So, your Hong Kong visa application has been refused, no matter the type – and the letter you received from the Immigration Department says nothing about opportunities to appeal.
Alternatively, if a wholly new set of facts are present now since your application was refused you can make a completely new application – or try again on the original application if a reasonable amount of time has passed – say, at least 6 months.
However, you need to be completely realistic. If the Hong Kong Immigration Department deny you a visa three times in succession you’re going to have to face the reality that your chances of securing residency in the HKSAR are very slim indeed – and maybe it’s time to start packing your bags.
VisaGeeza.Ai – Making Hong Kong Immigration A Lot Easier
The Hong Kong entrepreneur visa (business investment) is arguably the most challenging immigration status to acquire in the HKSAR…
On March 21, 2014 I gave a presentation at the Chinese Club entitled Business Immigration to Hong Kong – A Practical Guide. Although more than a decade has passed, the information remains relevant today because the underlying rationale and requirements for the Hong Kong entrepreneur visa have not changed.
In this section of the talk, I talk about the Hong Kong entrepreneur visa (business investment) and set out how to go about getting one, but in big lines, obtaining approval for an investment visa is one of the most challenging tasks in the realm of Hong Kong immigration. Your goal is to pass the approvability test and clearly demonstrate to the Hong Kong Immigration Department that you can significantly contribute to the overall economy of Hong Kong.
To start, you need to craft a compelling business investment narrative and possess the skills to present it effectively. One useful approach is to envision yourself persuading a wealthy, self-made relative to financially support your business plan for Hong Kong.
After sharing your detailed plans, would you believe that he would choose to invest his hard-earned money to help you launch your venture in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)? This mental exercise serves as a barometer for how the Immigration Department may perceive your story. If your uncle wouldn’t be convinced, what makes you think the HKID will be?
Assuming your narrative is strong, you then need to consider the three critical components—what I refer to as the “approvability stool”—necessary for securing an investment visa approval: 1. Will you create local employment opportunities in the near future? 2. Are you planning to secure appropriate business premises right from the start? 3. Do you have real capital to invest, as this visa type inherently requires financial investment? Whether your available investment funds are modest or substantial, the HKID will also expect to see a range of additional resources you plan to utilize in your proposed Hong Kong business. This can include partnerships, confirmed business engagements, exclusive contracts with successful companies, bank guarantees, and endorsements from local businesses or notable figures, as well as a proven track record of personal and business achievements—essentially any resources that will help set your business on the path to success.
There are also two essential elements present in every investment visa approval we have facilitated over the past 20 years: an unwavering commitment to your venture and an evident entrepreneurial spirit. This drive is abundant in Hong Kong and serves as a benchmark against which all investment visa applications are evaluated by the HKID. If you lack enthusiasm for the potential success of your new business, regardless of how well-resourced it may be, this will undoubtedly reflect in how you present your narrative and manage your application. Therefore, think big, communicate confidently, substantiate your claims with strong documentation, and ensure your application is handled promptly.
VisaGeeza.Ai – Making Hong Kong Immigration A Lot Easier
For example, how long can one be absent from the country in any one year?
This issue is important to me because I also wish to retain my employment/investment interest in the middle east and so am looking at a six month in Hong Kong – six month abroad arrangement.
PODCAST SUMMARY
Is There Such a Thing as a Half-Time Hong Kong Employment Visa?
When it comes to Hong Kong immigration, there’s no official category known as a “half-time visa.” The Immigration Department assumes that individuals granted an employment visa will be working full-time in Hong Kong. If your employment contract involves alternating between six months of work in Hong Kong and six months off, the Immigration Department will typically grant a visa for the specific duration you plan to be in Hong Kong, rather than a standard 12-month period of stay.
Employment Activities and Time Spent Away from Hong Kong
If you intend to come to Hong Kong for employment purposes and anticipate spending extended periods outside the city pursuing other interests, it’s generally acceptable. However, it’s essential to ensure that your initial permission to be in Hong Kong covers these activities.
