Will My Frequent And Lengthy Visits To Hong Kong Over The Last 2 Years Compromise My Ability To Secure An Employment Visa Subsequently?

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

So, you’ve been hanging out in Hong Kong as a Visitor for quite a while and have now decided you wish to become formally resident…. will the extended time spent here previously impact your chances for an employment visa?

QUESTION

I’ve been staying in Hong Kong for nearly 2 years on a tourist visa, I’ve never overstayed  and I travel out of Hong Kong frequently.

I’ve actually gotten an eChannel pass which was suggested to me by Hong Kong immigration due to number stamps in my passport.

I have an American passport.

I’ve now decided to try to formally settle in Hong Kong and accepted a job offer for a position I am suitably qualified.

The paperwork has been submitted to HKID.

Will it be an issue that I’ve been in and out of Hong Kong so frequently?

Thanks

ANSWER

As a matter of standard practise, the Immigration Department do not usually factor into their deliberations for an employment visa, any time that an applicant has spent in Hong Kong previously as a visitor, as long as you’ve got a clean immigration record, which seems to be the case from the way that you phrased your question then it’s reasonable to expect that purely the Immigration Department will assess you on the basis of the employment visa provability test to show that you possess special skills, knowledge and experience of value to not readily available in Hong Kong and that there’s no person locally who could be doing the job rather than you, and therefore your prior record in Hong Kong as a visitor, should not compromise your ability to successfully address that approvability test in your application.

Just one point that is interesting about your question. It’s about you having the e-channel pass; the e-channel pass effectively means that you don’t have to queue up in the visitor lines and face an immigration officer and be assessed on your bona fide at that point; but mere possession of an e-channel pass doesn’t have mean that you can effectively come and go on an unlimited basis as a visitor without the Immigration Department effectively calling you to task for the amount of time that you spent in Hong Kong.

The way that it works usually is that if you spend more than 180-days in any twelve month given period in Hong Kong, then the systems are alert to you being potentially an extended stay visitor who might be engaging in activities breach of your conditions of stay.

So, at some stage in the future if you do possess an e-channel pass and you come and go on an extended frequent stay basis, it may one day suddenly stop and then an immigration officer will call you for interview, but that hasn’t happened in your instance and it certainly doesn’t impact on your application for an employment visa.

But, it’s the first time that on the blog that this question has been raised in the way that it is with reference to e-channel pass. So I thought I’d just mention it in passing. Okay, I hope you find this useful.

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Can I Work Remotely For An Overseas Employer Whilst I Remain In Hong Kong With My Same Sex Partner On A Prolonged Visitor Visa?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Family Visas, Your Question Answered / 7 responses

What issues arise in respect of those foreign nationals in Hong Kong who accompany their unmarried life partners (gay or heterosexual) here on prolonged visitor visas and who are planning to carry on their professions remotely for an overseas employer whilst permitted by the Hong Kong Immigration Department to be present in Hong Kong as a visitor for family reunion purposes only?

QUESTION

Hi there!

Amazing site – thank you so much for all the info.

I’m a Canadian citizen following my partner to Hong Kong (where he will be working as a lawyer).

I will actually be keeping my job in Vancouver but working remotely from Hong Kong.

Is it worth mentioning this in my application or is it irrelevant?

Also, I’m still a little confused as to whether I should apply for the extended visitor visa once I get to Hong Kong or before – could you clarify whether its better to do so after arrival and use form ID91?

Does my partner already need to have been issued his work visa or can we apply at the same time?

Thank you for this wealth of knowledge!

ANSWER

Thanks so much for asking this question. You’ve raised quite a lot of issues, many of which I’ve dealt with previously on the Hong Kong Visa Geeza blog. So specifically, the detail advice in relation to most of them, other than the question about the remote working, you can find in the links to the content attached below.

So I’ll just touch upon it generally here, but then refer you to the detailed information in those specific resources that form part of this blog post. The key issue here for me is the question about keeping your job in Vancouver and then remotely working from Hong Kong.

