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Admission Procedures and Deadlines 

The Faculty of Law welcomes application from exchange and visiting students.  If your home university has an exchange agreement with the University of Hong Kong, please contact your home university for application details.  Partner universities are required to submit the nominations via the online nomination system (https://goglobal.hku.hk/incoming/partner/auth/login) and upload the official transcript and English proficiency test report (if applicable) to the system.  Nominees will be informed of the online application procedures by email (via our International Affairs Office) and are required to upload the passport copy, personal statement and CV during the online application.

Deadline for students applying for the September term: April 30 in the same calendar year
Deadline for students applying for the January term: September 30 of the previous calendar year. 

Course Enrolment

Incoming exchange students should select courses according to the Faculty’s regulations, procedures and rules.  The standard course load for HKU LLB students is 30 credits each semester or 60 credits for one academic year.  Acceptance into selected courses will be determined by the Director of Incoming Exchange, in consultation with the course teacher, if necessary. For students who are interested in enroling in courses offered outside the Faculty, approval must be sought from the respective departments and final approval rests with the offering department. However, students are not permitted to enrol more than 12 credits worth of non-law courses in each semester.

You are strongly advised to consult the Director of Incoming Exchange and your home institution should you wish to change your intended courses of study on arrival.

Students are invited to visit our websites (List of undergraduate electives / postgraduate courses) for details of the courses offer in 2024-25 and the corresponding Guidelines for the Selection of Courses for Incoming Exchange students to prepare for their study plans in 2025-26.

Course availability varies from year to year subject to the availability of teaching resources and student enrolment.  Exchange students are usually given more flexibility in selecting their courses. There is a two-week add/drop period since the start of each semester which students can attend one or two lectures before finalizing their study plans.  Undergraduate courses listed under “Core Courses”, “PCLL Pre-requisites” of undergraduate courses and mandatory courses for specialised LLM programmes are NOT open to incoming exchange students. 

Examination 

Students should check with individual course convenors to ascertain the means of evaluation and provisional dates of examinations in the beginning of the courses. In case of time clash, it is the responsibility of students to approach the lecturer concerned to arrange a separate examination.

Assessment results for 1st and 2nd semester will normally be released in mid-January and mid-June of the year respectively.  Exchange and visiting students who need to make provisions for either early examination or marking, or both, would need to submit a request to sit for early examinations and/or early confirmation of pass/fail. The request must be made in a prescribed form and sent to the Faculty of Law for consideration before the end of the add/drop period.

Credit Transfer

Exchange and visiting students should communicate with their home institutions on the courses they intend to study at HKU before their arrival in Hong Kong. It is also the students’ responsibility to keep their home institutions informed of any changes in the study plan here.

For Faculty-level exchange students, we will arrange official transcripts to be sent direct to your home institutions in early February (for first semester) and early July (for second semester and full-year) each year. Visiting and University-level exchange students will have to apply for official transcripts on their own.  Should you require a copy of transcript yourself, please apply one at Academic Service Office (http://www.ase.hku.hk/asoffice/). 

Accommodation

Please refer to Housing Information (https://www.cedars.hku.hk/index.php?route=accommodation/accommodation) from Center of Development and Resources for students (CEDARS). Students should make application online through https://www.cedars.hku.hk/index.php?route=accommodation/information/details&accommodation_id=40 (with 10-digit exchange application reference number) on or before the accommodation application deadline.  Information about off-campus housing, self-financed halls and residences can be found on the above link.

Given the increasing number of international students, the University will make every reasonable effort to assist students finding accommodations upon receipt of their applications, but cannot guarantee to secure on-campus accommodation for exchange students.

For accommodation application enquiries, please refer to https://intlaffairs.hku.hk/faq/study-at-hku or contact CEDARS Accommodation at . 

Visa Application

All non-local students are required to apply for student visas in order to study in Hong Kong.  Please visit HKU Student Visa page (https://www.studentvisa.hku.hk/) for instructions and application procedures.

You are advised to complete online application immediately after receiving the admission offer letter and mail the hard copies of application documents following the instructions provided by Admissions Office.  The student visa application will take about 8-10 weeks to process and the fee is non-refundable.   Students are required to upload the Notice of Admission to the visa application system as the Immigration Department requires all necessary documents to be submitted for approval assessment.

Orientation

The Orientations are usually organised in end of August and mid of January respectively.  Details can be viewed at the website of the CEDARS at https://wp2.cedars.hku.hk/nonlocal/ orientation nearer the time.

Budget planning

Tuition fees

If your University has exchange agreement with the University of Hong Kong, you are not required to pay the tuition fee.  However, if there is no agreement established between your University and HKU, in the academic year of 2025-26, you will have to pay the tuition fee of HK$198,000 for full year or HK$99,000 for one semester for non-local student; or HK$44,500 for full year or HK$22,250 for one semester for local student.  The fees for taught postgraduate visiting students would be higher. 

Accommodation

Lodging fees for university undergraduate halls range from HK$22,000 to HK$45,000 per annum.  Students who prefer/choose non-hall housing or other privately rented accommodations are expected to pay more.  Utilities cost varies greatly in seasons.

Other reference materials

Exchange programme in 2024-25 academic year

Exchange programme in 2025-26 academic year

Other useful information

Contact us

Director for Incoming Exchange: Professor Giuliano Castellano  ()

Deputy Director for Incoming Exchange:  Dr Angus Young ()

Administrative Coordinator: Ms Perry Cheung (