Having a baby in Hong Kong: the deadlines that matter
Having a baby in Hong Kong sets off 6 deadlines that carry a real consequence for missing them. Three of them catch people out. Checked 22 September 2026.
Register the birth within 42 days, by appointment: within 42 days of the birth, by appointment at a Births Registry. Tell your employer in writing, with the medical certificate: notice of the pregnancy and of your intention to take maternity leave, in writing with a medical certificate, and 40 weeks of continuous contract before the leave starts to be paid for it. Paternity leave: 5 days, and 3 months' notice to take it freely: at least 3 months before the expected date of delivery to take the 5 days without further notice; otherwise 5 days' notice for each day taken.
Tell your employer in writing, with the medical certificate
Notice of the pregnancy and of your intention to take maternity leave, in writing with a medical certificate, and 40 weeks of continuous contract before the leave starts to be paid for it. Serve the notice: it is one of the two conditions for the dismissal protection, which itself runs from the date the medical certificate confirms the pregnancy. With under 40 weeks' continuous service the 14 weeks are unpaid.
What this step involves · Official source, checked 22 September 2026
Confirm the hospital booking and pay the deposit
For a non-eligible person in a public hospital: antenatal checks with that hospital before the birth make you a booked case. Unbooked, the public obstetric package is HK$130,000 instead of HK$74,000.
What this step involves · Official source, checked 22 September 2026
Paternity leave: 5 days, and 3 months' notice to take it freely
At least 3 months before the expected date of delivery to take the 5 days without further notice; otherwise 5 days' notice for each day taken. Miss the 3-month notice and each day of leave needs 5 days' warning, which in the week of a birth is the difference between taking it and not.
What this step involves · Official source, checked 22 September 2026
Register the birth within 42 days, by appointment
Within 42 days of the birth, by appointment at a Births Registry. Free within 42 days; HK$140 from day 43 to a year, HK$680 and the Registrar's consent after that. The permit to remain and the baby's visa both wait on the certificate.
What this step involves · Official source, checked 22 September 2026
Claim the Newborn Baby Bonus if either of you is a permanent resident
Apply when registering the birth within 42 days, or in any case within 6 calendar months of the birth. Either parent must be a Hong Kong permanent resident when the application is made. After 6 calendar months the payment is gone, whichever route you were using. A family where neither parent holds permanent residence does not qualify at all.
What this step involves · Official source, checked 22 September 2026
Get the baby a passport, then a dependant visa
As soon as the birth certificate and Form ID 235B exist: the permit to remain is temporary and the dependant application needs the baby's passport. A child with no visa cannot leave and re-enter, and a passport that takes weeks from the consulate is the step that overruns.
What this step involves · Official source, checked 22 September 2026
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