Guide Dogs and Working Dogs: Always Welcome
Long before the 2026 dog admission scheme, guide dogs and recognised working dogs were already permitted in food premises. The new scheme is about pet dogs — this article explains the difference, which matters for both owners and restaurants.
Guide dogs
A guide dog is trained to assist a person with a visual impairment. Guide dogs have long been permitted to enter food premises in Hong Kong, and that has not changed — their access does not depend on the new scheme or on a restaurant being approved.
Working dogs
Recognised working dogs — such as those performing certain official or assistance roles — have likewise been permitted in food premises before the scheme. They are treated differently from pet dogs.
How this differs from the new scheme
Under the 2026 scheme, pet dogs may enter only approved premises, and only from 9 July 2026. Guide dogs and working dogs are not limited to approved premises and were already permitted before that date.
It is not the restaurant’s choice
Admitting pet dogs is voluntary — a restaurant opts in. Access for a guide dog is different: turning away a person because they are accompanied by a guide dog may amount to unlawful disability discrimination, not a matter of house policy.
If you rely on a guide dog
You do not need this scheme. You keep your existing right of access to food premises generally, whether or not a venue has been approved to admit pet dogs. If you have any doubt about your rights, seek advice from the relevant authority.