How Important Are Employment Testimonials In A Hong Kong QMAS Visa Application?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Special Programmes, Your Question Answered / No responses

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 Olympiad with a medal to your name, the odds of an approval are a lot higher. However, if you’re applying under the General Points Test, your educational accomplishments, professional background and career achievements to date are of vital importance. As is documenting them…

QUESTION

“Hi,

The QMAS visa documentation requires “Copies of testimonials from every employer claimed as relevant to your application.”

– Is it same as experience letters from current and ex-employers?

– If not, is there any particular format of these letters?

– Is it a mandatory document?

Thanks so  much!”

ANSWER

The Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, the quality of the documentation and supporting information that you’re going to submit in support of the application is of utmost priority.

Therefore, when you ask whether the copies of testimonials from other employer claims as relevant to your application and/or if they are the same as experience letters from current or ex-employers? Well, you could say it’s the same, but really what the immigration department are looking for is for tacit and express confirmation of the work experience that you’ve actually had once you were in those employments and it must go beyond just written confirmation that you say worked from this time to that time and you have such a job title. So, it really does go to the heart of the work that you’re doing when you’re working for those organizations.

There is no specific format, but you should try hard if at all possible to engage with past employers to speak in detail about what you actually did and contributed during your employment with them, as this is the only way immigration department can collaborate your claim on the application.

In terms of the mandatory nature of these testimonials, you could say that everything is mandatory if you expect the immigration department to approve the application. Typically, if they ask for something you should try your ever best to give it to them. If you find it is practically impossible as it can be because of sensitive area by past employments, if it’s practically impossible to get current and past employers to speak to the exact experience and quality of your work, or indeed your proven accomplishments while you were working for them, you might want to consider providing an independent third-party validation of the work that you were doing through, for example, the parties you interacted with who are credible and are able to substantiate in a roundabout way. The representation in the sections that you marked on the application but you find yourself unable to get the express confirmation from your prior employers.

So yes, thinking that would be, well actually could help to get such information in the hands of the immigration department without specifically putting your ex-employers to the task and the challenge in terms of authenticating what you achieved in the past while you were working for them but that should be taken as an adjunct to the confirmation of your employment and shouldn’t be a replacement for those testimonials.

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Is It A Good Or A Bad Sign That The HKID Keep Coming Back With Further Requests For Information?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Family Visas, Investment Visas, Refusals & Appeals, Special Programmes, Visitor Visas, Your Question Answered / No responses

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 would appear to be a straightforward application, two sets of requests for further information have been sent by the Hong Kong Immigration Department.

One would have thought that they would have put all the relevant questions in one letter.

Is is usual to receive multiple requests like this?

Thanks”

ANSWER

The answer to this question very much depends on the type of visa application that’s in play.

For example, if it’s an investment visa application, that is a business investment visa application. Having three to four submissions subsequent to the initial application paperwork is not unusual at all and that usually plays out over the course of three to four months.

If it’s an employment visa application then two, three, four isn’t completely out of the ordinary, although four tends to be on the on the heavy end as it were.

Two to three is the middling range, and the reason why the immigration departments are making these requests for additional information is because they are building the story for themselves so that they can have specific clarification on the documents that have been submitted prior. So, it just depends very much on how substantial the first application is that went in.

It then depends on how the second request for information was dealt with, but a third and potentially a fourth could be a symptom of the weakness in the first set of information that you’ve put in or it could simply be that further questions have been raised as a result of the earlier information that they just need clarifying on.

So, it’s not out of the ordinary, I wouldn’t worry about it too much if you’ve got what you perceive to be a pretty straightforward case then it probably is a straightforward case. They’re just ticking some boxes and crossing and dotting the eyes and crossing the t’s to make sure that they can give the right outcome.

They do have a responsibility of course to consider all the factors and all the circumstances so I always view a request for further and better particulars as a good positive sign that things are going okay in the application rather than a negative sign. If it was a really negative sign you’d kind of expect that you’d get a denial rather than request for further information of the backend like that. Okay, hope that helps.

