HK Smart ID Card Replacement Exercise

[Cornmeal]

Honestly if not for word of mouth and GE I'd have no idea about its existence. How do they expect us to not only know about the program but to also know when our time has come up? Much like car registration government services can't seem to be arsed to notify you when things need to be done but at least the car reg. has a clear expiry date.

The website is no help, and you have to dig around in the FAQ to find the link that brings you to the appt site (different URL entirely):

https://www.gov.hk/en/residents/immi...wicbooking.htm

Still my time isn't this round (mid 70s) or next (suddenly jumps to 2000s &2010s), so I just have to check back when exactly? At the slow rate of replacements I figure my contract will be up before they reach the 80s. What an utterly bizarre, but not unsurprisingly, overly complicated system! What issues or improvements is this card even addressing here?

Appreciate the reminder from posters here though, hopefully this thread will be resuscitated close to when it's my time

[bdw]

Seems I'm up too.

How do I know if I've already done it? Is there something on the ID card that signifies this?

Attachment 83690

Im 1977, which seems to be not on your list. They are doing 1970 to 1976 now, miss out by a year. Then upcoming is 2005 - 2018. So yeah I guess I'll just have to rememeber to check again later to see if I get a call up.

[JAherbert]

I missed my 'year' slot (by a couple of years!) I've now made a booking - but got a message that I might need to give a reason why I did not attend at the right time. Anyone with experience of that - are you given a hard time for not attending at the right time?

@drumbrake I was months late, the staff asked me for reason, the staff then called supervisor over to the interview table, I said I didn't know about deadline, supervisor said ok, endorsed the form, job done.

[Sith]

Honestly if not for word of mouth and GE I'd have no idea about its existence. How do they expect us to not only know about the program but to also know when our time has come up? Much like car registration government services can't seem to be arsed to notify you when things need to be done but at least the car reg. has a clear expiry date.

The website is no help, and you have to dig around in the FAQ to find the link that brings you to the appt site (different URL entirely):

https://www.gov.hk/en/residents/immi...wicbooking.htm

Still my time isn't this round (mid 70s) or next (suddenly jumps to 2000s &2010s), so I just have to check back when exactly? At the slow rate of replacements I figure my contract will be up before they reach the 80s. What an utterly bizarre, but not unsurprisingly, overly complicated system! What issues or improvements is this card even addressing here?

Appreciate the reminder from posters here though, hopefully this thread will be resuscitated close to when it's my time

Agree. It is only because of someone bumped up this thread that I discovered that I need to do it now.

[Sith]

everyday at midnight the system refreshes with slots that are previously cancelled or changed, from what i have heard.. .. so if you need it desperately you can go online after mid-night and hope to get a quick one...

Thanks for the tip. This worked for me, got a slot in Wan Chai.

[Morrison]

@drumbrake I was months late, the staff asked me for reason, the staff then called supervisor over to the interview table, I said I didn't know about deadline, supervisor said ok, endorsed the form, job done.

I was late, if I remember correctly by more than a month or two. No supervisor involved, just had to sign a form stating the reason AND sign in Chinese, lol.

[drumbrake]

I missed my 'year' slot (by a couple of years!) I've now made a booking - but got a message that I might need to give a reason why I did not attend at the right time. Anyone with experience of that - are you given a hard time for not attending at the right time?

@drumbrake I was months late, the staff asked me for reason, the staff then called supervisor over to the interview table, I said I didn't know about deadline, supervisor said ok, endorsed the form, job done.

The supervisor basically told me what to write today. Very friendly, and extremely efficient service. I arrived around 20 minutes early, and was out within 15 minutes.

[bdw]

An efficient process would be to put a 5 or 10 year expiry date on the cards, like most countries do with passports, drivers licences, etc. Then you know when your time is up by looking at the bloody card and there is no need for a "Card replacement exercise", it just happens naturally.

[bak875]

An efficient process would be to put a 5 or 10 year expiry date on the cards, like most countries do with passports, drivers licences, etc. Then you know when your time is up by looking at the bloody card and there is no need for a "Card replacement exercise", it just happens naturally.

Plus there is nothing outdated about my current HK ID card.

How long is the waiting period between initial appointment and collection of new card. I'm asking since I am not in hk.

[emx]

Plus there is nothing outdated about my current HK ID card.

How long is the waiting period between initial appointment and collection of new card. I'm asking since I am not in hk.

About 10 days.