Hong Kong Visas Made Easy

I Was Convicted Of A Crime And Removed From Hong Kong – How Do My Visa Options Look Now?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Refusals & Appeals, Visitor Visas, Your Question Answered / 21 responses

This post deals with the available visa options after being convicted and removed from Hong Kong

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 my question! I have questions, but I will frame my situation first.

In June of this year, I made a big mistake and got in an altercation with another woman and ended up hurting her. In September, I was convicted of the crime of Wounding and sentenced to a prison term of 14 days in Hong Kong.

I had been working in Hong Kong for 2 years.

Prior to the conviction, I stopped working and remained in Hong Kong on a Visitor Visa while awaiting trial. My Visitor Visa was set to expire before the trial so I visited Immigration and requested an extension of 90 days. My extension was not granted and I was told to come back to Immigration following my court case. As I stated earlier I was then sentenced to a prison term, so I was unable to come to Immigration and my Visitor Visa expired whilst I was incarcerated.

Consequently, following the completion of my sentence, I was transferred to the Castle Peak Bay Immigration Centre and made subject to a removal order. I chose the option of voluntary repatriation and took a flight home to New Zealand three days later.

Prior to departure, my HKID card was confiscated by the Immigration Department. I asked my case officer at Immigration (and several other officers), as well as the Enquiry section on the Immigration website, and they all gave me the same response about my potential to return to Hong Kong on either a Visitor Visa or Employment Visa: “Please be rest assured that the entry of every visitor to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region would be considered fairly and reasonably in accordance with the law”.

 Question #1

I am now in New Zealand, but I would like to return to Hong Kong in January 2013. I would like to return on a tourist visa and take care of many responsibilities and possessions I have left in Hong Kong. I just fear arriving in Hong Kong, being detained at the border and then being sent back to New Zealand.

Question #2

I have a job offer in Hong Kong and I would like to accept it. However, I also don’t know how Immigration is going to view my employment visa application. It would be embarrassing and damaging to accept the job offer and then have my employment visa rejected. Also, would Immigration inform my potential employer of the reason for the employment visa rejection?

Thank you very much for your time!

Check Out VisaGeeza.Ai

All Our Know-How : All Our Experience : Fully Interactive

100% FREE!

More Stuff To May Find Useful Or Interesting

My Girlfriend Is In Detention Prior To Removal – If I Marry Her Will She Be Able To Get A Depedant Visa For Hong Kong?

Mike Tyson – His Criminal Record And Hong Kong Visa And Immigration History

The Hong Kong Immigration Department Are Out To Deny – Not Approve – Visa Applications (Aren’t They?)

Will A Criminal Record Impact On Your Application For A Hong Kong Residence Visa?

The 5 Key Factors Which Impact On Your Eligibility For A Hong Kong Employment Visa

PODCAST ANSWER

Podcast: Play in new window

How Considered Advance Planning Might Save A Doomed Right Of Abode Application & Spare The Loss Of Several Years Continuous Ordinary Residence In Hong Kong

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Long Stay & PR, Your Question Answered / 2 responses

This post explains how strategic advance planning can rescue a troubled Right of Abode application and preserve years of continuous ordinary residence in Hong Kong

First Published On December 9, 2013, still of interest today

It happens a lot more often that you might imagine – inadvertent loss of ‘ordinary residence‘ setting back your application for permanent residence here in Hong Kong.

QUESTION

My wife and I came to Hong Kong to work in 2006. However she went to business school in Europe in 2009, sponsored by her Hong Kong employer.

So from her immigration record, the ordinary residence discontinued for the period of November 2009 to September 2010.

But throughout the past 7 years I myself have remained in Hong Kong and all our savings as well as properties are here and I recently got my own permanent ID (but my wife got refused).

My questions are:

(1) should my wife apply in-person again for a formal determination?  

(2) if her application gets refused again and if she quits her job to take care of kids at home, can she still have a HKID and continue the 7 year accumulation?

Thank you.

My Follow Up Questions

In this time (November 2009 – September 2010) did your wife:

(A) hold a residence visa in Hong Kong?

(B) have documentation from her employer showing that the time in Europe was only temporary and that her Hong Kong employment contract subsisted – even though she was not getting paid – and that she was expected to return to her job here immediately upon graduation?

(C) did she in fact return to that job in Hong Kong immediately upon graduation?

Follow Up Answers

A.  No. She came back a few times but on tourist visas

B. Yes. There is a letter from her employer stating explicitly that during 2009-10 she attended a company sponsored BSchool program in Europe during which period she was still considered an employee of the company.