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10 Must Have Resources For A Hong Kong Legal Dependant Visa

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Family Visas, Musing, Resource / 10 responses

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 process of acquiring a dependant visa for Hong Kong. Remember, for temporary residents this means visas for spouse and unmarried dependant children under the age of 18 or otherwise in full time education.  For permanent and other long stay residents, you can add dependant parents over the age of 60 to those who are eligible.

SAME SEX PARTNER UPDATE – New Law From 2018

PLAN – Getting Started On Your Hong Kong Dependant Visa Application

CHECKLIST – The Documents You Need For Your Hong Kong Dependant Visa Application

OFFICIAL FORMS – The Forms Used To Apply For And Secure A Dependant Visa For Hong Kong

MOVIE – What Your Spouse Can Expect During The Dependant Visa Application Process

MAINLAND SPOUSE – Can You Get A Hong Kong Dependant Visa For Him Or Her – Will They Qualify?

NOT MARRIED YET? – But Thinking About It For The Purposes Of A Getting A Hong Kong Dependant Visa?

MARRIAGE  BROKEN DOWN? – What To Do If  You Can No Longer Maintain Your Dependant Visa Due To Relationship Break Up

CASE STUDY – The Visa Situation For A Non Traditional, Blended Family Situation In Hong Kong

D-I-Y VISA KIT – Everything You Need To Apply For A Secure Hong Kong Dependant Visa

EXTENSION – Extending Your Hong Kong Dependent Visa When It Is Coming Up For Renewal

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If I Get A Hong Kong Investment Visa Can I Consult To A Single Client Only As A Pseudo-Employee?

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

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 work with an investment visa.

The answer I got from immigration was that I cannot take up a full-time position when holding only an investment visa and that I should instead apply for a work visa. I was wondering if there is any possibility or workaround?

The consulting position is related to my start-up, so I thought about asking the organization to contract my company as a consultant.

I would appreciate your advice on my case.

ANSWER

When you get an Investment Visa for Hong Kong, you essentially have persuaded the Immigration Department that you’re in a position to substantially contribute to the economy of Hong Kong; on the other hand, if you take an Employment Visa from the Immigration Department, you’ve satisfied them that you possess a special set of skills, knowledge, or experience of value to and not readily available in Hong Kong.

Therefore, the question that begs to be answered is: if you secure an investment visa and then the circumstances in your business change to the extent that you now have an opportunity to work for a single client providing Consulting Services, is it lawful to engage in that kind of activity given that you’ve got an investment Visa predicated on a much wider array of anticipated commercial objectives and activities that you’ve engaged in?

The short answer to this questions is no, you can’t get an investment visa and then go into a Consulting Arrangement one to one which is for all practical purposes a pseudo-employment. In other words, if you get an investment visa and your plans change after your approval it’s okay to pivot your business if you’re moving on to perhaps do other things or pursue objectives that are slightly different or at least adjacent to those which were originally covered in your approval for your Investment Visa, but it’s different if after approval all of a sudden you want to use your Investment Visa as a mean to join in what is reality is a one-man-business providing Consulting Services to a single employer (client) in this instance.

So, the short answer is no, you can’t use the investment visa to work for a single employer on a Consulting Basis.

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Hong Kong IANG Work Visa For Non-Local Graduates: The Ultimate Guide

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Musing / No responses

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 edge as an international business hub. In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through the eligibility criteria, application process, and the benefits of obtaining an IANG work visa.

IANG Work Visa – Who is Eligible?

Under the IANG, non-local graduates can apply for an employment visa under a liberalized approvability test. The eligibility depends on the time elapsed since the applicant’s graduation:

1. Fresh Graduates: Non-local graduates who submit applications within six months of their graduation date are classified as “fresh graduates.” They are not required to secure a job offer as part of their application, and the approval is almost guaranteed, provided they meet the necessary criteria.
2. Returning Graduates: Non-local graduates who submit applications after six months of their graduation date are classified as “returning graduates.” They must secure a job offer in Hong Kong to obtain an employment visa. The applications are favorably considered as long as the job is suitable and the remuneration package is set at market levels.

