Passports & Visas

Citizens of the United States need only a valid passport to enter Hong Kong for stays up to three months. It's best to have at least six months' validity on your passport before traveling to Asia. Upon arrival, officials at passport control will give you a Hong Kong entry slip. Keep this slip safe; you must present it with your passport for your return trip home. If you're planning to pop over the border into mainland China, you must first get a visa.

Passports

We're always surprised at how few Americans have passports -- only 25% at this writing. This number is expected to grow in coming years, when it becomes impossible to reenter the United States from trips to neighboring Canada or Mexico without one. Remember this: a passport verifies both your identity and nationality -- a great reason to have one.

U.S. passports are valid for 10 years. You must apply in person if you're getting a passport for the first time; if your previous passport was lost, stolen, or damaged; or if your previous passport has expired and was issued more than 15 years ago or when you were under 16. All children under 18 must appear in person to apply for or renew a passport. Both parents must accompany any child under 14 (or send a notarized statement with their permission) and provide proof of their relationship to the child.

There are 13 regional passport offices, as well as 7,000 passport acceptance facilities in post offices, public libraries, and other governmental offices. If you're renewing a passport, you can do so by mail. Forms are available at passport acceptance facilities and online.

The cost to apply for a new passport is $97 for adults, $82 for children under 16; renewals are $67. Allow six weeks for processing, both for first-time passports and renewals. For an expediting fee of $60 you can reduce this time to about two weeks. If your trip is less than two weeks away, you can get a passport even more rapidly by going to a passport office with the necessary documentation. Private expediters can get things done in as little as 48 hours, but charge hefty fees.

Before your trip, make two copies of your passport's data page (one for someone at home and another for you to carry separately). Or scan the page and e-mail it to someone at home and/or yourself.

Visas

A visa is essentially formal permission to enter a country. Visas allow countries to keep track of you and other visitors -- and generate revenue (from application fees). You always need a visa to enter a foreign country; however, many countries routinely issue tourist visas on arrival, particularly to U.S. citizens. When your passport is stamped or scanned in the immigration line, you're actually being issued a visa. Sometimes you have to stand in a separate line and pay a small fee to get your stamp before going through immigration, but you can still do this at the airport on arrival. Getting a visa isn't always that easy. Some countries require that you arrange for one in advance of your trip. There's usually -- but not always -- a fee involved, and said fee may be nominal ($10 or less) or substantial ($100 or more).

If you must apply for a visa in advance, you can usually do it in person or by mail. When you apply by mail, you send your passport to a designated consulate, where your passport will be examined and the visa issued. Expediters -- usually the same ones who handle expedited passport applications -- can do all the work of obtaining your visa for you; however, there's always an additional cost (often more than $50 per visa).

Most visas limit you to a single trip -- basically during the actual dates of your planned vacation. Other visas allow you to visit as many times as you wish for a specific period of time. Remember that requirements change, sometimes at the drop of a hat, and the burden is on you to make sure that you have the appropriate visas. Otherwise, you'll be turned away at the airport or, worse, deported after you arrive in the country. No company or travel insurer gives refunds if your travel plans are disrupted because you didn't have the correct visa.

Travel agents in Hong Kong can issue visas to visit mainland China. Costs range from $25 for a visa issued within 2 to 3 working days to $65 for a same-day service. The same services cost $50 and $80 in the United States. Note: the visa application will ask your occupation. The Chinese don't look favorably on those who work in publishing or the media. People in these professions routinely state "teacher" under "occupation." Before you go, contact the embassy or consulate of the People's Republic of China to gauge the current mood.

China Visa Information

Chinese Consulate (212/244-9456. www.nyconsulate.prchina.org). Chinese Embassy (202/338-6688. www.china-embassy.org). Visa to Asia (www.visatoasia.com/china.html) provides up-to-date information on visa applications for China.

Hong Kong General Information

Hong Kong Immigration Department (2824-6111. www.info.gov.hk/immd).

Hong Kong Travel Agents

Japan Travel Agency (2368-9151. www.jta.biz) offer the quickest and most efficient visa service. China Travel Service (2315-7188. www.ctshk.com) has 22 branches all over Hong Kong.

U.S. Passport Information

U.S. Department of State (877/487-2778. travel.state.gov/passport).

U.S. Passport & Visa Expediters

A. Briggs Passport & Visa Expeditors (800/806-0581 or 202/464-3000. www.abriggs.com). American Passport Express (800/455-5166 or 603/559-9888. www.americanpassport.com). Passport Express (800/362-8196 or 401/272-4612. www.passportexpress.com). Travel Document Systems (800/874-5100 or 202/638-3800. www.traveldocs.com). Travel the World Visas (866/886-8472 or 301/495-7700. www.world-visa.com).