Hong Kong bank account without an HKID for a short internship
Hi everyone,
I’ll be doing a summer internship in Hong Kong soon, and I’ll need to open a local bank account after I arrive so I can receive my salary.
Last time I was in a similar situation, I opened an account with HSBC. However, after I left Hong Kong and the account was inactive for a while, HSBC closed it and mailed me a cheque for the remaining balance. They were vague about the reason, but it seemed to be related to my non-Hong Kong residency status. The account had no unusual activity at all: no crypto, no investments, no foreign spending, etc. The only potential red flags I can think of are that my residential address was a hotel/corporate housing address, and my mailing address was overseas.
This time, I’m considering trying a different bank. From what I’ve found, as an English-only speaker, my realistic options seem to be Standard Chartered, Citi, and Hang Seng. I don’t have an HKID, and my address will again be a corporate housing(hotel). My employment period is only about 2.5 months.
I’d appreciate any advice, especially from anyone who has successfully opened a bank account without an HKID. Thanks in advance.
update:
Unfortunately, my comments aren't showing up. The mod said it's due to account age / low karma and that they will check within a few days to approve my comments as well.
I forgot to mention that I've already done some research (of course, last year & this year) for those banks. While all these banks to suggest I'll be able to open an account, I'm asking as former interns mentioned they were rejected / took weeks to process / etc. Any anecdotes would be highly appreciated. I've also heard account opening is getting harder for foreigners as of 2026.