Application Process for the IANG Work Visa

For Fresh Graduates:

1. Submitting Your Application: The application for an employment visa under IANG can be submitted online through the Immigration Department’s (ImmD) online application submission portal.
2. Approvability Test: Fresh graduates must provide proof of graduation within the six-month limit.
3. Consideration Process: The consideration process primarily occurs through email and/or fax. The processing time typically ranges between four to six weeks. Once approved, the ImmD will send a notice informing the applicant and provide an Approval Letter.
4. Visa Duration: Upon approval, the initial period of stay under the employment visa granted through IANG is 24 months. The visa can be extended for three years, following the 2-3-3 year pattern, as long as the applicant continues to meet the necessary criteria.

For Returning Graduates:

1. Submitting Your Application: Returning graduates can also submit their application online through the ImmD’s online portal.
2. Approvability Test: Returning graduates must provide proof of graduation with no time limit and an offer of employment in Hong Kong that is commensurate with their education level and offers a remuneration package set at market levels.
3. Consideration Process: The consideration process for returning graduates is similar to fresh graduates, with a processing time of four to six weeks.
4. Visa Duration: The initial period of stay under the employment visa for returning graduates is also 24 months, extendable following the 2-3-3 year pattern.

Benefits of Obtaining an IANG Work Visa

One of the key advantages of the IANG work visa is the flexibility it offers. Holders of employment visas issued under IANG can change employers without needing prior approval from ImmD. This flexibility allows visa holders to explore different career opportunities and contribute to Hong Kong’s diverse workforce.

IANG Work Visa – Refusal & Appeal Process

In the event of an application denial, applicants can start the appeal process with a formal request for Reconsideration. Necessary documents such as recent photographs, passport details, graduation certificates, and proof of academic qualifications/transcripts need to be provided for the appeal.

How to Apply for an IANG Work Visa

To apply for an IANG work visa, visit the Immigration Department’s online application submission portal. Make sure to carefully follow the instructions and provide all the required documents, including proof of graduation and job offer, depending on whether you are a fresh or returning graduate.

For detailed information and guidance on the application process, you can visit ImmD’s official website.

IANG Work Visa – The Last Word

Obtaining an IANG work visa opens up exciting career opportunities for non-local graduates in Hong Kong. With a streamlined application process and attractive benefits like flexibility in changing employers and bringing dependents, the IANG work visa is an excellent immigration mechanums.

To ensure a smooth application process for a non-local graduate visa in Hong Kong, it’s important to consult the Hong Kong Visa Handbook website. This valuable resource contains two essential documents that you should download and review: the Hong Kong Non-Local Graduates Visa Information and the Hong Kong Non-Local Graduates Checklist.

Additionally, the Handbook offers Non-Local Graduate Visa Application Templates specifically designed for non-local graduates and useful insights into What the Immigration Department Look for When Establishing the ‘Bones Fides’ of a Hong Kong Employer as a Suitable Credible Sponsor Under the Immigration Arrangements for Non-Local Graduates.

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I Lived In Hong Kong For 11 Years – And Have Been Gone For The Last 7 – Can I Still Get Permanent Residency?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Long Stay & PR, Your Question Answered / No responses

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 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, I’m not sure if it’s a common scenario or not.

I was born in Singapore and I lived in Hong Kong from 1994 – 2005 (11 years) and moved when I was nearly 11 because of my father’s job, and it has now been 13 years since I left to go and live in Thailand.

My mother has a Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card (and was working for an airline there) but I do not. I had a dependant visa endorsed in my passport at the time I left with my parents.

This usually wouldn’t be a problem after leaving Hong Kong, however, there are two education sponsorship programs that I would like to apply for in Hong Kong which require you to have a permanent HKID.

I have gone to the immigration office about three times in the past 7 years as we do go back quite often, and every time we ask an officer, he says “if you are living in Hong Kong, you can apply for permanent residency.”

Is this true?

Seeing as I have already clocked up 11 years in Hong Kong, all I am missing in the application form is the current residency card.

Does this mean that if I go to university in Hong Kong starting August this year, that I could get my residency card, and then with that, apply for my permanent residency?

The way I see it, although I have been away for a considerably long time, but I am coming back, so this would technically be my 11th year total living in Hong Kong (and I have proof of having been there for 7 years ‘ordinarily’ with my school records, etc.)