In your visa application, you may not need to provide extensive details about your planned absences. However, after the fact, if you do spend significant time away from Hong Kong, the Immigration Department will assess whether your original permission to stay was genuinely necessary for the full time employment activities you were authorized to undertake.
The Role of Absences in Permanent Residency Applications
The critical issue underlying this discussion is how your absences from Hong Kong might affect a future application for permanent residency. To qualify for permanent residency in Hong Kong, you must demonstrate continuous and ordinary residence in the city for at least seven years. Any absences should be of a temporary nature, supported by your intentions at the time of departure.
Your overall lifestyle and patterns of residence during those seven years will be considered when assessing your eligibility for permanent residency. If it can be established that you were continuously and ordinarily resident in Hong Kong throughout that period, even with significant time spent away, you may qualify for the right of abode.
Last Words …
There is no official “half-time Hong Kong employment visa,” but the Immigration Department can grant visas based on your intended duration of stay. Spending time away from Hong Kong for employmen or personal reasons is acceptable, as long as it doesn’t compromise your original permissions. When considering permanent residency subsequently, it’s crucial to maintain continuous and ordinary residence in Hong Kong, with temporary absences supported by your intentions at the time.
The TTPS was launched in December 2022 (via the 2022 Policy Address) as a new immigration route to attract global high-calibre professionals, including high-income talent and graduates from top universities.
A key feature is that applicants need not have employment lined up before arrival. They are granted an initial visa (24 or 36 months, depending on category) with freedom to take up or change employment or start a business during their stay.
For extensions, applicants must show that they have taken up a job or established/participated in a business in Hong Kong.
So the scheme is intended not just to bring people in, but to integrate them into Hong Kong’s economy and retain them over time.
Uptake, Demographics & Renewal
Application & Approval Numbers
By end-2024, reports suggest the scheme had ~116,000 applications, with over 92,000 approved.
Of those approved, more than 75,000 have already arrived (or relocated) to Hong Kong along with many family dependents.
According to a commentary on the 2025 Policy Address, over 230,000 people have come to Hong Kong under talent admission policies (which includes TTPS).
These numbers suggest significant uptake and interest.
Renewal / Retention Rates & Income Performance
The TTPS is showing “strong sustainability” and solid extension rates, indicating that many admitted talents are indeed staying and integrating (i.e. renewing their visas).
Over 55% of TTPS holders have renewed their visas (i.e. moves from initial stay to extensions) per recent reports.
On income: more than 95% of successful TTPS holders reportedly earn a monthly income above the local median wage.
About 10% of TTPS participants report monthly incomes of HK$120,000 or more; top 1% report earning over HK$300,000.
These figures help validate that many participants are securing high-paying jobs (or high-value entrepreneurial activity) in Hong Kong.
Strengths & Positive Indicators
High uptake and strong approval rates
The high number of applications and large number of approvals indicate that the scheme resonates with prospective global talent.
Good retention / renewal
That over half of holders renew their visas suggests the scheme is not just being used for short-term advantages, but many are staying longer term.
High income outcomes
The fact that the majority exceed local median income supports the scheme’s objective of attracting high-calibre professionals rather than low-skilled labor.
Demographic rejuvenation
The scheme is drawing younger professionals: reports note that ~70% of admitted talents are under 40 years of age.
Policy Adjustments / Adaptation
The government has made adjustments (e.g. expanding the list of eligible universities in Category B, refining verification requirements) to adapt the scheme to feedback and demand.
Criticisms, Challenges & Risks
No scheme of this scale is without shortcomings. Below are key criticisms or cautions noted in public discourse.
Overconcentration & Lack of Diversity
Over 90% of TTPS applicants (and approvals) are from mainland China.
This concentration has raised concerns that the scheme is less effective in attracting truly global, non-China talent, which would enhance Hong Kong’s international character and innovation potential.
Underemployment or Mismatched Jobs
Some participants reportedly struggle to find employment fully aligned with their qualifications, leading to underemployment concerns.
The job-market integration for new arrivals remains a challenge, especially in competitive sectors or non-traditional fields.
Misuse / False Intentions
Public debate has surfaced around possible misuse: e.g. some applying to obtain child‐birth or permanence rather than genuine work. The government has warned that such cases are a “small minority” and would constitute false declaration.
