Browse Our Most Recent Content (& Beyond)

Is There Any Special Visa Type For Foreign National Media Professionals Seeking To Live & Freelance In Hong Kong? Independent media professionals often occupy a round-pegs-in-square-holes situation when it comes to being able to practice their trade in Hong Kong and this question discusses how they might go about being able to do so. QUESTION […] Keep Reading...>

August 15th, 2025

What Pathways To An Employment Visa Exist For A Fresh, Foreign University Graduate Arriving In Hong Kong Seeking Career Opportunities Here? Whilst the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates afford a clean pathway to working permission for foreign nationals freshly graduating from Hong Kong universities, the situation is very different if your degree is from overseas […] Keep Reading...>

August 14th, 2025

I Was Convicted Of A Crime And Removed From Hong Kong – How Do My Visa Options Look Now? First Published November 6, 2018 – Still of Interest Today Life in Hong Kong can throw up many challenges, none too much greater than the following: QUESTION Hello, and thank you for the opportunity to ask […] Keep Reading...>

August 13th, 2025

This question gets to the heart of permitted activity as a Visitor and the ability to remain here on an indefinite basis on that status. QUESTION Hi, I am a New Zealander currently staying in Hong Kong with my partner who is a permanent HKID card holder. I do not have a HKID card, just […] Keep Reading...>

August 12th, 2025

Can I Get A Depedant Visa For An Elderly Parent If I Have A Permanent HK ID Card? I get 30-40 questions each week and not all of them merit a podcast answer. Some are answered quickly via email and for the next few days I’ll post some of these anonymised replies here. A Depedant […] Keep Reading...>

August 11th, 2025

How Important Are Employment Testimonials In A Hong Kong QMAS Visa Application? The Quality Migrant Admission Scheme is designed to attract ‘top notch’ talents to the HKSAR and, by my reckoning, only about 5% of applicants ever receive a Golden Ticket. Of course if you happen to have a Nobel prize or you are an […] Keep Reading...>

August 8th, 2025

Is It A Good Or A Bad Sign That The HKID Keep Coming Back With Further Requests For Information? This question seeks to understand what you should make of repeat requests for information from the Hong Kong Immigration Department (HKID) during the course of your visa application. QUESTION “Good day. In the course of what […] Keep Reading...>

August 7th, 2025

10 Must Have Resources For A Hong Kong Legal Dependant Visa First Published July 1, 2013 and updated December 15, 2023 – But The Advice Holds Good Today Continuing our series of 10 Must Have Resources, I have put together this list of materials from our various websites which is designed to help steer you through the […] Keep Reading...>

August 6th, 2025

Just how ‘flexible is the Hong Kong investment visa? QUESTION  I’m Swedish and currently in the process of applying for a Hong Kong investment visa. In addition, I have an interview for a consulting position with another organization. They will not support me with an employment visa and have asked me if I can also […] Keep Reading...>

August 5th, 2025

IANG Work Visa for Non-Local Graduates If you’re a non-local graduate looking to kickstart your career in Hong Kong, you will be eligible to apply for the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates (IANG) work visa. The IANG work visa was established in 2008 to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, contributing to Hong Kong’s competitive […] Keep Reading...>

August 4th, 2025

I Lived In Hong Kong For 11 Years – And Have Been Gone For The Last 7 – Can I Still Get Permanent Residency? It happens a lot more often than you might imagine. You’d think that the many early years in Hong Kong ought to count towards your right of abode but all too […] Keep Reading...>

July 30th, 2025

Foreign nationals seeking to work in Hong Kong have a lot of stake in an employment visa application so when it doesn’t work out positively where does that leave their proposed relationship? QUESTION Hi, After the recruitment process in a multinational company in Hong Kong, they decided to employ me, so I signed the offer […] Keep Reading...>

July 29th, 2025

The answer to this question is multi-part and ultimately driven by the challenges associated with a New Business Situation… QUESTION I am based in Hong Kong and would like your advice on visa applications for a friend.   A friend of mine, who is based in the US and I have been discussing a business opportunity for Hong Kong and […] Keep Reading...>

July 28th, 2025

This article presents solutions to missing periods of residence when it comes about a Hong Kong Right of Abode Application The essential approvability test for a Hong Kong Right of Abode application is that you have been continuously and ordinarily resident in the HKSAR for a period of not less than 7 years AND that you […] Keep Reading...>

July 18th, 2025

One of the more upsetting parts of being a Hong Kong immigration consultant is learning that one family member alone, due to an unfortunate combination of circumstances, finds herself the odd one out by not having been able to correctly manage her visa status here – and all, essentially, through no fault of her own. […] Keep Reading...>

July 17th, 2025

Although this case study is based on a situation I was asked to provide guidance to many years ago, its content is still relevant today.   Our client was a French national with a wife and 5 year old daughter – all of them, French citizens. He had first arrived in Hong Kong in 2004 […] Keep Reading...>