Because in the Hong Kong immigration law, you have a requirement to secure the consent of the Immigration Department to take employment, whether paid or unpaied, effectively for any employer both in Hong Kong and overseas. So if you’re planning to remain in Hong Kong on the strength of being reunited with your partner so that you can continue your family lives together, the prolonged visit visa that you’re going to get will be given to you by the Immigration Department on the strength of that rationale.

However, if you’re planning to continue your profession, albeit remotely while you’re in Hong Kong, that needs to be disclosed to the Immigration Department and you need to be ready to in a sense be dragged over the calls by the Department to kind of understand effectively what’s going on, so that you can have the visitor visa permissions that you’re looking for for family reunion purposes and you can also be in complete compliance with those permissions because you’ve empowered the Immigration Department in advance to understand what it is that you’re planning to do professionally whilst you’re accompanying your partner here; that is the Immigration Department do want to be appraised of that. They want to understand effectively, the totality of your circumstances. So, my best advice to you is without a doubt disclose that to Immigration Department. Make it a part of your application submission.

It’s definitely going to complicate your application. You need to be under no illusions about that, but best practise is to do things lawfully and that’s my advice. So yes, definitely it is worth mentioning it in your application.

As regards the process of how to apply, my best advice is to apply on an entry visa basis using the ID481A and  ID481B forms. Don’t use the ID 91 form; and, in actual fact if your partner has not yet secured his employment visa and his application hasn’t been put in, ideally, you should run those applications together at the same time. However, if, your partner’s employer is handling, as I expect, that, they will be doing his own employment visa application, it could be problematic to have your application in at the same time as his, so you can’t practically run them together.

So in that regard, my best advice then is to come to Hong Kong as Canadian citizens, you’ll get a three month period of stay as a visitor and then submit your application on the ID481A and  ID481B series once your partner’s employment has been approved. And promote your application on the basis that you’re in Hong Kong while all of that is taking its course. So don’t use the form ID 91 because that’ll put you down into a section of immigration tower where the immigration officers are under a lot of pressure and a lot of stress, and, it’s likely that you probably won’t meet a particularly popular reception when you pitch up with all your documents seeking to apply for a visa on the strength of family reunion. Okay, I hope all of this helps.

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Hong Kong Expats Get Hong Kong Passports – Why?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Feature Article, Long Stay & PR, Musing / No responses

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In recent years, a growing number of expats in Hong Kong have made the decision to relinquish their citizenship-of-origin and become Chinese citizens. This trend is fueled by several key factors, including the desire for greater access to opportunities in mainland China, long-term residency stability, and the ability to align with the region’s evolving political and economic landscape.

For many, becoming a Chinese citizen also means unlocking business advantages and having an easier time integrating into local communities.

Hong Kong Expats Get Hong Kong Passports – What’s Involved?

However, the decision to relinquish their previous nationality is not without challenges, including navigating strict Chinese immigration laws and managing the emotional and practical implications of such a significant transition.

If you’re an expat considering Chinese citizenship, it’s important to weigh both the benefits and potential drawbacks.

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Understanding why some have chosen this path can help provide clarity as you navigate your own choices.

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A Public Thank You to the Hong Kong Immigration Department

Can I Lawfully Rent An Apartment In Hong Kong As A Frequent Visitor – What Would The Immigration Department Make Of That?

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

If you find yourself often in Hong Kong as a frequent Visitor is it lawful and / or possible to rent an apartment in order to keep accommodation expenses down…

QUESTION

I’m an Expat based in Thailand & often come to Hong Kong for meetings or transit for business trips to China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan.

 Let’s say roughly 10-14 days a month, with an average of 2-3 entries.

Since hotel costs are ticking up & I can’t leave documents in a safe place, I’m considering renting a 850 sqf apartment in Wanchai.

Would this be a problem for Immigration?

Can I rent an apartment in Hong Kong as a Visitor?

I’m on the frequent traveler program & get 3 months entry visa.