The Chief Secretary has cautioned that those whose real goal is to give birth in Hong Kong (rather than work) are violating the scheme’s purpose.
Administrative & Eligibility Barriers
Recent changes require stricter credential verification (third-party verification) for degrees, which adds complexity and possibly delays.
The eligible university list (for Category B) was expanded in late 2024 to 198 institutions (from earlier, more limited lists), but such expansions may not always align with quality expectations.
For extensions, the requirement to show a suitable job or viable business may pose a barrier for some participants who struggle to land opportunities quickly.
Interpretation: How Well Is It Doing?
Overall, the TTPS appears to be functioning relatively well, especially in its early years, with strong uptake, a significant number of visa renewals, and positive income outcomes for many participants. While challenges persist, particularly around diversity of applicant origin and tighter job-market integration, the scheme is showing signs of being a sustainable mechanism rather than just a one-time draw.
Its success so far suggests that Hong Kong is managing to attract a pipeline of relatively high-skilled individuals who are staying long enough to contribute meaningfully. The government seems aware of the issues and is actively adjusting eligibility rules and oversight to counter abuses and broaden reach.
Speakers:
Stephen Barnes — Co-Founder of the Hong Kong Visa Centre, author of the Hong Kong Visa Handbook RTHK Podcast
Roy Ying — Co-Chair (Advocacy), Hong Kong Institute of Human Resources Management RTHK Podcast
Key points:
The discussion centers on measures introduced in the Policy Address aimed at enhancing Hong Kong’s appeal as a hub for tech and high-skilled talent. RTHK Podcast
We explore changes or proposals in visa regimes, talent attraction, and related immigration policy.
VisaGeeza.Ai – Making Hong Kong Immigration A Lot Easier
The test for the right of abode for foreign national children resident in Hong Kong for 7 years is the same as for adults but the manifestation of that PR takes a slightly different form…
QUESTION
I’ve heard that our children can independently hold permanent residency once they turn 7. Is this correct and if so, how do we go about applying for it?
Thanks!
ANSWER
Once a child that was not born in Hong Kong has lived here continuously for a period of not less than seven years, that child goes on to make an application to have his eligibility for a permanent identity card verified, and that exercise involves exactly the same approvability test as is applies to an adult counterpart that’s also seeking to go ahead and secure the right of abode in Hong Kong.
Therefore, usually in the context of children that are naturally resident in Hong Kong with their parents, the evidence that’s submitted in support of that application is that they are together with their parents and that they are in school, and the Immigration Department take proof of schooling typically as being definitive evidence that they have been continuously known as a residence in Hong Kong, and of course they do check to see their whereabouts during that time. So, insofar as the test goes, it is, essentially, the same as it is for adults, when it comes to children; however, the manifestation of the right of abode is reflected not in the issue of a permanent identity card because the child, if it’s under eleven years of age, can’t secure any kind of identity card; effectively, once they get to eleven they get a juvenile ID card, and that, juvenile ID card states that the holder has the right of abode, but prior to that the actuality of having had your verification for eligibility for the right of abode verified, it is reflected in a sticker that’s placed in the back of the passport of the child, and then the child then presents that at the boundaries and at the airport when the child is travelling. And of course the Immigration Department immediately admit the child and the strength of the child having the right of abode. So that’s it, it’s an endorsement and a passport first until the issue of the first ID card whereupon the permanent identity card is formally issued.
The only wrinkle to that is that at the point of issuing the ID card at the age of eleven, there will be a further examination to ensure that the child has remained continuously resident in Hong Kong, throughout the preceding, say in this case, three or four years, if the child had eligibility verified at the age of seven, and if the child has not been continuous and only resident in Hong Kong throughout all of that time or has been absent from Hong Kong for more than three years at a stretch, then the ID card that will be issued will be a right to land ID card and will not be a permanent identity card.
