Offshore Business Update: Hong Kong

Please refer to the relevant sections in the Cayman Islands, BVI and Bermuda.

Please refer to the relevant sections in the Cayman Islands, BVI and Bermuda.

Please refer to the relevant sections in the Cayman Islands, BVI and Bermuda.

Please refer to the relevant sections in the Cayman Islands, BVI and Bermuda.

Having regard to the latest public health situation, the judiciary of Hong Kong (HK) has fully resumed court business in an incremental manner, whereby the services of registries and accounts offices at various levels of court, and other offices that provide services to court users and the public, have resumed as normal. Court proceedings have fully resumed.

The Judiciary will continue to put in place appropriate social distancing and crowd management measures, including making a greater use of the “LeaveHomeSafe” mobile app (the “App”) as part of the entry requirement of court premises, requiring all persons who enter the Judiciary premises to use the App. Those who fail to do so will be asked to have their names, contact numbers and the dates and times of their visits recorded.

The judiciary will continue to maintain other preventive measures, including mandatory body temperature checks, requiring all people to wear surgical masks at all times unless otherwise directed by judges or judicial officers. Parties, legal representatives and court users who have fever or high body temperature, are subject to any quarantine requirement, medical surveillance or compulsory testing while waiting for test results, or who are preliminarily tested positive or tested positive for COVID-19, are not allowed to enter judiciary premises, and should apply to the court as soon as practicable for permission of absence, or inform the court with reasons for absence as appropriate.

Confirmed COVID-19 Cases

As of 11am (HK time) on 3 June 2021, the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in HK is 11,849, with 21 newly confirmed cases reported in the past 14 days.

Travel to Hong Kong

All persons who have stayed in specified extremely high-risk (Group A1) places for more than two hours on the day of boarding or during the 21 days before that day are not be allowed to board for HK. All non-HK residents will be denied entry to HK if they have stayed in Taiwan, any Group A1, A2, B or C specified places on the day of arrival at Hong Kong or during the 14 days before that day, while non-HK residents coming from the Mainland China, Macau and Taiwan will be denied entry if they have been to any overseas countries and regions in the past 14 days. All asymptomatic inbound travellers arriving at the HK International Airport must wait for Covid-19 test results at a designated location. The Government has imposed certain conditions on inbound travellers who have visited specified places, as follows:

All inbound air travellers who fly into Hong Kong are required to have their samples collected by medical professionals at the Hong Kong International Airport. After testing, they must take the designated transport to the designated hotels for quarantine.

From 7 May 2021, flights from the UK and Ireland to HK have resumed. HK residents in the two places may board flights for HK, after having obtained a negative Covid-19 test result with samples taken 72 hours prior to departure as well as confirmation of a 21-night room reservation in a designated quarantine hotel. Upon arrival in HK, they will be subject to the test-and-hold arrangement for obtaining a negative result at the airport, after which they will be subject to a 21-day compulsory quarantine in the designated quarantine hotel undergoing at least three tests during the period, and compulsory testing on the 26th day of arrival after completion of quarantine.

From 17 May 2021, Hong Kong residents who have stayed in Taiwan on the day of arriving in HK or during the 14 days before their arrival have to present at boarding proof of a negative nucleic acid test result conducted within 72 hours before the flight’s scheduled departure time, undergo compulsory quarantine in designated quarantine hotels, and need to present at boarding the confirmation of a room reservation in a designated quarantine hotel in HK. Home quarantine will no longer be allowed.

People arriving in Hong Kong from overseas are now subject to testing and compulsory quarantine requirements under a set of more stringent inbound prevention and control measures. Additional test has been introduced on the third day of arrival. Depending on the risk levels of places where the people arriving in HK depart from and the applicable compulsory quarantine periods, the number of tests during compulsory quarantine have been increased. Those subject to a 7-day quarantine will be tested twice and those subject to a 21-day quarantine will be tested 4 times. Those arriving at HK from extremely high-risk or very high-risk specified places, or fully vaccinated people with shortened quarantine periods, will also be required to undergo additional compulsory tests upon the completion of compulsory quarantine.

