Hong Kong admin steps

Pregnant in Hong Kong: what to do, week by week

Having a baby in Hong Kong involves 16 admin steps, spread from about week 8 of the pregnancy to 12 months after the birth. It starts with "Book your first antenatal visit with the Hospital Authority" and ends with "Claim the child allowance on your tax return". Which ones apply to you depends on 3 questions about your situation, and each one below is checked against an official source and dated. Checked 22 September 2026.

First trimester, to week 13

• Book your first antenatal visit with the Hospital Authority usually between week 8 and week 10 of the pregnancy

  Since 6 July 2026 the first antenatal visit in the public system is booked with a Hospital Authority obstetrics department rather than at a Maternal and Child Health Centre: use the BookHA function in the HA Go app, or apply in person at the hospital.

• Decide public or private, and find out what your cover pays usually between week 9 and week 12 of the pregnancy

  For an eligible person a public birth is close to free; the fees are set per day in the ward.

• The scans and screening usually between week 11 and week 21 of the pregnancy

  Since the antenatal service moved to the Hospital Authority on 6 July 2026, the scans and screening are arranged by the hospital obstetrics department that took your booking, not by a Maternal and Child Health Centre.

• Tell your employer in writing, with the medical certificate usually between week 12 and week 14 of the pregnancy · people who are employed

  Maternity leave in Hong Kong is 14 weeks.

Second trimester, weeks 14 to 27

• Decide on a helper, and start the paperwork usually between week 20 and week 24 of the pregnancy

  Most expat families in Hong Kong employ a live-in foreign domestic helper rather than use a nursery, because a helper costs less than full-day infant care.

• Put your name down at nurseries and playgroups usually between week 22 and week 26 of the pregnancy

  Centre-based care for babies under 2 is scarce.

• Confirm the hospital booking and pay the deposit usually between week 22 and week 24 of the pregnancy

  Private hospitals want the booking confirmed and a deposit paid months ahead, and the popular obstetricians deliver at only one or two of them.

• Paternity leave: five days, and three months' notice to take it freely usually between week 24 and week 26 of the pregnancy · people who have a partner going through it with them and are employed

  Fathers get 5 days of paternity leave at four-fifths pay, to be taken any time from 4 weeks before the due date to 14 weeks after the birth, in one block or spread out.

• Book antenatal classes usually between week 26 and week 28 of the pregnancy

  Antenatal classes come with the service you booked: the Hospital Authority obstetrics departments run them for their own patients since the July 2026 change, private hospitals run their own, and independent groups run classes in English.

Third trimester, week 28 to the birth

• A car seat if you will ever be in a private car usually between week 32 and week 34 of the pregnancy

  Since 1 November 2025 a child under 8 who is shorter than 1.35 metres must be in a child restraint in a private car, in the front or the back; the fixed penalty is HK$230.

After the birth

• Register the birth within 42 days, by appointment within 3 weeks of the birth

  Every birth must be registered at a Births Registry within 42 days.

• Claim the Newborn Baby Bonus if either of you is a permanent resident within 6 months of the birth

  A one-off HK$20,000 for a baby born in Hong Kong when either parent is a permanent resident at the time of the application, and HK$30,000 for a second or later child born from September 2026.

• Get the baby a passport, then a dependant visa between 7 days and 8 weeks after the birth · people who moved to Hong Kong from another country

  A baby born here to two parents who are neither Chinese nationals nor permanent residents has no right of abode.

• Register the baby at the Maternal and Child Health Centre between 7 days and 4 weeks after the birth

  The Maternal and Child Health Centres run the free child health service: the whole Hong Kong Childhood Immunisation Programme, developmental checks and feeding advice from birth to five.

• Confirm the helper's start, or the nursery place between 6 weeks and 3 months after the birth

  Fourteen weeks of maternity leave usually starts two to four weeks before the due date, so in practice you are back at work around ten to twelve weeks after the birth — earlier than the headline number suggests.

• Claim the child allowance on your tax return between 6 months and 12 months after the birth

  Salaries tax gives a child allowance of HK$140,000 per child for 2026/27, up from HK$130,000 for 2025/26.

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