The updated LeaveHomeSafe mobile app version 3.0 will be available for download from Dec 10, 2021. Users can upload their visit records to the Hong Kong Health Code system through the app, and then login to the Hong Kong Health Code system to receive a Hong Kong Health Code. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

HONG KONG – Hong Kong’s health code system will be open for registration from 9 am Friday as the city prepares for the reopening of quarantine-free cross-border travel with the Chinese mainland and Macao.

The Hong Kong Health Code adopts real-name registration. Applicants are required to register personal information including name, identity document number, contact telephone number and residential address, according to a government statement issued Thursday. Applicants also need to upload a Hong Kong residential address proof for verification.

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The latest 3.0 version of the contact tracing app LeaveHomeSafe will also be available for update on Friday.

Upon successful registration on the Hong Kong Health Code website, users can upload their visit records in the past 31 days to the Hong Kong Health Code system through the latest version of LeaveHomeSafe app. They could then login into to the system to receive a Hong Kong Health Code.

The government reaffirmed that the sequence of registering for the health code has nothing to do with the quotas for boundary crossings and there is no hurry to apply for it

As with the mainland’s system, Hong Kong’s health codes will be shown in red, yellow and green, indicating high, medium, and low risk of users. Only the green-colored code will be accepted when crossing the border.

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In the statement, the government said the Hong Kong health code system facilitates quarantine-free travel between Guangdong, Macao and Hong Kong.

“The government has opened the Hong Kong Health Code system in advance for registration to allow members of the public to familiarize themselves with its functions earlier,” the statement reads.

The government reaffirmed that the sequence of registering for the health code has nothing to do with the quotas for boundary crossings and there is no hurry to apply for it.

During the registration process, applicants who are residing in public housing in Hong Kong do not need to submit the residential address proof as the system will verify the information according to the public housing resident database.

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The government said it would accord priority to applications from applicants who can upload the Hong Kong residential address proof, as well as those who are residing in public housing. “The system will send a personal identification number to applicants for account activation through SMS once their residential address has been verified.”

If applicants are unable to provide a Hong Kong residential address proof or the system cannot verify their residential address, they will have to wait for a confirmation letter containing a PIN issued by the government for account activation, the government said.

Applicants who are not Hong Kong identity card holders will have to bring the letter and their identity document for identity verification at designated post offices.

“They will receive a PIN through SMS for account activation after verification,” the government said.