-visas.html. If you still need clarification on any point, you should contact a Chinese consulate, or in Hong Kong, contact the HK Immigration Department, or on the Mainland, from the Beijing Office of the Government of the HK SAR, whose official webpage is www.bjo.gov.hk/en/home/index.html.