4 Realistically Achievable Visas | Live | Work | Establish A Business In Hong Kong | Employment Visa

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Feature Article, Musing / 1 response

Establish A Business In Hong Kong | Employment Visa | Can You Get One?

 

 

Practice Update 2026 – This content must be read in light of changes to ImmD practice since it was first published.

Historically, as examined by the Hong Kong Visa Geeza in 4 Realistically Achievable Visas | Live | Work | Establish A Business In Hong Kong | Employment Visa, securing an employment visa under the General Employment Policy (GEP) was characterized as one of the most accessible, predictable, and realistically achievable gateways to establishing long-term residence in the HKSAR. In that legacy era, the criteria for approval were applied through pragmatic administrative discretion. A foreign professional possessing a tertiary degree or demonstrable technical background, supported by an employer willing to articulate a credible organizational need, could navigate the application process with relative ease. Case officers evaluated corporate sponsors under a broad suitability and credibility standard, routinely approving sponsorships even where the employing company was modest in scale, operating from serviced premises, or offering entry-to-mid-level compensation packages. Provided the employment terms appeared commercially reasonable in the round, the GEP was widely regarded as a dependable, low-friction mechanism to transition from abroad into the Hong Kong workforce.

Under the definitive assessment framework detailed in GEP Work Visa Policy Enters A New Era, the Immigration Department (ImmD) has fundamentally transformed the GEP from an accessible entry-level channel into a stringent, contribution-driven gatekeeping regime. The concept of the work visa as an easily secured or standard route for foreign professionals has been dismantled in favor of an uncompromising skills-shortage and corporate compliance audit. To secure approval today, the sponsoring employer must satisfy an onerous evidentiary burden: conducting exhaustive, verifiable local recruitment campaigns to prove that the domestic workforce cannot fill the opening, providing dedicated physical commercial premises, and demonstrating active Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) contributions for local Hong Kong permanent resident employees. Simultaneously, the candidate’s proposed remuneration is forensically benchmarked against prevailing market-rate compensation data and verified against Inland Revenue Department (IRD) Salaries Tax parameters. Sponsoring overseas hires for ordinary administrative or intermediate positions at baseline wages is summarily refused.

Stephen Barnes, the Hong Kong Visa Geeza, states:

“The days when a standard GEP employment visa could be taken for granted as a ‘realistically achievable’ entry ticket for any qualified expatriate with a willing sponsor are officially over. ImmD has radically recalibrated its assessment standard to protect the local labor market and admit only elite, irreplaceable talent backed by verifiable corporate substance. If an employer cannot demonstrate unencumbered domestic capitalization, continuous local MPF payroll, and genuine local recruitment failure, or if the offered salary fails to meet rigorous market-rate benchmarks, the application will be refused without hesitation. Treating the modern GEP as a routine formality invites immediate failure, terminating lawful entry and closing the door on the seven-year continuous ordinary residence pathway to the Right of Abode.”

The employment visa under the General Employment Policy is detailed in this video …

 

 

Establish a business in Hong Kong and get yourself an employment visa? A few years ago, I was invited by the good guys at WYND to give a talk about the Hong Kong visas that are the most realistically achievable to live, work or establish a business in Hong Kong. So, if you’re a foreign national hoping to establish a business in Hong Kong, you may be wondering about the visa requirements. One of the options available to you is the regular employment visa IF your company is already ‘well established’.

Employment Visa?

The regular employment visa is designed for foreign nationals who have professional skills, knowledge, or experience that are not readily available in Hong Kong. To qualify for approval, you must meet a specific set of criteria as assessed by the Immigration Department. One of these is that your company must already be ‘well-established’

Well-Established?

This means that the company that you own:

1. Has been trading for at least 12 months.
2. Ideally profitably.
3. Is already an employer of Hong Kong locals.
4. Has suitable business premises.
5. Has sufficient funds to operate solvently.

Who Can Apply?

To be deemed a Professional for the purposes of this visa, the Immigration Department is looking for applicants who have a university degree and at least two years of post-graduation working experience in a managerial or supervisory capacity.

If you don’t have a university degree but have technical qualifications, then you must have at least five years of post-qualification working experience in similar roles.

For those who only have a high school education, the Immigration Department expects to see that you have at least ten years of post-secondary working experience in a managerial or supervisory capacity.

How To Get One?

To secure a regular employment visa if you’re ‘establishing a business’ you need to be at least a 50% shareholder in a well-established company registered Hong Kong company. You need an employment contract with your own enterprise with compensation broadly commensurate with market rates.

The Immigration Department will look into the company’s history, including its turnover, local staffing, and business operations, to ensure that it’s a bona fide sponsor.

If you successfully obtain a regular employment visa, you’ll receive a two-year stay limit. This visa only allows you to work for the business that has sponsored you, doing the specific work outlined in your contract.

These criteria can be adjusted depending on the actual circumstances of the application but generally stated a wholly new company cannot expect to secure an employment visa for one of the founding-owners. It’s the business investment visa as an entrepreneur which is the correct visa type to apply for as new companies are by definition not ‘well established’ and so the criteria for approval is to demonstrate that the new business can contribute substantially to the economy of Hong Kong in order to anticipate approval.