C. Yes.

Check Out VisaGeeza.Ai

All Our Know-How : All Our Experience : Fully Interactive

100% FREE!

More Stuff You May Find Useful or Interesting

How do lengthy employment secondments away from Hong Kong impact on continuity of ordinary residence for a right of abode application after 7 years?

Will a short period of time away from Hong Kong break my continuity of ordinary residence for my eventual right of abode application?

Can a newly qualified foreign national permanent resident of Hong Kong automatically secure the right of abode for his parents too?

How to apply for the right of abode in Hong Kong without any professional help – documents required

Am I compelled to apply for the right of abode after 7 years or can I maintain the status quoe of my current employment visa?

PODCAST ANSWER

Podcast: Play in new window

Is Cancelling A Hong Kong Visa Application Possible And, If So, How Do You Go About Doing It?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Family Visas, Hadley Says…, Investment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Refusals & Appeals, Special Programmes, Visitor Visas / 4 responses

It happens occasionally that cancelling a Hong Kong visa application might become a necessary course of action.

This post helps you undrstand the process and implications of cancelling a Hong Kong visa application.

For various reasons, an application for a Hong Kong visa, whether it be for tourism, business, employment, or any other type, may have to be cancelled midway through the entire process, which can sometimes be complicated.

So, the pertinent question arises: how does one go about the process of cancelling a Hong Kong visa application effectively and efficiently?

The answer to this query is quite straightforward and can be easily followed. If you find yourself in a position where cancelling your Hong Kong visa application is the only option, you simply need to draft a letter to the Hong Kong Immigration Department. In this correspondence, it is important to include your complete name, your passport number or Hong Kong ID card number, as well as the file reference for your visa application. This file reference, crucial for identification purposes, is something you would have received when you initially submitted your application or shortly thereafter.

Interestingly, there is no requirement for you to explain or justify your reasons for deciding to withdraw or cancel your Hong Kong visa application. The Immigration authorities only require that you state your intention clearly—that you no longer wish to pursue the visa application at hand.

After you have submitted your withdrawal request, which involves cancelling a Hong Kong visa application, you should wait for about two to three weeks. During this time, you will likely receive a formal letter back from the Hong Kong Immigration Department. This letter will typically confirm the receipt of your request to cancel your Hong Kong visa application and will also include an advisory note stating that your application has indeed been marked as cancelled in their records.

Overall, the process of cancelling a Hong Kong visa application is designed to be straightforward, ensuring that applicants can easily navigate these circumstances should they arise. Following these simple steps means that cancelling your Hong Kong visa application can be done with relative ease and peace of mind.

Check Out VisaGeeza.Ai

All Our Know-How : All Our Experience : Fully Interactive

100% FREE!

QOTW: What Do ImmD Make Of Getting Married Here When Applying For A Hong Kong Dependant Visa?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Family Visas, Your Question Answered / No responses

Does a simple trip to ‘city hall’ solve all your Hong Kong dependant visa problems?

QUESTION  OF  THE  WEEK

I am American. I have just accepted a role in Hong Kong.

My employer is about to begin my visa paperwork to sponsor me for an employment visa.

However, my girlfriend is Australian and I want her to come with me and ideally also be able to work.

We are both 30 almost 31.

One option is a shot gun marriage here in the US.

However, I was wondering what the policy is on her coming to Hong Kong on a tourist/holiday visa and once in Hong Kong with me us getting married there?

Is that possible and if so once it has been performed can I get her added onto my visa as a spouse easily enough?

Any advice is greatly received.

ANSWER

The clear and obvious answer to this question is no; of course, you should never get married for these purposes. However, sometimes circumstances prevail where there is a genuine life partner relationship between a loving couple who are planning to get married in any event. But because of changes in the career fortunes of one of them, they find themselves in Hong Kong with the possibility of being separated due to their then single status, even though they are clearly committed to each other as life partners.

In this instance, you can find yourself in Hong Kong and determine that the situation you are in—resulting from separation—may be too much to bear. This can encourage you to bring forward the plans you already had regarding your marriage.

Clearly, as part of satisfying the Immigration Department’s requirement for your relationship to be deemed genuine, this will all make perfect sense if supported by the correct documentation that speaks to the nature of your relationship in those circumstances. So, while you might desire for this to be a shotgun wedding, this isn’t the case at all. It would simply be a matter of bringing forward plans you had initially.

