My friend just successfully opened a bank account at Bank of China Hong Kong on December 18th. Sharing her experience.

To pay the insurance premium, I scheduled an appointment to open an account in Hong Kong last year. This year, my friend also wanted to open one, but couldn’t make an appointment online, so she came with the mindset of trying to open an account without an appointment. She read online that the staff at the Prince Edward branch are very friendly, so she booked a nearby hotel.
We arrived in Hong Kong on the evening of the 17th, had dinner at the hotel, and then went to the Prince Edward branch for an in-person visit. On the 18th, at 7:30 am, we arrived at the bank. There were no people queuing at the entrance, so we thought we were early. When the bank opened, only five people were waiting in line. The staff started issuing numbers, then asked us to download the Bank of China APP (which we had already downloaded before), scan the bank’s QR code, and start filling out the information. Once nearly done, we could proceed to the counter to complete the process. We didn’t look at any paper documents besides the policy; everything else was accessed through the app. The process went smoothly, with the only inconvenience being that my friend, who had just resigned, was asked more questions. Personally, I think even if you are unemployed, just fill in a real company name.
The card was issued on the spot. After receiving the card, you can activate it by checking the balance at the nearby ATM, no need to deposit money.
Required documents: ID card, Hong Kong-Macau travel permit, crossing slip, policy. These are directly shown to the staff. Also, a deposit record is required to be viewed via the app (because honestly, if you are unemployed and have no job, they will ask for it. If you have a passbook but no app record, it’s best to take a photo). The address is checked against the policy, so no additional proof is needed. $SOL