Can You Establish a Business on the Side?

If you are an out-and-out employee working for a third-party employer and want to establish a side business or do some freelancing, you may apply for permission from the Immigration Department. You must have written approval from your employer that they have no objection to your side endeavours.

Last Words …

Obtaining a regular employment visa CAN be a way to establish a successful business in Hong Kong. However, make sure to fulfil all the requirements and understand the limitations of the visa before starting your business.

VisaGeeza.Ai – Making Hong Kong Immigration Easier

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The Rest of the Series

1 – Introduction

2 – Policy

3 – Shenzhen Shuttle

4 – Just Visiting

5 –  Working Holiday Visa

6 – Employment Visa

7 – Study-then-Work Visa

8 – Investment Visa

9 – Loved Ones

10 – Big Question Answered

Can You Keep Your Hong Kong Employment Visa If You Are Being Transferred To Live & Work In China?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Family Visas, Long Stay & PR, Musing / 2 responses

Can You Keep Your Hong Kong Employment Visa If You’re Being Relocated to China?

Can You Live in China Yet Remain a HK Resident with A Valid Hong Kong Employment Visa?

Practice Update 2026 – This content must be read in light of changes to ImmD practice since it was first published.

“The notion that you can relocate your family to live and work in Mainland China while maintaining a Hong Kong GEP work visa as a passive convenience to run down the seven-year clock to the Right of Abode is completely unviable under ImmD’s modern enforcement regime. Today, holding an employment visa requires active, verifiable physical presence and genuine domestic economic contribution in Hong Kong. Keeping an employee on a local payroll while they reside in Shanghai will not survive ImmD’s forensic audit of tax filings, MPF records, and border movements at the point of extension. When ImmD discovers your primary residence and day-to-day duties have shifted to the Mainland, the extension will be refused, extinguishing your lawful status, revoking all derivative dependant visas, and permanently destroying any accumulated qualifying residence toward permanent residency.”

Stephen Barnes – Hong Kong Visa Geeza

Keep Your Hong Kong Employment Visa While Living in China? Historically, as examined by the Hong Kong Visa Geeza in Can You Keep Your Hong Kong Employment Visa If You Are Being Transferred To Live & Work In China?, corporate transferees relocated to the Mainland by a Hong Kong employer often sought to retain their General Employment Policy (GEP) work visas and family dependant permissions under discretionary administrative arrangements. In that legacy era, foreign professionals frequently attempted to keep their Hong Kong resident status alive while physically living and working in cities like Shanghai or Beijing, returning to the HKSAR periodically for business meetings or family visits. Provided the employing entity kept the employee on its local Hong Kong corporate payroll, maintained continuous Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) contributions, and submitted an articulate commercial narrative explaining the cross-border secondment, the Immigration Department (ImmD) routinely exercised qualitative leniency at renewal. Visa extensions were often granted on the strength of the ongoing Hong Kong employment contract, allowing families to nurse an unbroken paper trail of continuous ordinary residence toward the seven-year Right of Abode (ROA) threshold despite their primary domestic center of life shifting across the boundary.

Under the definitive assessment framework detailed in GEP Work Visa Policy Enters A New Era, ImmD has firmly closed the door on maintaining “paper” employment visas for professionals whose operational and physical reality has relocated out of the territory. The contemporary GEP operates under an unyielding compliance regime that strictly ties lawful stay to active, localized economic contribution and genuine in-territory presence. Adjudicating officers now cross-reference visa extension filings directly against Inland Revenue Department (IRD) Salaries Tax assessments to verify assessable in-territory income, inspect corporate operational hardware, and scrutinize historical boundary movement records. If an employee is stationed predominantly in Mainland China and the family’s habitual residence has relocated, ImmD treats the GEP sponsorship as compromised, refusing extensions of stay for both the employee and their accompanying dependants. More critically, settled common law principles governing ordinary residence under Section 2(4) of the Immigration Ordinance strictly bar individuals from claiming continuous residence for permanent residency when their principal domestic home and primary employment duties have been relocated abroad.

QUESTION

We are a married couple with children and have lived in Hong Kong for 3.5 years. 

We are moving to Shanghai soon (my husband’s employer is moving us).   

We currently have a Hong Kong employment visa for my husband and dependent visas for myself and kids; these expire a couple months after we move. 

We still plan to visit Hong Kong reasonably frequently (every 3-4 months) after we leave. 

 Is there any way for us to maintain Hong Kong residence after we move, (i.e. renew and maintain our existing visas)? 

 In case it’s relevant, while we have been living in Hong Kong, almost all of my husband’s work has actually been conducted in mainland China (he travels there all the time) we just live here.

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How Can I Prove The Veracity Of My CV For My Hong Kong Employment Visa Application If A Prior Employer Is No Longer In Business?

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

Hong Kong Employment Visa Application

How Can I Prove The Veracity Of My CV  If A Prior Employer Is No Longer In Business?

 

 

Practice Update 2026 – This content must be read in light of changes to ImmD practice since it was first published.

