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ARTICLE · 15 JANUARY 2026

Market Intelligence Thought Leadership Award Winner

I Lost My Right Of Abode. What Happens Now?

Tanner De Witt
Tanner De Witt
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Tanner De Witt

Tanner De Witt

Tanner De Witt is an established independent law firm in Hong Kong. Its primary focus is business...

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If you have lost your right of abode in Hong Kong, you will automatically acquire the right to land in Hong Kong.

Hong KongImmigration
Eddie Look
Eddie Look
Tara Chan
Tara Chan

If you have lost your right of abode in Hong Kong, you will automatically acquire the right to land in Hong Kong.

With this new right to land status, you will have the right to:

  1. land in Hong Kong;
  2. not to have imposed on you any condition of stay in Hong Kong; and
  3. not to have a removal order made against you.

Therefore, you may enter Hong Kong to live, work or study with the need to obtain a visa. However, as the recent case of Stewart Marcus Jonathan v Secretary for Security [2025] 4 HKLRD 560 reiterates, if you have the right to land and you commit a crime that is punishable by 2 or more years' imprisonment, you may be deported from Hong Kong. This differs from having the right of abode where you may not be deported.

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