I don’t know about you, but for me getting a visa is always one of the most painful things to do related to travel. I can’t really complain, because my passport allows me to visit a respectable amount of countries without one. Oddly enough, I always feel attracted by countries who ask me for a visa. As I was preparing our journey back to France overland, getting a Mongolian visa in Hong Kong before the start of our trip seemed like a great idea. In the end, it might be the easiest visa I’ve ever gotten in my life.

With a tourist visa you’ll be able to stay up to 30 days, and the visa will have a validity of 90 days. The price was 410HKD (46.50 euro/52.40US$) for a French citizen. The slowest option takes 3 working days (Friday is a day off). A same-day option is available.

This is the official website of the Mongolian consulate in Hong Kong.

You may extend your tourist visa once you are in Mongolia.

Location of the Mongolian consulate

The consulate is located at the 12^th floor of the Lippo Centre Tower 2. It’s a 2-minute walk from the Admiralty MTR station.

Opening hours of the Mongolian consulate

You can apply for a visa between Monday to Thursday from 10am to noon without any appointment.

You can collect your passport Monday to Thursday from 3pm to 5pm.

It’s closed on Friday as you may notice. It’s not considered as a working day.

Planning to go to Mongolia soon? Why not timing your visit with the biggest annual festival in the country? Check out our article on Naadam, Mongolia’s main festival.

What to bring?

• Application form filled. Click here to download the PDF.
• Passport (need to be valid for a minimum of 6 months before your date of intended travel to Mongolia)
• Copy of hotel booking
• Copy of flight/train tickets in and out of the country
• One photo, 3.5×4.5cm

I’d strongly suggest to make your hotel booking on booking.com. You don’t need a credit card to do so and you can cancel anytime without fee.

Concerning the transportation tickets in and out of the country I didn’t have any, so I used Photoshop to make a good-looking fake plane ticket. Worked like a charm.

Where to pay your visa fee ?

AFTER you submit your application, they’ll give you a slip with the bank account number to whom you’ll have to transfer the money.

I paid 410HKD (46.50 euro/52.40US$) for the normal and cheapest option.

You should do the payment in a Bank of China branch, otherwise there will be 15HKD transaction fee in any other bank.

The closest Bank of China is located in the nearby United Centre. About 5 minutes walking away. It was crowded and I waited for about 40 minutes. You need to bring cash. You can find a Bank of China branch everywhere in urban Hong Kong. ATMs are plentiful and don’t charge any withdrawal fee for foreign cards (your bank might though).

How long does it take ?

It takes 3 working days to get your visa. Remember that the embassy works only from Monday to Thursday.

I applied on Thursday and I could collect my passport the next Tuesday. There’s an express option if you need the visa as fast as possible.

How to call the consulate?

Phone number of the embassy :　+852 2522 400

I called them before going and they were pretty responsive. Don’t hesitate to call if you have any doubt.

Things to know about the consulate

Hong Kong citizens can stay in Mongolia visa-free for up to 14 days. Therefore it means that the consulate is not crowded at all as only foreigners apply there.

I arrived on Thursday at 11.55am, 5 minutes before the closure and they accepted my application. The process was very smooth, the good-English speaking lady checked my documents and gave me the payment slip. It took a total of 5 minutes between my entrance and my exit. The fastest embassy/consulate ever!

I came back the next week to collect and once again I saw no one waiting. I arrived at 2.50pm and a staff let me in even though I was there early.

Where else to apply ?

You can apply for a Mongolian visa anywhere in the world where there’s an embassy or a consulate. If you’re headed towards Mongolia from Hong Kong by land, you’ll find an embassy in Beijing and in Erlian (Erenhot), the town located at the border between China and Mongolia.

Feel free to share your experience getting the Mongolian visa in Hong Kong, or comment if you have any questions !