Historically, as examined by the Hong Kong Visa Geeza in How Can I Prove The Veracity Of My CV For My Hong Kong Employment Visa Application If A Prior Employer Is No Longer In Business?, substantiating the claims made on an applicant’s curriculum vitae was approached through flexible, pragmatic evidentiary principles. Under the legacy General Employment Policy (GEP) framework, if a candidate claimed specialized skills or prior professional experience from a defunct enterprise, the absence of a formal, contemporaneous employment reference letter was not a fatal obstacle. The Immigration Department (ImmD) operated under a holistic burden of proof: an applicant could discharge their evidentiary responsibility by adducing secondary documentation, such as historical tax returns, old employment contracts, bank statements evidencing salary deposits, corporate dissolution notices, or statutory declarations. Case officers exercised qualitative administrative discretion, routinely accepting a cohesive, plausible reconstruction of an applicant’s career trajectory without rejecting files over missing institutional paperwork.

Under the definitive assessment framework detailed in GEP Work Visa Policy Enters A New Era, ImmD has replaced qualitative leniency with an aggressive, forensic verification regime governing professional credentials, career bona fides, and human capital metrics. In this modern enforcement climate, CV claims are no longer evaluated as mere historical context; they are cross-referenced directly against the statutory requirement that the applicant possesses special skills, knowledge, or experience not readily available in the local workforce. Where an overseas applicant asserts niche expertise or supervisory depth to justify why a position cannot be filled by the domestic talent pool, case officers demand uncompromised, verifiable third-party proof. Defunct employers, missing reference letters, or ambiguous employment gaps trigger heightened scrutiny and formal requests for particulars, requiring cross-jurisdictional tax records or institutional verification. If an applicant cannot conclusively substantiate the veracity of their track record to support the employer’s genuine recruitment shortage claim—benchmarked against market-rate compensation verifiable by the Inland Revenue Department—the application faces summary refusal.

Stephen Barnes – Hong Kong Visa Geeza, states:

“The days of relying on a persuasive narrative and secondary paperwork to paper over gaps on your CV or explain away an uncontactable ex-employer are finished. Under ImmD’s modern scrutiny regime, the burden of proving every line of your professional track record is absolute, because your specific career history is the foundation upon which the employer must prove a genuine local recruitment shortage. If you cannot produce irrefutable documentary evidence of your claimed skills, or if your career credentials fail to justify a genuine market-rate compensation package, ImmD will dismiss your application out of hand. An unverified CV not only terminates the visa application, but any misrepresentation—even by omission—permanently taints your immigration record, closing the door on lawful employment and severing any future pathway toward the Right of Abode.”

 

If you’re claiming skills, knowledge or experience on your CV as part of your argument for a Hong Kong Employment Visa Application – what’s the gig if you can’t fully  support your claims with references or testimonials?

QUESTION

Hi, I am 8 weeks into applying for an employment visa (I’m British).

I have given the documents and a couple of weeks ago had to supply a reference which I managed to get hold of.

And yesterday my would be company heard from them again asking for another reference that was listed on my CV.

However.. the person has now left the company (the company may have even closed and now they have changed careers (it was a 5 year ago position I was referencing).

Do you think it’s OK for this person to state that they have left the company and just provide a letterheaded reference from their current place?

My other friend said it may be tricky.

Please help if you can. I’m not sure what to do.

Thanks a lot!

ANSWER

Naturally enough if you are claiming certain skills and experience on your CV and you’re expecting the Immigration Department to rely on them as being a true and accurate statement of your experience and work capabilities, it’s incumbent upon you to produce the kind of documentation which speaks to the veracity of your CV.

Now, of course, on occasion, it might prove impossible as you’ve encountered to pick up a particular reference from sometime prior particularly if that employer is no longer in business. So usually what the Immigration Department is prepared to do is to at least receive the second best evidence that you can supply and if that happens to be a reference or a document that speaks to your time in that business, or that employer organization and it’s from someone who knew at that time or possible was your superior, the Immigration Department will certainly take that into consideration. Whether it will prove ultimately satisfactory or not, in the final analysis, depends on just how important the time spent in that employment is to the relevance of your current application.

If for example, you’re saying that you’ve been responsible for producing moon widgets for that company and your special skills knowledge and experience for the new employer is to show that you’re going to be producing moon widgets and the Immigration Department have got no way of concluding effectively that you have the experience that you claim, then you know, it could speak to the approvability all told. However, it’s just general affirmation that you spend time in that role in that position, it’s nothing too sensational about it from the approvability perspective, and then you can expect that second best evidence will suffice.

But the final analysis you have the burden of proof in relation to the extent of your CV. So, as far as you can satisfy the requirements the stronger you’re putting yourself forward for an eventual approval.

Okay, I hope you find this useful.

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Considerably Heightened Diligence by ImmD on All Types of Hong Kong Visa Applications

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Family Visas, Investment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Musing, Refusals & Appeals, Sherpa, Visitor Visas / 2 responses

Hong Kong Visa Applications Face Increasingly Rigorous Immigration Scrutiny

Updated November 8, 2026.