In a nutshell, eligibility can be verified through the placement of the sticker in the passport, but you still need to maintain your connections to Hong Kong under the Basic Law, which means that the child must have been in Hong Kong on at least one occasion during the interim period, over a course of three years, in order to maintain eligibility for the right of abode and the issue of the permanent identity card accordingly. Otherwise, as I’ve stated, the child will be issued with an ID card that grants him the right to land.
I hope you find this useful.
VisaGeeza.Ai – Making Hong Kong Immigration A Lot Easier
When would unconditional stay be an appropriate Hong Kong immigration status as opposed to the right of abode and, in any event, what’s the difference?
QUESTION
We’re considering to apply for a business investment visa, but we don’t really intend to live in Hong Kong in the near future.
If our application gets approved, we’ll get 2-3-3-year-visa, renewable up to 7 years.
My question is since we can’t be resident in Hong Kong during these 7 years, we only can apply Unconditional Stay after 7 years.
But then if one day we decide to really live in Hong Kong, after living in Hong Kong for a period of time (how long is required?) can we change our status applying Hong Kong permanent residence?
What will be the requirements to submit such request?
What are the differences between unconditional stay and permanent residence?
I read unconditional stay visa holder need to come back to Hong Kong once per 12 months period. But other than that, I didn’t find any other info.
I would like to know particularly the differences on income tax filling and social benefit for above two status.
Thanks a lot for your kind advice!
ANSWER
When you secure an employment visa in Hong Kong, you are lawfully employable by the employer which has successfully sponsored an employment visa for you. Once you stop working for that sponsoring employer, insofar as your continuing employment visa permissions go, in essence, all bets are off until you make an application to the Immigration Department to change your sponsorship from your old employer through to the proposed new employer.
In preparing for this application, you need to anticipate that it’s a process that’s very similar to the application that you underwent the first time, insofar as getting the visa approved for the status that you’ve got right now. In the Hong Kong Visa handbook, employment visa section, I’ve set out the documentary requirements that govern these types of applications, whether it’s a new application or in fact it’s a change of sponsorship application.
Now, the way that the process works is that you go to the Immigration Department with your completely assembled bundle, and you file your application to change your sponsorship without at this point, if this is in fact the case, having stopped working for your present employer and during the currency of your new employment visa application, your current employer really shouldn’t be privy to what’s going on because the Immigration Department certainly won’t correspond with your existing employer.
All that will happen is that whilst the Immigration Department are considering your application, which by the way happens on the 5th floor Residents Section, not the 24th floor Entry Visa Section, so whilst the Immigration Department are considering your application, they’ll correspond with you directly and they’ll raise any questions or request for information or other requisitions that apply in the context of the application before you.
And um, insofar as the chances of approval go, you need to anticipate that as long as it’s a like for like employment and as long as you are clearly a professional under the General Employment Policy and the new employer is justified in engaging your services as opposed to the services of a local person, then it’s reasonable to assume that your change of sponsorship application will be approved.
Normally the Immigration Department respond positively to such applications. Now, the way it works once you’ve got sort of nine tenths of the way through the application process is that you’ll see that the Immigration Department will call for a document from you that demarcates the date of last employment with your current employer so that they can then when they finalise your approval, set a line between your previous sponsorship and your new sponsorship, they will need a line in the sand, as it were, a date from which the new sponsorship obligations of your new employer will prevail and at the same time, relinquishing your old employer, your past employer, of their continuing sponsorship in relation to you. And it’s when the Immigration Department call for this document that you will get a sense that they’re about to finalise your application positively. And at that stage, what you do is you submit your resignation and give a copy of the resignation documentation that sits between you and your current employer, which in turn will denote what your final date of employment is with that old employer.
And you submit copies of that documentation to the Immigration Department, and they will then, as I say, be able to demarcate the old sponsorship from the new sponsorship and then after you’ve been approved, you should receive a letter from the Immigration Department stating when your new employment arrangements are going to commence from that is your new sponsorship.
Employment visa sponsorship arrangements are going to commence from inviting you down to go and process an extension to your current limit of stay because at the moment you have six months less you have less than six months left on your current limit of stay, in these circumstances, rather than put Immigration Department resources through, on the one hand, a change of sponsorship application, and then a few weeks or months later, because your current limit of stay is going to expire, put the Immigration Department resources through a second application insofar as giving you an extension to your current limited stay.