Thank you for your feedback

ANSWER

In actual fact there are no immigration implications of a decision to rent an apartment by a frequent visitor in Hong Kong. For the purposes as you’ve enunciated them, Immigration won’t really have anything to say about that per se because there’s no real forum for them to have an opinion about it.

As a foreign national granted visa free privileges upon arrival, then you don’t have to seek any prior clearance of the Immigration Department. So there’s no questions ever asked in relation to your accommodation proposed for Hong Kong. Moreover as a travel enrolled in the frequent traveller programme, you don’t actually have to meet face to face an immigration officer who would ask you questions that speak to your accommodation arrangements while you’re in Hong Kong and therefore it doesn’t raise itself as a practical issue for you.

In reality the real challenge that you’re going to face is that as a visitor to Hong Kong you’re never going to be able to get Hong Kong identity card and the landlord that you may find yourself negotiating with may require a copy of a Hong Kong ID card before he or she’s comfortable in entering into a tenancy agreement with you.

And, whilst there are no, as I say, legal preclusions from entering into what actually is a private arrangement when it comes to a tenancy agreement for residential purposes, you may find that the landlord when he realises that you don’t have residence visa status here, may suddenly demand a much higher deposit or try to leverage a premium on the rent, but that is ultimately a negotiation for you to engage in.

But in a nutshell, there are no immigration implications to what you’re proposing as such and I wish you all the very best with it.

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How Can I Spend As Much Time As Possible With My Daughter After She Moves To Hong Kong For Work?

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

Coming to Hong Kong to frequently visit family members resident here is not such a problem (usually)…

QUESTION

My daughter and family are moving to Hong Kong.

I would like to spend as much time as possible with them.

If I go to Hong Kong as a tourist from the US and return home after 90 days, how soon can I return for another 90 day stay?

ANSWER

The answer to this particular dilemma is actually quite a bit easier or simpler than you might otherwise imagine. If your family are resident in Hong Kong working and you want to clearly come and spend as much time with them as you can, and the only immigration stay available to you as a US national visiting is a visitor visa, then you will be able to procure, as you can appreciate, 90 days upon arrival each time you present yourself at the border.

And every time you do present yourself at the border, you need to satisfy your bona fide as a visitor to the examining immigration officer. And, in this respect, as long as you’re able to satisfy the Immigration Department as to the reasons for you being here frequently and spending the length of time that you do, is for family reunion purposes, then it’s quite reasonable to expect that the immigration officer looking at you, once he’s appraised of all of these facts and has got clear evidence to allow him to effect a positive act of discretion to admit you for 90 days, then the likelihood is that the officer’s not going to admit you for 90 days because otherwise he would be essentially doing you some kind of injustice, even though, of course, he does have all the legal power, under the immigration ordinance, to stop you from arriving and to limit the amount of time that you spend here.

So my best advice to you would be each time that you present yourself at the border or at the airport, you have with your portfolio of information including your family members, Hong Kong identity cards, copies of their visa labels, if they have children, family photographs, and be ready to produce this to the immigration officer at the point of entry and explain that, well, you know, you have good reason for being here frequently you are staying with your family members and it’s really important that you are able to spend as much time with them as you possibly can.

And, if you could, arrange for a letter to be written by your family members, with their contact details in the event that the officer is to perhaps second guess your motivations, he will then have the opportunity to directly speak to your daughter and her husband, and at that point, your bona fide as a visitor should be satisfied. So the key thing, of course, is that you do this each time that you present yourself, it’s a different examination, a unique and individual examination.

So potentially you can go through this for any number of times before perhaps an immigration officer might say, well, hey, you’ve spent the last year and a half here almost continuously, clearly you do have another country that you can call your home. You need to go back and spend a little bit of time there before you continue to spend extended periods of time here as a visitor. So I think you’ll find all things considered, a balance of frequent visits, perhaps spending as much time as you can in Hong Kong without maximising each day as a visitor for 90 days.

That will allow you to carry this forward probably for a couple of years without too many problems. So, of course, in those two years, perhaps your daughter and her family might leave Hong Kong and your problem is up after all. So it’s not simply a question of how much time should you spend away from Hong Kong between visits.

