SOME travel agencies help travelers who do not have valid permits to enter Hong Kong with their passports and international flight tickets, but legal experts say the service is not legal and can be very risky.

    The agencies said travelers could enter Hong Kong with their passports and flight tickets to a foreign country which needs a landing visa and stay in Hong Kong for seven days, while not going to the country, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.

    Cost for the service is 200 yuan (US$31.7) and the price goes up to 280 yuan during the Spring Festival, the paper said.

    A Shenzhen travel agent said it might be very risky as once the traveler is found cheating and not allowed to enter Hong Kong, it will be very difficult for him/her to apply for entry permits to Hong Kong in the future.

    “At Shenzhen checkpoints, we will let you go if you have a valid passport and a flight ticket, but whether you can enter Hong Kong is decided by the Hong Kong authorities,” said Huang Junsheng, a policeman from the Shenzhen border inspection authority.

    (Wang Yuanyuan)