July 16th, 2025

No way, for sure not  – it simply is not the way the process works… Your Hong Kong employment visa belongs to you, not your employer. They are just responsible for the sponsorship. If the relationship with your employer sours for any reason and your employment terminates this is what happens to your visa: – […] Keep Reading...>

July 15th, 2025

Once you have achieved 7 years continuous ordinary residence in Hong Kong, your long stay immigration options open up considerably… QUESTION My current working visa is due to expire at the end of  September, (previously I was given an extension of 3 years in 2010), this I assume was so that I would be valid for […] Keep Reading...>

July 14th, 2025

How can you extend your Hong Kong work visa if your passport  has only a very limited amount of time remaining on it before it expires? QUESTION Hello, My passport is currently being renewed but my Hong Kong work visa runs out very soon.  However I cannot start the visa extension application process without a new […] Keep Reading...>

July 9th, 2025

So, what are the immigration implications of getting married and then having children in Hong Kong if you are a temporary resident presently holding an employment visa? QUESTION Hi, Can you please help with a few questions? 1. I am getting married next month and would like to cancel my employment visa through my employer, […] Keep Reading...>

July 8th, 2025

Employment law and immigration law are often overlapping but must be dealt with separately…this post talks about what can be done if someone’s employment contract ends on the same day as their Hong Kong work visa, but they need to stay in Hong Kong for a while longer to sort out their affairs. What can […] Keep Reading...>

July 3rd, 2025

This article tries to clarify the impact of a criminal record on your application for a Hong Kong residence visa Used to be no – but now the game has completely changed. Criminal records now must be disclosed across all visa types. Every now and again the question of criminal convictions and the impact they […] Keep Reading...>

July 2nd, 2025

This question mainly relates to business rather than immigration law but is still an important question nonetheless… QUESTION Hello I have a Hong Kong  dependant visa that gives me the right to work in Hong Kong. I have been offered a Regional Asia role based out of Hong Kong by a Canadian company. This company is […] Keep Reading...>

June 30th, 2025

Remain in Hong Kong under an Employment Visa sponsored by an ex-Employer? Unusual set of facts in this case and a question never posed to me in this fashion previously… QUESTION I have been in Hong Kong since 2011 under an employment visa but have recently quit my job. The last time my visa was […] Keep Reading...>

June 26th, 2025

How important is sponsor-profitability, especially for start up businesses less than 12 months old? QUESTION I have been recruited by a newly established company (12 months old as of this week). They have never hired a foreigner and have tasked me with completing the visa forms, both employee and employer versions. The Employer-side application requires […] Keep Reading...>

June 25th, 2025

Will what has been done before impact on a Hong Kong Prolonged Visitor Visa out of policy application now? QUESTION I have a general question regarding conditions of stay for a Hong Kong prolonged visitor visa. On the Hong Kong Immigration website it says: “Subject to the following conditions of stay: (a) he shall not take any […] Keep Reading...>

June 24th, 2025

In this post, I talk about  the Hong Kong unconditional stay and when it might be useful to you. Hong Kong unconditional stay plays a lesser yet still important role in immigration status to acquire in the HKSAR today… On March 21, 2014 I gave a presentation at the Chinese Club entitled Business Immigration to Hong Kong – A […] Keep Reading...>

June 23rd, 2025

It happens a lot more often that you might imagine. You’d think that the many early years in Hong Kong ought to count towards your right of abode but all too often disappointment is in the offing… QUESTION Thank you very much for this informative website! I hope you’ll be able to answer my question, […] Keep Reading...>

June 17th, 2025

Business visit to Hong Kong? With Hong Kong having such a liberal visa-upon-arrival regime (with more than 160 nationalities being granted permission to visit for between 7 and 180 days – depending on which passport you carry), it is understandable that there is confusion as to what is permitted activity if you are a ‘business […] Keep Reading...>

June 16th, 2025

What’s the Best Hong Kong Visa Option for a Recently Graduated British National?   QUESTION Hi Stephen, From  May through November 2013 I was employed in a well known and large company in Hong Kong under the training visa for a period of 6 months. During the end of this tenure the company decided to […] Keep Reading...>

May 27th, 2025

The Hong Kong Immigration Department are not especially receptive to what can appear to be family reunion via the back door… Can you use the Foreign Domestic Helper visa to employ your mother in Hong Kong? QUESTION Hello, My wife and I are on work visas in Hong Kong and are expecting a baby in […] Keep Reading...>

May 26th, 2025

Is the Right of Abode in Hong Kong passed along to the spouse of a permanent resident such that is claimable after the death of your PR holding husband..? First Published November 20 2013 – Still of Interest Today QUESTION This query is for  my cousin who is an adult. She was born in Pakistan and […] Keep Reading...>

May 19th, 2025

To what extend the salary can be replaced with performance-based equity compensation in case of a Hong Kong employment visa? No one has asked me this type of question about compensation for employees for about 17 years now so I’m grateful to the questioner for raising it as she did. QUESTION I have successfully registered […] Keep Reading...>