I hope my question was clear enough and thank you very much in advance!

ANSWER

This is a very interesting question and it does strike a chord with quite a number of people in Hong Kong who find themselves in your situation.

So, I’m grateful to you for having raised the question and hopefully, I can shed some light on the situation and how your present Immigration Service in Hong Kong is affected by your life circumstances.

Your mother is a permanent Hong Kong Identity Card holder and on the basis that you had been born in Hong Kong and your mother had been a permanent Identity Card holder at that time then at the point of your birth your eligibility for a permanent Identity Card would have been established and effectively in the wake of that there could have been a very good opportunity for you to continue to argue now, so many years later that you are a permanent resident of Hong Kong.

However, that’s some theoretical and hypothetical in this situation because you weren’t born in Hong Kong, you were born in Singapore. So consequently, your eligibility for permanent Identity Card wasn’t established at the time of your birth and consequently, it meant that the immigration status that was available to you when you came back to Hong Kong with your mother was that at of a dependant Visa and as you’ve stated in your question you held the dependant Visa all the way through to the age of 11 and then effectively you left Hong Kong.

Now the interesting thing is that after you had been in Hong Kong as a dependant Visa holder just after your seventh, possibly your eighth birthday, you could have (or your parents could have) made an application to have your eligibility for a permanent Identity Card verified at the age of 11 years of age on the strength that you had been ordinarily resident in Hong Kong with your parents for a minimum of seven years and at that point you would have effectively been in the driving seat for a permanent Identity Card.

Subsequently, once you got to the age of eleven years when the Identity Card is issued to you and had that been, if that had occurred in fact, then effectively at the age of eleven you would have had your Identity Card issued to you possibly before you left Hong Kong and then on the basis that you have been back in Hong Kong on at least one occasion every three years thereafter your permanent Identity Card state, your right of abode in fact would have been maintained and effectively the question that you’re asking today would have been answered in the affirmative.

However, unfortunately because you only held a dependant visa for the first eleven years of your life in Hong Kong, at the time that you left with your parents to go off to Thailand effectively you abandoned your continuous ordinary residence at that time and what that means is that when you come back to Hong Kong in the future you’re going to have to get a student visa and the first eleven years of your life in Hong Kong effectively would have been lost.

So, it’s unfortunate, it’s certainly not going to assist you with the sponsorship programs that you’re lining up to make an application for but if it is any kind of consolation effectively what will happen in terms of your life going forward is that you’ll come back to Hong Kong as a student.

One would assume that you’ll spend three years here as a student, you’ll graduate. You’ll be able to join the workforce straight away if you start working for a Hong Kong employer within six months of you having graduated from university because the immigration arrangements for non-local graduates give you those privileges.

So that is, that’s effectively  going to take you to three and a half years and one assumes that a three to a four-year working career in Hong Kong we’ll have seen you continuously non-ordinary residence in Hong Kong again for the requisite seven years and then you’ll be able to go on to secure the right of abode as an adult in your own right but unfortunately in light of the facts that we’ve got in your question at the moment, you’re not going to be able to secure the right of abode at this point in time.

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What Are The Obligations Of An Employer To A Prospective Employee When An Application For A Hong Kong Employment Visa Has Been Refused?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Musing, Refusals & Appeals / 4 responses

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 job letter with all terms and conditions and I provided them all documents requested for the visa.

After about a month, a received an email from the company: my employment visa application was refused, as ImmD consider my position could be filled my a person from the local labour market.

I tried to convince my boss to make the application again but they denied saying that a successful result was not guaranteed and they could not wait longer.

Basics of the position:

– Native spanish, fluent english, experience in sales and customer service.

– Salary 16,000 hkd per month

My questions are:

(1)  Doesn’t the company have any responsibility in the application process about starting again the application (in the offer letter says the employment is subject to the Visa working permit)?

(2) Is it common that after a visa application is rejected the company does not provide any help or solution?

(3) Taking into account that companies try always to employ people who already has visa to save money and time, how much is the cost of the working visa for them?

Thank you in advance.

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