It’s more a question of, well, what’s keeping you here and how can you satisfy the Immigration Department as to your bona fides for these frequent visits; and I think you’ll find that will get you everything that you need. You can, of course, always make an application at the Immigration Department itself to extend your visitor visa permissions if you don’t have any need to travel across to Macau, say, or to fly off somewhere in order to get yourself a 90 day extension, as it were normally.

You can expect perhaps up to a 30 or 60 day extension, but it’s a one time event only and it’s almost a full day’s waiting down at the Immigration Department. So you may find it just much more conducive and easy to make the exit and make the reentry with your portfolio information as I’ve just suggested.

Okay, I hope you find that useful.

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You Have Been Warned: The Hong Kong Immigration Department Are Now Essentially Working To Rule

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

I have been spending the last 4-5 months of my life fending off the reasonable concerns which clients have about how long it is taking Hong Kong Immigration Department to finalise most type of visa applications but mostly employment and business investment (entrepreneur) applications.

Here’s an example of how it works (real life case example) from a recent employment visa application.

Submitted On: April 3, 2024

Official ImmD Receipt Received: April 12, 2024

First Request For More Information: May 15, 2024

Respond by Date: May 29, 2024

Approval Date: July 1, 2024

Total Time to Approval = 12 weeks

So much for the typical four weeks case consideration time frame which sets the expectations of applicants that their visas will be approved in about a month from the initial date of submission.

It’s true that if you have a ‘slam dunk’ application then you might well get approved in 4 weeks. I’d say perhaps about a half of our applications do get approved in four weeks.

However, the moment ImmD ask you a question in your application you can readily add a further 6 weeks to your time to case finalisation.

Essentially, ImmD’s new policy of not resuming any work on your case UNTIL the Respond By Date has passed means that you have a 2 weeks delay and then possibly up to 4 weeks after that until you get the result.

This can quite properly be couched as ‘working to rule’.

And the stats on our website also bear out our own case management experience.

Also, in the Summer Rush season at the Hong Kong Immigration Department things to tend to take longer in any event. However, if you’re applying for an employment visa brace yourself for a 50% chance that it’s going to take significantly longer than 4 weeks to get your visa.

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How Do You Go About Changing Your Hong Kong Employment Visa Sponsorship At Immigration Tower?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Hadley Says…, VG Front Page / 46 responses

If you have left the employ of your current Hong Kong employment visa sponsor, or even just thinking of doing so, you need to undergo what is known as a change of sponsorship application before you start working for anyone else in Hong Kong, including yourself!

FIRST PUBLISHED APRIL 19, 2013 – STILL OF INTEREST TODAY

To do this you have to consider it just like an entirely new visa application.

Just because you have a stamp in your passport that says ‘employment’ this is not a carte blanche approval to work for just anyone you like or can act on an entrepreneurial seizure without considering the ramifications of unauthorised immigration activity in Hong Kong.

If you are seeking to work for another employer you have to pass the employment visa approvability test.

If you are seeking to work for yourself – or in partnership with someone else – you have to pass the investment visa approvability test.

Complete details on how to do this are contained in the Hong Kong Visa Handbook and elsewhere on the Hong Kong Visa Geeza blog.

To go about changing your Hong Kong employment visa sponsorship you have to submit your application bundle on the 5^th floor residents section of Immigration Tower with the correct application forms and expect the process to take between 4 and 8 weeks to complete.

It could very possibly take much longer depending on the strength and quality of your application, the length of time you have been previously resident in Hong Kong and whether or not you have already breached your conditions of stay by taking up an unauthorised employment before realizing that it’s illegal to start your own business or work for any employer other than your current employment visa sponsor.

Remember, there’s no such thing as a ‘flexible’ working visa in Hong Kong.

Every new employment or business activity proposed must be cleared first by the Director of Immigration and you could find yourself in some very hot water if you do not comply with Hong Kong’s immigration laws as ignorance is no defence!

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