Usually the Immigration Department, as I say, if you’ve got six months or less remaining on your current limit of stay, they normally endorse your passport at the same time as they give you the new approval, and normally that twelve-months limit starts from the expiry of your current limit of stay, which in this instance would be July.
So, in effect, that’s how that process is handled and that’s how that process is managed. And included on this post are a lot of other resources where I’ve dealt with challenges associated with the change of sponsorship application that you’re looking to accomplish. And again, I refer you back to the Employment Visa Section of the Hong Kong Visa handbook where all the documents that you need – checklist, templates and all the rest of that good stuff that will apply in allowing you to go through that process, you can find them all there. And just to remind you, because you’re an existing resident, you would submit the application and the Residence Section on the 5th floor of Immigration Tower, not on the 24th floor, which is the Entry Visa Section which is where applications for the very first time time for the employment visas are considered.
I hope you find this useful.
VisaGeeza.Ai – Making Hong Kong Immigration A Lot Easier
Can you be both settled in Hong Kong, have taken the HKSAR as your only place of residence, yet go and work overseas all at the same time?
QUESTION
Thank you so much for your wonderfully informative website.
I have a question about the timing of starting a new job working for a non-HK employer and which job is not based in HK, in light of my interest in filing the Right of Abode application.
At the end of July 2014, I reach the 7 year mark required to file the Right of Abode application, and at which time I would have been with the same Hong Kong employer during the whole 7-year period.
I note that I have had a valid work visa since July 2007 and my latest work visa expires end of July 2015.
I also note that I’ve been sent to Singapore on long, albeit temporary, assignments that should not impact the Hong Kong residency requirement for my Right of Abode application.
I am interested in trying other jobs soon.
I have a job offer that is a one year contract for a company (that is in the same industry as my current employer) based in Singapore to work in Singapore.
The company is willing to wait for me to file the Right of Abode application before I start working with them.
Can I start working for the new company, say, a week or two weeks after I file the application (the new company will allow me to visit Hong Kong while the application is in process to fulfill any in-person requirements such as for any interviews) or is it advisable to wait longer or until I actually receive approval for HK permanent residency before I start working for the new company?
How long will the approval process take? I plan to return to Hong Kong at some point to work after gaining some interesting and different experience at the new company in Singapore.
Thank you very much.
ANSWER
Yes, this is always a tricky one because the test for approval for the Right of Abode is you need to show, on the one hand, that you’ve been continuously and ordinarily resident in the HKSAR for a period of not less than seven years immediately prior to submitting the application, and on the other, you need to show that you both settled in Hong Kong and that you’ve taken Hong Kong as your only place of permanent residence.
So clearly here, if you’re thinking that perhaps your future lies away from Hong Kong, then it’s arguable that the fact of making those steps to set up your new arrangements in Singapore could derogate from the notion that you are both settled in Hong Kong and that you’ve taken Hong Kong as your only place of permanent residence.
So, to be absolutely bulletproof in this respect, my advice would be to postpone any plans whatsoever that you have for a life away from Hong Kong, so that you can quite clearly and honestly put your hand on your heart when you make the declaration, to the extent that you’ve taken Hong Kong as your only place of permanent residence and that the facts of your life on the ground in Hong Kong clearly demonstrate that you’re settled here. And then if subsequently, once your Right of Abode application has been finalised, approved and you are a permanent resident of Hong Kong, if new facts emerge that suggest that you might want to take up an offer of employment or pursue some other kind of activity – in this instance away from Hong Kong in Singapore, then that’s what that is.
And, as long as once you’re a permanent resident, you return to Hong Kong on at least one occasion in any three year given period, you will be able to maintain your Right of Abode. So my advice to you would be – don’t do anything that would compromise the idea today that you are settled in Hong Kong and that you’ve taken Hong Kong as your only place of permanent residence.
Okay, I hope you found this useful.
VisaGeeza.Ai – Making Hong Kong Immigration A Lot Easier