In that respect, you would be deemed a genuine couple, even though you have found yourself in Hong Kong in a situation that prompted you to advance your nuptials. Once you’re married, it becomes a simple matter of taking your application bundle to the Immigration Department and seeking permission for your spouse to remain in Hong Kong as your dependent under your sponsorship. At that time, the Immigration Department will assess the genuine nature of your relationship. If you can demonstrate that you can provide a roof over her head and food on her table, the Immigration Department will usually grant a dependent visa for one year in the first instance. After that first year is up, she will be granted the same limit to stay that you would have as her employment visa-holding sponsor.

Check Out VisaGeeza.Ai

All Our Know-How : All Our Experience : Fully Interactive

100% FREE!

More Stuff You May Find Useful Or Interesting

What Happens If You Inadvertently Breach Your Conditions Of Stay By Taking Up An Unauthorised Employment In Hong Kong Without First Applying For A Change Of Sponsorship?

How Can An Overseas Company Temporarily Sponsor Employment Visa Permissions For Hong Kong?

How Onerous Is The Sponsorship Role In A Hong Kong Investment Visa Application?

The Perils Of Contriving A Job Offer Just For The Purposes Of A Hong Kong Employment Visa Application

How To Get A Hong Kong Employment Visa Automatically With No Questions Asked!

Can The Sponsor Of Your Hong Kong Employment Visa Hold Your Residence To Ransom?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in 60 Second Snapshot, Employment Visas / 3 responses

Many foreign nationals holding Hong Kong employment visas labour under the misapprehension that their employer somehow controls their immigration destiny by virtue of the fact that they sponsor their residence in Hong Kong.

Nothing could be further from the truth!

This is a common misconception amongst foreign workers, especially if they find themselves in some kind of pay dispute or other point of conflict with their current employer, the sponsor of their existing employment visa for Hong Kong.

An employer sponsoring your employment visas cannot use the fact of their sponsorship to hold a gun to your head. The visa belongs to you, not them. They are just responsible for the sponsorship.

The employer’s obligation throughout the entire employment visa process is as follows:

(a) They must show they are justified, as a business, in engaging your services rather than those of a ‘local’ person.

(b) They must pay you at least market rate for the work you are doing for them and at a level commensurate with the minimum required for employment visa approvability.

(c) They must agree to sponsor your application by executing the official employment visa sponsorship form in your favour.

If the relationship sours for any reason and your employment terminates this is what happens to your visa:

• Your privilege to work ceases. You can no longer engage in any employment without making a new application to the HKID first.

• Your privilege to reside continues. The HKID will ordinarily allow you to remain in Hong Kong until your current limit of stay expires, whereupon you are required to leave Hong Kong. In the meantime, this usually affords you the time you need to take stock of your affairs and get yourself back in the driving seat en route to a new employment in Hong Kong.

Your continuing privilege to reside in the HKSAR includes the ability to look and interview for new a job and, if you are so minded, to begin the preparations for possibly starting your own business instead. Either way, so long as you do not actively start working for a new employer or join in a new business before the Director of Immigration has granted his permission for you to do so, the fact that your ex-employer is no longer sponsoring you is neither here nor there in regards to your continuing residence in Hong Kong.

The HKID do not engage in any blame games as to why a sponsored employment has come to an end and only look forward not backwards – so don’t be intimidated by an errant employer who believes they have some kind of leverage over you as the sponsor of your employment visa. The reality is, they have no such leverage whatsoever.

Check Out VisaGeeza.Ai

All Our Know-How : All Our Experience : Fully Interactive

100% FREE!

 More Stuff You May Find Useful Or Relevant

Hong Kong Employment Visa – Teenage High School Graduate Gets Approved!

Newcomer’s Guide To Getting A Hong Kong Employment Visa

I’ve Lost My Job – Will I Get Kicked Out Of Hong Kong?

Social Media Keeping Hong Kong Immigration Consultants On Their Toes – Scary Stuff!

Why Pay For Professional Help In Your Hong Kong QMAS Application When You Really Can Do It All By Yourself

QOTW: My Husband Wants To Leave But I Want To Stay – Can I Remain Behind On My Hong Kong Dependant Visa Indefinitely?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Family Visas, Your Question Answered / No responses

So what options are available to Hong Kong dependant visa holding foreign nationals when their spouses are leaving Hong Kong and they want to stay?

QUESTION  OF  THE  WEEK

I am here on a Hong Kong dependent visa with my husband.

He is planning to leave his employment in Hong Kong and return to his home country but I am thinking of staying for a couple more years.

What happens with my dependent visa (limit of stay expires in the middle of  2016) when he quits his job and leaves Hong Kong next month?

Can I, too, use my consents to reside in Hong Kong even though only via a dependent visa to look for an employer to then change my visa status?

