New smart Hong Kong ID card application to take just 30 minutes, but take as long as you want for that photo

Half an hour is all you need to register at a self-service kiosk for the new smart ID card instead of going through traditional manual processing at counters, Hong Kong immigration officials said on Tuesday.

As about 8.8 million existing cards are to be replaced starting from the fourth quarter of this year, the Immigration Department will set up nine replacement centres across the city to obtain the new ones.

Each centre will be equipped with up to 14 self-service kiosks – about 10 for registration and the rest for card collection.

Immigration Department director Erick Tsang Kwok-wai said members of the public could make an appointment and complete the application form online or through a mobile application.

At the kiosk, an applicant only needs to insert his or her existing ID card, verify two fingerprints and then input or verify application data. The machine will then print out a form so that the applicant can move on to taking a photo.