Practice Update 2026 – This content must be read in light of changes to ImmD practice since it was first published.

Historically, Hong Kong visa applications, as examined by the Hong Kong Visa Geeza in Considerably Heightened Diligence by ImmD on All Types of Hong Kong Visa Applications, heightened administrative scrutiny was primarily understood as an issue of extended case handling timelines, increased operational friction, and multiple rounds of requests for further and better particulars. Under the earlier General Employment Policy (GEP) framework, applicants and employers experienced this scrutiny as procedural delays—such as processing stretching well beyond standard four-to-six-week targets—and tighter oversight on regulatory touchpoints, including pre-license visa approvals for SFC-regulated entities or close reviews of sponsor bona fides. However, while administrative patience was tested and documentation requirements expanded, the baseline assessment model remained qualitatively discretionary: an articulate submission presenting bona fide corporate credentials, credible professional qualifications, and a coherent narrative justification would eventually cross the approval threshold.

Under the definitive assessment framework detailed in GEP Work Visa Policy Enters A New Era, the Immigration Department (ImmD) has transitioned from merely slowing down processing times to executing an aggressive, substantive compliance and economic contribution audit. Heightened diligence is no longer a matter of administrative delays; it represents an institutional overhaul aimed at dismantling low-substance sponsorships, artificial staffing arrangements, and marginal commercial platforms. Adjudicating officers now mandate empirical proof that the employing entity demonstrates authentic commercial substance, possesses sufficient financial capitalization, and actively maintains local MPF headcount. Concurrently, the applicant must satisfy rigorous market-rate compensation thresholds benchmarked against Inland Revenue Department Salaries Tax parameters, proving that local recruitment efforts were genuine and that local talent cannot fill the role.

Stephen Barnes, the Hong Kong Visa Geeza, states:

“What once manifested as bureaucratic friction and longer processing queues has evolved into an uncompromising, evidence-driven gatekeeping audit across the entire General Employment Policy. ImmD is no longer interested in evaluating whether an application is merely coherent on paper or whether an employer is willing to wait out repeated administrative queries. Today, heightened diligence means a strict forensic interrogation of genuine economic contribution, uncompromised local salary benchmarks, and verifiable corporate substance. Employers attempting to utilize low-overhead corporate shells or nominal directorships to sponsor foreign talent, and professionals treating the GEP work visa as an easily acquired corporate formality, will find their applications summarily refused, bringing a swift end to lawful residence and extinguishing long-term settlement pathways to the Right of Abode.”

 

Heightened ImmD Scrutiny On All Hong Kong Visa Applications

ImmD shifted from a traditional “process and approve” paradigm to an aggressive compliance-and-audit model. This heightened diligence has been driven by several key factors:

1. Abuse of New Talent Schemes: Massive application volumes under the Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS) and QMAS led to illicit intermediaries selling “empty shell” company sponsorships, fake employment contracts, and bogus qualifying credentials.

2. Post-National Security Law & Cross-Agency Scrutiny:  ImmD works in closer coordination with the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), Companies Registry, and Law Enforcement to cross-reference reported wages, company operations, and tax filings.

3. Shift from “Easy Entry” to “Strict Renewal: While entry criteria for schemes like TTPS were made frictionless, ImmD moved its primary enforcement bottleneck to the first extension (renewal), applying strict scrutiny to prevent “dormant” visa holders.

Heightened Diligence Across Visa Types

General Employment Policy (GEP) & AMTP

Substance Over Form for Sponsoring Employers: ImmD scrutinizes sponsoring entities far more aggressively. New, small, or startup sponsors are routinely hit with detailed questionnaires demanding:

1. Commercial lease agreements (virtual offices or shared flex desks without dedicated physical presence are heavily questioned or rejected).
2. Audited financial statements, recent profits tax returns, and bank statements showing verifiable operating cash flow.
3. MPF (Mandatory Provident Fund) contribution records proving current local staff counts.
4. Authenticity of the Role & Local Market Test: ImmD scrutinizes whether the job cannot genuinely be filled by local talent, probing role descriptions that appear reverse-engineered to fit a specific foreign candidate.
5. Criminal Record Declarations: Following high-profile controversies, ImmD introduced mandatory criminal conviction declarations across employment and talent entry categories.

Business Investment / Entrepreneur Visa

Substantial Economic Contribution: Gone are the days when an aspirational business plan and modest seed funding sufficed. ImmD requires clear evidence of actual execution:

1. Physical premises under lease.
2. Proof of committed capital deposited into a Hong Kong corporate bank account.
3. Direct job creation for local Hong Kong permanent residents (MPF records required).

Two-Year Extension Audits: Renewals are no longer routine administrative formalities. ImmD assesses actual performance against original business plans. Failure to generate projected turnover, sustain local employment, or establish viable operations leads to short extensions (e.g., 6–12 months on strict conditions) or refusal.

 Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS) — The Renewal Bottleneck

Income Verification (Category A): ImmD requires official tax assessments (such as official Inland Revenue notices or state tax returns) rather than private company payroll slips or self-generated dividend declarations.

