Where to Film in Hong Kong: Locations, Access Rules and What Each One Really Costs

Hong Kong has no filming permit. That single fact sends more travel video production companies into a broken schedule than any typhoon signal, because it's true and the conclusion people draw from it isn't. There's no general permit, but four separate access tiers sit underneath it, each with its own gatekeeper, fee and lead time, and about four weeks between the fastest and the slowest.

Here is what each tier costs, using the government's own published figures.

The four tiers of access

Every location in Hong Kong sits in one of four buckets. Work out which your shot list falls into before booking flights: the gap between tier one and tier three is about four weeks.

Tier	Example	What you need	Lead time	Typical cost
1. Public, non-exclusive	Streets, promenades, ferry decks	Nothing. Police notification is free and encouraged	Same week	HK$0
2. Government venues	Libraries, stadiums, museums, parks	Departmental permission plus liability cover	7 working days to 4 weeks	HK$7,110 per 4 hours
3. Transport and utilities	MTR stations, trains, the airport	Operator application plus HK$30m insurance	4 weeks	HK$10,000 to apply
4. Private and residential	Malls, restaurants, apartment blocks	Owner negotiation	Days to never	HK$2,000 to HK$50,000 per hour

Tier 1: the free tier is bigger than people think

Hong Kong has no general-purpose filming permit. Public-area filming on a non-exclusive basis needs none at all, and the Film Services Office simply encourages crews to notify the police so the shoot runs unimpeded.

"Non-exclusive" is the whole game. Roll on Nathan Road, on a Star Ferry crossing, along the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade, anywhere the public keeps walking past you. Stop them walking, with a light stand, a track or a tripod across a pavement, and you have created exclusive use. Now you need a lane closure, and roughly three weeks to get one.

Which is why documentary production in Asia often costs less here than a brand shoot half its size. A two-person doc crew shooting handheld is legally invisible. A five-tonne truck is not.

Tier 2: prestige does not change the price

This one surprises most producers, and it comes straight from the FSO's own location library.

Filming at Hong Kong Stadium costs HK$7,110 for the first four hours, then HK$2,050 for each further four-hour block, plus a refundable deposit equal to the fees. Filming at the Hong Kong Central Library costs exactly the same. So does the Central Government Offices forecourt at Tamar. A 40,000-seat stadium, a district library and the seat of government are priced identically.

What changes between them is not money. It is three other things:

Lead time. Straightforward cases clear in about 7 working days. Anything needing consultation across departments takes 10 or more, and LCSD approvals commonly run 2 to 4 weeks.
The insurance band. Public liability cover of HK$6.5 million to HK$30 million depending on assessed risk, issued in the joint names of the HKSAR Government and the production company. That joint-naming clause is what catches foreign crews carrying an off-the-shelf policy.
Manning costs. If the venue needs extra government staff on site, you pay actual cost plus overheads, and nobody quotes that in advance.

Treat the deposit as cash flow rather than cost. A single half-day means HK$7,110 spent and another HK$7,110 parked until the venue signs off.

Tier 3: the MTR shot costs HK$10,000 before anyone says yes

The subway platform is on every Hong Kong shot list and it is the most misunderstood location in the city.

MTR Corporation charges an application fee of HK$10,000 just to review your storyboard and synopsis, and processing takes four weeks. The fee comes off the final bill if you are approved and is refunded if you are refused, but it leaves the account either way, and MTRCL can reject a booking on operational grounds without explanation.

Then the scheduling reality: trains, concourses and platforms are hired after midnight. Not at golden hour. Not during the commuter crush that made you want the shot. After midnight, with a HK$30 million policy in joint names with MTRCL.

Light Rail is the exception worth knowing: daytime shooting in non-peak hours is possible, which makes Tuen Mun and Yuen Long a real substitute for a rail sequence you cannot afford to shoot at 1am.

Tier 4: the location you cannot buy

Yick Cheong Building in Quarry Bay, the "Monster Building" from Transformers: Age of Extinction and Ghost in the Shell, is private residential property. Once it went viral, the management company restricted photography in the courtyard to protect residents. No government permit overrides that, because the government was never the gatekeeper.

The rest of the private tier runs on negotiation, and commercial rents set the floor. Local fixers put private venue rates anywhere from HK$2,000 to HK$50,000 an hour, scaled to the trading revenue your crew interrupts. A restaurant closing its lunch service is not selling you a room. It is selling you a lost service.

Drones: assume no, then apply

Drone work sits under the Small Unmanned Aircraft Order (Cap. 448G). Aircraft over 250g and their pilots register through the Civil Aviation Department's eSUA portal, and commercial operations need prior CAD permission on top. Much of the urban core falls inside restricted flying zones, so if your treatment opens on a push over Victoria Harbour, price a rooftop or an LED wall during the pitch rather than during prep.

What a realistic two-location day costs in access alone

One government venue for a half day plus one MTR platform overnight: HK$7,110 in venue fees, HK$10,000 to apply, HK$7,110 in refundable deposit, two insurance certificates in two sets of joint names. HK$24,220 of cash movement and four weeks of lead time before a single crew member is booked.

Swap the MTR for the Light Rail and the day drops to HK$7,110 with a one-week lead. Same story, a third of the paperwork. That decision belongs in the treatment, not the schedule.

Plan the access, then the shot list

Hong Kong film production runs on lead times, not luck. The city rewards producers who read the rules and punishes the ones who assume a fixer will sort it on the day. The cheapest version of your film is nearly always the one where somebody checked the tier before the storyboard was locked.

Anydoko Creative Studios produces brand films, campaigns and documentary work across Hong Kong and the wider region, and we build the permit calendar into the schedule instead of bolting it on afterwards. Send us your locations, dates and usage needs, and we will come back with a shootable plan and a cost sheet you can read line by line. Start a project with Anydoko Creative Studios.

FAQs

1. Do I need a permit to film in Hong Kong?

No general filming permit exists. Public-area filming on a non-exclusive basis needs nothing, though police notification is free and encouraged. Government venues, transport property and private locations each need separate permission.

2. How much does it cost to film at a government location in Hong Kong?

HK$7,110 for the first four hours and HK$2,050 for each further four-hour block, plus a refundable deposit equal to the fees. The rate is the same at a stadium as at a library.

3. Can I film inside an MTR station?

Yes, with a HK$10,000 application fee, four weeks of processing and HK$30 million of public liability insurance in joint names with MTRCL. Stations, trains and concourses are hired after midnight.

4. Can I film at the Monster Building in Quarry Bay?

Not on a permit. It is private residential property and the management company restricts courtyard photography. Exterior street views from King's Road remain public and unrestricted.

5. How far ahead should a shoot in Hong Kong be planned?

One week for street work, two to four weeks for government venues and lane closures, four weeks for MTR and for work visas. Build the schedule backwards from the slowest approval on your list.

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