May 15th, 2025

Hong Kong is a small place with borders on our doorstep so how much time do you need to be physically in Hong Kong to retain your Hong Kong investment visa? QUESTION I would like to know, if I am able to hold a visa in Hong Kong, then what is the minimum time per […] Keep Reading...>

May 14th, 2025

Life in Hong Kong throws up many new opportunities and this question seeks to understand the implications for 7 years continuous residency in respect of an eventual right of abode application where an overall switch over in life plans sees a lady intending to relinquish her employment visa for a student or dependant visa … […] Keep Reading...>

May 12th, 2025

Sometimes, the sun and the moon align beautifully on a set of circumstances to allow an unmarried couple to spend time together in Hong Kong when ordinarily visa circumstances conspire against them. Not on this occasion, however! QUESTION “Hi there, I have just recently returned from Hong Kong to Canada where I am a citizen. […] Keep Reading...>

May 7th, 2025

The right to land in Hong Kong impacts quite a number of people here but does not figure much in the general immigration scheme as it is not a status that you can apply for per se, nor is it an immigration status that you can acquire by descent. The right to land in Hong […] Keep Reading...>

May 6th, 2025

So, just what immigration options for parents accrue to a foreign national holding a Hong Kong permanent identity card? QUESTION Hi there!  A foreign national became a permanent resident after many years study and work in Hong Kong. Now he wants to sponsor his parents holding Canadian passports to become a P.R. In Hong Kong […] Keep Reading...>

May 5th, 2025

This is joining in a side business albeit in another name…and a solution for certain types of Hong Kong Employment Visa holders thinking about freelancing in Hong Kong QUESTION Info -NZ Passport holder -Working in Hong Kong for three years with an employer. Hello I would like to know how I would go about starting a business […] Keep Reading...>

May 2nd, 2025

What’s the differentiating line between a Hong Kong investment visa and an employment visa when investing in the company that is seeking to sponsor-employ you? QUESTION I’m from Australia and have been living and working, as a language teacher, in Hong Kong since  December 2014. I am currently starting up a business with a partner. […] Keep Reading...>

April 30th, 2025

Are family members who are accompanying a main applicant for the right of abode in Hong Kong treated in any particular way by the Hong Kong Immigration Department? QUESTION Hi When applying for the right of abode in Hong Kong for the whole family .. if I put in 9 years worth of my husband’s tax […] Keep Reading...>

April 29th, 2025

This is the question most often asked of my profession really… QUESTION Hello, I was a sponsored by my uncle’s company for 2 years then we had an argument and I left. Now I’m holding a visitor visa. For 6 months I’ve sent my resume to more employers than I can count but when it […] Keep Reading...>

April 28th, 2025

Do the Hong Kong Immigration Department expect every foreign national employee of Hong Kong registered companies to have employment visas even if they have never worked (or never will work) in the HKSAR? QUESTION Is there any problem with a Hong Kong registered company employing someone currently resident in Malaysia for a role supporting one […] Keep Reading...>

April 16th, 2025

Objection to an application for a Hong Kong investment visa? Revenge is a dish best eaten cold, as they say. So, can an application for a Hong Kong investment visa be negatively impacted by the fact of a debt outstanding to a disgruntled creditor – or can it at least be used as a point […] Keep Reading...>

April 15th, 2025

What will the Hong Kong Immigration Department make of an application for a second partner to join in an existing business and secure a business investment visa (or) Hong Kong investment visa for an unprofitable company – easy or hard? QUESTION My business partner is moving to Hong Kong soon. Until this point, we had […] Keep Reading...>

April 14th, 2025

The question of permanent residency in Hong Kong is one of the most complex areas of immigration practice and this question is helpful in that it speaks to the situation of ethnically Chinese foreign nationals with Hong Kong parentage. QUESTION “I am a mother of three children. I hold a Permanent Hong Kong Identity card […] Keep Reading...>

April 10th, 2025

If you hold a Hong Kong employment visa, bringing elderly parents to join you in Hong Kong is an area of immigration practice that is fraught with difficulty – as well as uncertainty. Dependant visas are, as a matter of policy, not available for non permanent residents yet it’s a scenario that presents itself all […] Keep Reading...>

April 9th, 2025

Can any old entity successfully sponsor an employment visa extension under the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates? What qualifies a Hong Kong employer as a suitable and credible sponsor? QUESTION I am currently in Hong Kong on IANG Visa. My company would need to help me to sponsor the IANG visa once my limit of […] Keep Reading...>

April 8th, 2025

I have given this talk around town for the last couple of years now and so pleased to finally add it to our coverage of the Hong Kong investment visa. This segment speaks to the proverbial issue of having started your Hong Kong business before you have received the permission of the Hong Kong Immigration Department […] Keep Reading...>

April 7th, 2025

This situation occurs quite a lot especially for those employees who were originally summer hires and are on back to back employment contracts matching the validity of their limits of stay. QUESTION I am a Canadian currently employed in Hong Kong and have a work visa. If I plan to be absent on leave in […] Keep Reading...>

April 4th, 2025

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