Category B & C Degree Audits: Heightened credential verification requires primary-source validation (e.g., direct verification channels like CHSI/Parchment) to weed out counterfeit qualifications.

Extension Diligence: At renewal, TTPS holders must prove they are in genuine, market-rate employment commensurate with degree level, or that they have established an active business with genuine turnover and local staff. Holding a shell company or receiving a token stipend results in non-renewal.

Dependant Visas

Bona Fide Relationship Checks: Spousal applications—particularly where the sponsor is a recent immigrant, permanent resident, or where there is a large age disparity—face intensive evidentiary burdens (joint leases, joint bank accounts, photographic and travel timelines).

Adequate Financial Maintenance: Sponsors must provide tax receipts, pay slips, and housing proof showing they can support dependants at a standard of living well above the subsistence level without recourse to public assistance.

 Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (New CIES)

Pre-requisite Net Asset Audits: ImmD and InvestHK enforce strict rules requiring applicants to provide Certified Public Accountant (Practicing) audit reports proving continuous net assets of at least HK$30 million for the entire 24 months preceding the application.

Strict Asset Portfolio Monitoring: Ring-fenced assets are subject to stringent oversight with authorized financial intermediaries; unauthorized transfers or failure to maintain asset levels trigger immediate review.

Permanent Residency (Right of Abode – 7-Year Rule)

The “Ordinary Residence” Test: ImmD reviews prolonged absences from Hong Kong (customarily any single absence exceeding 180 days). Applicants must submit extensive documentation proving Hong Kong remained their primary home:

1. Maintenance of a continuous residential address (tenancy contracts/utility bills).
2. Local tax filings covering the full seven-year window.
3. Physical presence of immediate family members in Hong Kong.
4. Evidence that extended overseas stays were on explicit employer assignment with salary paid locally.

 

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General Employment Policy vs Admission Scheme For Mainland Talents & Professionals (GEP vs ASMTP)

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Musing, Special Programmes / 12 responses

How Does The Admission Scheme For Mainland Talents and Professionals (ASMTP) Differ From GEP?

Over 13 years ago, on June 6th, 2013 I was interviewed by five law students from the Chinese University of Hong Kong about my experiences practicing immigration here over the last 20 years. More than 13 years on, in 2026 as I update this post, very little has changed …

Along with the ASMTP visa, we covered a great deal of other ground in the 90 minutes we spent together. The students were: Dickens Roy Ken Lam, Sunny Wong, Toby Yip, Margaret Wo and the lady who asked most of the questions and organised the session on behalf of the group, Jacqueline Cheng.

In this segment, the question posed was:

In real terms what is the difference between the General Employment Policy (GEP) and the Admission Scheme For Mainland Talents & Professionals (ASMTP)?

Practice Update 2026 – This content must be read in light of changes to ImmD practice since it was first published

Historically, in General Employment Policy vs Admission Scheme For Mainland Talents & Professionals (GEP vs ASMTP), the analysis explored the practical and procedural distinctions between Hong Kong’s two primary professional work channels. As Stephen Barnes, the Hong Kong Visa Geeza, outlined, the substantive approvability test between the General Employment Policy (GEP) for foreign nationals and the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals (ASMTP) for Chinese residents of Mainland China was virtually identical: both streams required a genuine job vacancy, a confirmed offer of employment, academic credentials or proven technical abilities, a compensation package commensurate with prevailing market rates, and demonstration that the candidate possessed skills or experience not readily available in the local workforce. The primary historical differences rested on administrative form and post-approval documentation: GEP applicants utilised Forms ID990A and ID990B and received employment entry visas, whereas ASMTP applicants underwent the Mainland Exit-Entry Permit endorsement process via the Public Security Bureau alongside their Hong Kong residence labels, with both streams enjoying discretionary flexibility from the Immigration Department (ImmD) for standard managerial and professional positions.

“For years, practitioners treated GEP and ASMTP as virtually identical twins separated only by nationality and travel documents, but that administrative complacency is officially over. As set out in our definitive analysis, GEP Work Visa Policy Enters a New Era, ImmD has fundamentally transformed the adjudication environment. Today, neither scheme is a rubber-stamp exercise for routine hires. In an era marked by heightened scrutiny following aggressive talent-scheme enforcement, case officers now cross-examine sponsor credibility, corporate bank liquidity, actual physical commercial premises, and genuine local recruitment efforts with unprecedented rigor. Whether processing a foreign expatriate or a Mainland professional, you are no longer just filling out ID990 forms—you are proving indispensable economic substance.”

Stephen Barnes – The Hong Kong Visa Geeza

Today, this landscape has completely hardened as detailed in GEP Work Visa Policy Enters a New Era. Following massive policy shifts, the introduction and subsequent tightening of the Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS), and heightened diligence across all visa types, ImmD no longer applies routine administrative leniency to either GEP or ASMTP petitions. Employers can no longer sponsor foreign or Mainland talent through shell structures, lean home-based setups, or contrived positions lacking extensive local labor market testing. Sponsoring entities must now affirmatively substantiate bona fide physical office operations, robust commercial revenue, and active local MPF payroll, while candidates must document concrete technical exclusivity rather than generalized supervisory experience. While GEP and ASMTP still mirror one another in their statutory baseline, both now operate under an uncompromising standard of proof where discretionary waivers have vanished and corporate sponsor bona fides are tested to an institutional threshold.