ANSWER:

Your existing dependent visa allows you to remain in Hong Kong under the same conditions you enjoyed while living with your husband. If your visa is set to expire later this year and your husband is leaving in about a month, you can still stay in Hong Kong under the permissions of your dependent visa. This means you are allowed to seek employment, accept job offers, or even start a business.

Once your dependent visa expires, you will need to apply to the Immigration Department to change your status. You’ll need to provide a rationale for your continued stay in Hong Kong, which in this case would relate to your employment that was permitted under your dependent visa.

When considering your application, the Immigration Department will assess whether you possess special skills, knowledge, or experience that are not readily available in Hong Kong. Generally, if your work is of a professional nature and it’s evident that no local individual could reasonably be expected to fill the position, you may be granted an employment visa to remain in Hong Kong after your dependent visa expires.

I hope this helps!

Check Out VisaGeeza.Ai

All Our Know-How : All Our Experience : Fully Interactive

100% FREE!

More Stuff  You May Find Useful Or Interesting

The Hong Kong Immigration Department Are Out To Deny – Not Approve – Visa  Applications (Aren’t They?)

How A Hong Kong Employment Visa Application Can Go Completely Wrong If You Don’t Know What You’re Doing

Getting A Working Visa For Hong Kong Is Just A Matter Of Filling In The Forms, Isn’t It?

What Are Your Visa Options For Hong Kong Where Your Marriage Has Irretrievably Broken Down

How To Gee Up A Hong Kong Visa Application Where The Process Is Taking Too Long To Finalize

Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa (Business Investment) – A Practical Guide

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Investment Visas, Musing, Resource, VG Front Page / No responses

The Hong Kong entrepreneur visa (business investment) is arguably the most challenging immigration status to acquire in the HKSAR…

On March 21, 2014 I gave a presentation at the Chinese Club entitled Business Immigration to Hong Kong – A Practical Guide. Although more than a decade has passed, the information remains relevant today because the underlying rationale and requirements for the Hong Kong entrepreneur visa have not changed.

In this section of the talk, I talk about  the Hong Kong entrepreneur visa (business investment) and set out how to go about getting one, but in big lines, obtaining approval for an investment visa is one of the most challenging tasks in the realm of Hong Kong immigration. Your goal is to pass the approvability test and clearly demonstrate to the Hong Kong Immigration Department that you can significantly contribute to the overall economy of Hong Kong.

To start, you need to craft a compelling business investment narrative and possess the skills to present it effectively. One useful approach is to envision yourself persuading a wealthy, self-made relative to financially support your business plan for Hong Kong.

After sharing your detailed plans, would you believe that he would choose to invest his hard-earned money to help you launch your venture in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)? This mental exercise serves as a barometer for how the Immigration Department may perceive your story. If your uncle wouldn’t be convinced, what makes you think the HKID will be?

Assuming your narrative is strong, you then need to consider the three critical components—what I refer to as the “approvability stool”—necessary for securing an investment visa approval: 1. Will you create local employment opportunities in the near future? 2. Are you planning to secure appropriate business premises right from the start? 3. Do you have real capital to invest, as this visa type inherently requires financial investment? Whether your available investment funds are modest or substantial, the HKID will also expect to see a range of additional resources you plan to utilize in your proposed Hong Kong business. This can include partnerships, confirmed business engagements, exclusive contracts with successful companies, bank guarantees, and endorsements from local businesses or notable figures, as well as a proven track record of personal and business achievements—essentially any resources that will help set your business on the path to success.

There are also two essential elements present in every investment visa approval we have facilitated over the past 20 years: an unwavering commitment to your venture and an evident entrepreneurial spirit. This drive is abundant in Hong Kong and serves as a benchmark against which all investment visa applications are evaluated by the HKID. If you lack enthusiasm for the potential success of your new business, regardless of how well-resourced it may be, this will undoubtedly reflect in how you present your narrative and manage your application. Therefore, think big, communicate confidently, substantiate your claims with strong documentation, and ensure your application is handled promptly.

Check Out VisaGeeza.Ai

All Our Know-How : All Our Experience : Fully Interactive

100% FREE!

More Stuff You May Find Useful Or Interesting

Hong Kong Nvestment Visa – The Three Legs Of The Approvability Stool

Business Investment Visas – A Leg Up For Start Ups

The Remarkable Tale Of A Hong Kong Investment Visa Approval – Buying A Restaurant, Savings Jobs And Managing Remotely

What Does It Take To Get A Hong Kong Investment Visa Approved?

Hong Kong Investment Visas And Joseph Heller – What’s The Connection?