With effect from 4 June 2021, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam have been specified as high-risk specified places. The boarding and quarantine requirements for people arriving from these places will be adjusted. Also, having considered the UK’s continued rising vaccination rate and that there have been no imported cases since the resumption of passenger flights to HK, the UK has been specified as a high-risk specified place (from very high-risk specified place).

Travel Bubble

Designated flights under the bilateral Air Travel Bubble arrangement, as originally scheduled to begin on 26 May 2021, will be deferred due to Singapore’s recent Covid-19 epidemic situation. A further announcement will be made on or before 13 June 2021.

The following measures are now in effect, subject to extension and exceptions:

• catering businesses may provide dine-in services until: (a) 11:59pm every day, on the conditions that all staff have received their first Covid-19 vaccine dose, the number of customers at the catering premises at any one time must not exceed 50% of the normal seating capacity, and no more than six people should be seated together at one table; (b) 1:59am every day, on the conditions that all staff have completed the full course of Covid-19 vaccination (i.e. received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine plus 14 days), the number of customers at the catering premises at any one time must not exceed 75% of the normal seating capacity and no more than eight people should be seated together at one table, with all customers scan the LeaveHomeSafe QR code via the LeaveHomeSafe mobile application on their phones
• the number of people participating in banquets in catering premises is limited to 20 (and up to 100 if all staff completed the full course of Covid-19 vaccination)
• bars, pubs party rooms and karaoke establishments may reopen until 1.59am every day if all staff and customers have received their first COVID-19 vaccine dose and all customers scan the LeaveHomeSafe QR code using the LeaveHomeSafe mobile app
• certain scheduled premises under the relevant regulation, including amusement game centres, fitness centres, places of amusement and public entertainment, beauty parlors, massage establishments and sports premises, can be opened with certain restrictions.
• for clubhouses and hotels or guesthouses, managers must comply with the relevant restrictions
• the prohibition on group gatherings of more than four people in public places and the mandatory mask-wearing requirement will continue
• the number of people allowed in wedding ceremonies, shareholders’ annual meetings of listed companies and religious activities will be increased if all participants aged 16 or above have received at least the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine

The social distancing measures currently in place will be maintained until 9 June 2021.

Compulsory Virus Testing

The Government currently has the power to impose requirements on an individual who needs to undergo compulsory virus testing, to limit the movement of people into and out of certain premises under specified circumstances. Registered medical practitioners may, by a written direction, require symptomatic patients to undergo Covid-19 testing, within 2 days after the date of issue of such direction. Those who fail to comply with the direction are liable to a fine of HKD5,000 and would be served with a compulsory testing order. If they fail to comply with the order, they will be liable to a HKD25,000 fine and six-month’ imprisonment.

Members of the public can now download their electronic testing record through the Covid-19 Electronic Testing Record System after receiving negative test results from the test services provided by the Department of Health, the Hospital Authority and community testing centres. The Electronic Vaccination Record will be added to the system later.

The Government has made restriction-testing declarations to require people within certain specified restricted areas in Hong Kong to stay in their premises and undergo compulsory testing for Covid-19 in accordance with its arrangement.

Vaccine for COVID-19 – updated

People aged 16 and above, as well as domestic helpers and students aged 16 or above studying outside Hong Kong, can now make a booking online to receive COVID-19 vaccines.

Sinovac and BioNTech vaccines are currently provided free of charge under the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme.

A vaccination card will be received for record after the jab, which can be uploaded to the Electronic Health Record Sharing System.

HK Companies Registry

The HK Companies Registry is currently running under normal public services while continuing to implement targeted social distancing and infection control measures. All people entering the public service halls and offices of the HK Companies Registry are required to use the “LeaveHomeSafe” mobile app to scan the QR code of the public service halls or offices concerned before entry.

BVI Financial Services Commission

There have not been changes to BVI VIRGGIN’s services offered to HK-based users. Users may continue using services such as reserving company names, requesting for certificates of good standing and conducting company searches.

The Asia Representative Office of the BVI Financial Services Commission in Hong Kong is open. Collection of certificates normally retrievable from Hong Kong office may be collected from the Registry of Corporate Affairs in the BVI on request.

Please refer to the relevant sections in the Cayman Islands, BVI and Bermuda.