 

How To Qualify For An ASMTP Visa?

To obtain an ASMTP (Admission of Mainland Talents & Professionals Scheme) visa in Hong Kong, applicants must meet specific criteria and provide the necessary qualifications and documents. Here is a detailed explanation of the process and requirements:

ASMTP Eligibility Criteria

1. Applicants must be Chinese national professionals and talents as defined by the ASMTP scheme of the Hong Kong Immigration Department.
2. They should have a good educational background, typically a bachelor’s degree, and at least two years of post-graduation work experience in a managerial or supervisory role.
3. In certain cases, the Immigration Department may accept good technical qualifications, fully documented and proven professional abilities, and extensive relevant work experience instead of a formal university education.
4. The applicant must possess special skills, knowledge, or experience that are valued in Hong Kong and not readily available within the local workforce.
5. They should be of good character.
6. The compensation package for the job, including income, accommodation, medical, and other fringe benefits, must be broadly commensurate with market rates.
7. The employing enterprise must be deemed a suitable and credible ASMTP visa sponsor by the Immigration Department.

ASMTP Qualifications and Documents

Application forms ID990A (applicant/employee) and ID990B (employer/sponsor) are required. Other documents include marriage certificate, birth certificate for children, recent passport photographs for all family members, copy of Exit-Entry Permit for all family members, copy of up-to-date CV for the applicant/employee, photocopy of all graduation certificates/proof of academic qualifications, copies of prior employment references and testimonials, copy letter of endorsement from the applicant’s present working unit on the mainland, copy letter of engagement or contract of employment, copy of business registration certificate, copy of latest audited financial report and/or management accounts, copy of the most recent annual return filed with the Registrar of Companies, detailed letter introducing the company, its business and list of staff, company brochure, sales publications, press articles, and any similar promotional materials, general proofs of business such as trading documentation, shipping documents, invoices, contracts, agency and distribution agreements, office tenancy agreement copy, and more. High-quality scanned marriage and birth certificates need to be in English or Chinese or provided as official certified translations.

ASMTP Forms Are ID990A and ID990B

Form ID990A is for the applicant/employee, while form ID990B is for the employer/sponsor. These forms gather essential information about the applicant’s personal details, educational background, work experience, and the employer’s information.

ASMTP Approvability Test

1. The Approvability Test is a crucial part of the ASMTP visa application process.
2. It involves demonstrating that the applicant possesses special skills, knowledge, or experience of value to Hong Kong and that their employer can justify engaging the services of an expatriate Chinese staff member.
3. Applications generally fall into three categories: Chinese intra-company transferees, locally recruited Chinese expats, or Chinese talents specifically recruited from China for the role. Each category requires a different approach in presenting the case for an ASMTP visa approval:

(a) Intra-company transferee cases are usually administrative, with minimal need for substantive argument. 

(b) Locally recruited Chinese national talent or professional cases are mainly administrative if the applicant has resided in Hong Kong for more than a few years and is changing jobs within the same industry. Otherwise, a thorough argument is required. 

(c) Non-local Chinese national talents and professionals specifically recruited from China require meticulous preparation and presentation, especially if the hiring company is newly established or not particularly sizable.

Developing A Strong ASMTP Case Argument

1. To maximize the chances of approval, a strong case argument must be developed.
2. The argument should consider the applicant’s circumstances, the context of the job offer, and the specific needs of the proposed employer’s business.
3. The applicant’s unique skills must be interwoven throughout the argument.
4. Key factors to consider include the applicant’s educational background, the genuine job vacancy, the confirmed offer of employment, and the relevance of the job to their qualifications or working experience.
5. It is crucial to demonstrate that the job cannot be readily taken up by the local workforce and that the remuneration package is broadly commensurate with the prevailing market level for professionals in Hong Kong.

ASMTP Visa Submission and Consideration Process

1. The application can be submitted to the Immigration Department HQ either online or in person at the Receipt & Dispatch Unit or via the Quality Migrants and Mainland Residents Section if the applicant is already a Hong Kong resident and seeking to change their current ASMTP visa employer and sponsorship.
2. The processing time for an ASMTP visa application is usually between four and six weeks, but it can be longer in more complex cases.
3. It is rare for a case, unless it is an intra-company transferee type, to be approved without some dialogue with the Immigration Department.
4. The department may raise questions and request further information, which should be submitted within 14 days.
5. The Approvability Test should be thoroughly addressed in the materials submitted in response to these requests.
6. Once the application is approved, the Immigration Department will send a notice of the positive outcome and invite the applicant to complete the approval formalities.

Exit-Entry Permit Approval Formalities

Upon approval, all family members will need to have their Exit-Entry Permits endorsed for residence by the Public Security Bureau in their hometown in China.

Dependent Visas Under ASMTP

1. Dependent visas for qualifying accompanying family members under ASMTP are issued as a matter of course.
2. Marriage or civil partnership must be certified, and the children must be the biological or adopted offspring of at least one of the parents.
3. Dependent visa holders are permitted to work, establish or join a business, or study without requiring further permissions from the Immigration Department.

ASMTP Checklists & Videos

Hong Kong Visa Sherpa – ASMTP Application

Hong Kong Visa Sherpa – Checklist for ASMTP Application 

 Hong Kong Visa Sherpa – ASMTP Application with Family

Hong Kong Visa Sherpa – Checklist for ASMTP Application with Family

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Must The Employing Company Sponsor Of My Hong Kong Work Visa Application Be Profitable?

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

Hong Kong Work Visa Application?

How important is sponsor-profitability, especially for start up businesses less than 12 months old?

Practice Update 2026 – This content must be read in light of changes to ImmD practice since it was first published.

Hong Kong Work Visa Application? Historically, as examined by the Hong Kong Visa Geeza in Must The Employing Company Sponsor Of My Hong Kong Work Visa Application Be Profitable?, a sponsoring company’s lack of immediate or historical accounting profitability was not a fatal obstacle to securing a General Employment Policy (GEP) work visa. Under that earlier discretionary regime, the Immigration Department (ImmD) evaluated an employer’s suitability and credibility in the round. If a business was operating at an accounting loss—whether due to early-stage venture scaling, upfront capital expenditures, or standard cyclical downturns—an approvable case could still be established by showing that the entity possessed sufficient financial capitalization, authentic shareholder backing, or verified liquidity to meet its operational runway and service its payroll obligations. As long as the commercial narrative made practical sense and the applicant’s skills were demonstrably needed to drive future growth, case officers routinely granted approvals without insisting on profitable audited accounts.

“The historical understanding that a sponsoring employer doesn’t need to be profitable has led too many applicants into a dangerous sense of complacency under ImmD’s modern enforcement mandate. While accounting profitability is not an absolute statutory test, an employer operating in the red must now present undeniable proof of financial solvency, verified local cash liquidity, and continuous local MPF contributions to be accepted as a credible sponsor. If a loss-making entity cannot conclusively demonstrate that it possesses the capital hardware to sustain market-rate foreign salaries alongside local headcount, ImmD will dismiss the sponsorship as an unsustainable or contrived vehicle. That refusal leaves the foreign employee without lawful status, abruptly terminating their permission to stay and permanently severing their seven-year pathway toward the Right of Abode.”

Stephen Barnes – Hong Kong Visa Geeza

Under the definitive assessment framework detailed in GEP Work Visa Policy Enters A New Era, ImmD has significantly raised the evidentiary bar regarding corporate solvency, financial sustainability, and economic contribution. While statutory rules do not strictly mandate that an employer must show an accounting profit on paper, case officers now treat persistent financial losses, balance sheet insolvency, or under-capitalization as acute compliance red flags. An unprofitable enterprise attempting to sponsor foreign talent must now withstand an exhaustive corporate substance audit: demonstrating verified cash reserves held in local Hong Kong corporate bank accounts, proving ongoing compliance with employer Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) obligations for existing local permanent resident staff, and substantiating dedicated physical business premises. Furthermore, where an unprofitable company seeks to hire an expatriate, ImmD will aggressively scrutinize whether the proposed market-rate remuneration package—cross-referenced against Inland Revenue Department Salaries Tax parameters—is commercially credible or represents a contrived arrangement, refusing sponsorships where the business lacks demonstrable fiscal capacity to sustain the role.

 

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 “proof of financial standing.”

Although registered one year ago, the company has only recently begun making sales, which do not amount to much.

Will the companies lack of profit negatively affect my chances at being approved under this Hong Kong work visa application?

If so, is there anything that can be done to mitigate this?

Thank you in advance for your reply.

ANSWER

Whenever the Immigration Department are asked to ascribe a suitable and credible sponsorship status to a newly established enterprise, the Immigration Department will look at a number of different factors when taking into account a good financial standing of the business. As a newly established company with no history of trading, that will not come as a surprise to the Immigration Department if only just turning revenue now, that’s okay.

They’ll look to see for a set of management accounts – I appreciate you won’t have an audited management account at this point, but certainly up-to-date management accounts that shows the balance sheet and the profit and loss so that the Immigration Department can see what’s going on now, that will be beneficial to the application.

The fact that there are no revenues, as you say, then what does the bank balance look like, and what the extent of the funding available to be used for the business. As long as all of that stacks up, it will not stand in the way of you getting your approval because you’ll satisfy the financial bona fides accordingly.

I hope you found that useful.

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Share Equity Compensation Suffice Instead of Cash Salary For A Hong Kong Employment Visa?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Investment Visas, Your Question Answered / 2 responses

Share Equity Compensation Suffice Instead of Cash Salary?

Will equity compensation suffice instead of cash?

To what extent can salary 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.

Practice Update 2026 – This content must be read in light of changes to ImmD practice since it was first published

Historically, in Will Performance-Based Equity Compensation Suffice Instead of Cash Compensation for a Hong Kong Employment Visa?, early-stage startups and boot-strapped commercial ventures routinely attempted to sponsor key foreign talent by offering stock options, future profit shares, or sweat equity in lieu of conventional cash salaries. Stephen Barnes, the Hong Kong Visa Geeza, addressed whether the Immigration Department (ImmD) would accept speculative equity or performance-linked incentives to satisfy the mandatory remuneration test under the General Employment Policy (GEP). As Barnes clarified, the statutory baseline requires remuneration to be broadly commensurate with prevailing market rates for comparable roles in Hong Kong.

While equity grants and variable bonuses could serve as supplementary sweeteners to round out an executive package, ImmD has never accepted illiquid, unvested equity or purely performance-contingent promises as a substitute for guaranteed base cash remuneration. Case officers need to see tangible, guaranteed income sufficient to ensure the professional can maintain themselves independently without becoming a public charge or living in penury, meaning a solid, predictable base cash salary was always an inescapable prerequisite for GEP approval.

“Startups love to preach the gospel of equity upside, but the Director of Immigration doesn’t accept stock options to cover your rent or pay for your groceries in Wan Chai. As set out in our definitive analysis, GEP Work Visa Policy Enters a New Era, ImmD’s assessment of employment remuneration has hardened beyond recognition. In today’s hyper-vigilant vetting environment, relying on speculative paper wealth or back-loaded performance payouts is an immediate death sentence for a work visa petition. Case officers now demand verifiable proof of guaranteed, market-aligned cash liquidity flowing through legitimate corporate payroll and supported by local MPF contributions. If a sponsoring entity cannot substantiate the liquid reserves to pay a competitive base salary in cold, hard Hong Kong dollars, ImmD will view the entire enterprise as commercially unviable.”

Stephen Barnes –  The Hong Kong Visa Geeza

Today, this assessment has tightened into an uncompromising standard of corporate liquidity, as detailed in GEP Work Visa Policy Enters a New Era. Amid heightened scrutiny across all employment-based immigration streams, ImmD actively cross-checks the employer’s audited accounts, current bank statements, and tax returns to ensure the business possesses sufficient deployed capital to sustain the promised guaranteed cash remuneration over the entire visa term.

Structuring a compensation package heavily around performance-based equity or conditional payouts now triggers immediate suspicion that the role is contrived, that the sponsor lacks operational substance, or that the applicant is an undercapitalised founder attempting to disguise an entrepreneur investment as employment. To secure GEP approval, sponsoring employers must provide a fixed cash salary that stands up to prevailing market benchmarks on its own merits, leaving stock grants and equity participation to exist purely as secondary incentives rather than the foundational pillar of the foreign professional’s livelihood.

 

QUESTION

I have successfully registered a business and been awarded an investment visa in Hong Kong.

The company is a start up with limited capital but big plans.

I have identified an individual I’d like to employ, have no doubt he would pass the approvability test, and don’t expect to have issues around quotas.

However my business cannot yet afford to pay a meaningful salary.

I’d like to compensate the individual with equity until such time as the business is generating enough revenue to pay market salaries – a situation both parties are completely happy with.

Is there any ability to sponsor an employment visa given this arrangement?

ANSWER

What a truly excellent question. And I’m sure that most entrepreneurs that have successfully secured an investment visa might at some stage look for the assistance of a third party foreign national to come into Hong Kong to assist them in their plans, and are obviously looking at an equity for compensation arrangement if that will in fact pass muster with the immigration department.

So the essential answer to the question is that yes, it is possible to have equity as a component for the compensation instead of salary, but it must not replace the salary under the General Employment Policy. The approvability test is effectively meaning that the Immigration Department are looking for a basic salary, and that basic salary should come in at the minimum levels, give or take HKD16,000 a month.

So if the value of this time is to be compensated in such a way that anything over the HKD16,000 a month is going to be reflected in an equity grant, then the Immigration Department should buy into that. So probably without too many questions asked on the basis that it’s properly documented and for all practical purposes, the party that’s receiving the equity grant is being compensated ostensibly for the professional nature of the contribution that he’s making.

So ensure that there’s a basic salary and anything above that compensated with equity grant should be fine. Of course, hanging above all of this writ larger were is what the Immigration Department will make of the application when it comes in. Given that, you’ve, I assume, just recently had an investment visa approved, did the potential for this engagement of this foreign national was it reflected in the representations that were made to the Immigration Department as part of your investment visa application? So will this come as a surprise to them or was it anticipated at all times? And how far along have you actually been able to progress your business since the fact of your investment visa approval in accordance with what the Immigration Department were expecting of you when they granted your approval.

So you need to look at where you are in the business,in addition to the individual special skills, knowledge and experience of Elliot and not really available in home to understand how the Immigration Department might respond to this questions such as, you know, have you recruited anybody else locally or is in fact this your first employee?

And as I say, if it is your first employee, was it anticipated in the business plan that the department saw from you originally? So take his application in the round when you’re considering structuring your argument, but also anticipate that as long as he’s getting the basic salary of about HKD16,000 a month with, the balance of his compensation being reflected in an equity grant it should be fine. I don’t imagine that you have too many problems. Okay.

I hope this helps.

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