23
Apr 2014Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Musing, Visa Geeza TV / No responses
This was a script I wrote for an autocue talk-to-camera piece.
The training at Pinewood was excellent and highly recommended for anyone thinking about telling stories via the internet in a direct and engaging way.
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18
Apr 2014Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Family Visas, Investment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Musing, Refusals & Appeals, Special Programmes, Visitor Visas / 2 responses
Back with Mr Whelan at RTHK Radio 3 yesterday…
Phil and I had a good old chat about how Wanchai’s finest are the toast of immigration agencies worldwide yesterday and also a discussion on how things are tightening up down at Immigration Tower.
You can listen to our complete discussion here.
Phil’s dulcet tones, great interviewing technique and blend of listen-worthy tunes can be found every day here on his Morning Brew Facebook page which I recommend you check out and Like.
Podcast: Play in new window
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16
Apr 2014Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Family Visas, Investment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Musing, Refusals & Appeals, Special Programmes, Visitor Visas / 3 responses
It has taken me 21 years to make this claim…
I have been practicing in Hong Kong immigration advisory matters since 1993.
All down those years, I have been asked countless times “is Immigration getting harder?’ and unflinchingly I have answered ‘no’.
It has always been my experience that if you have an approvable case situation in hand, the likelihood of ImmD arriving at the right result is a certainty – you can almost bank on it.
Actually, in this regard, the Immigration Department are still very much on the ball. If your case warrants an approval, you’re going to get it.
But recently, I have seen enough evidence of a general tightening up across the board to make me conclude that certain applicants are now going to have work harder for their approvals.
For example:
1. It appears now that all new business investment visa approvals are subject to Business Review when they come up for extension at the expiry of their first limit of stay.
2. Overstaying visitors – even those who have gone on to secure a residence visa whilst they inadvertently overstayed – are being subjected to formal investigation with a view to prosecution.
3. Investment visa holders who have been subjected to repeat Business Reviews for their marginal businesses are not being granted much leeway in the business review extension exercise the closer they get towards 7 years.
4. Qualified company audit reports can now lead to investment visa refusals or delays in the extension process with increased ongoing scrutiny and business performance oversight.
5. It’s no longer sufficient just to have the capital to undertake your business and a decent business plan for an investment visa approval – ImmD are expecting you to have actually invested / expended some of that capital at the point of finalizing your application.
6. The runway to the creation of local jobs is getting shorter (if you say you are going to create jobs you really need to think about getting started on recruiting prior to application finalisation).
7. Investment visas are now a 6 month process, not 4 months – sure ImmD are busier than ever, but they are also scrutinizing applications much more closely too.
There is plenty of other anecdotal evidence that things are getting harder – this list is by no means exhaustive.
It’s taken me 21 years to conclude this for myself, but I really now do believe its true.
The day after I wrote this piece, I spoke at length about it on RTHK Radio 3. Listen here.
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12
Apr 2014Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Musing, VG Front Page / 10 responses
I spent the last week in the UK learning how to be a television presenter…
What has that got to do with Hong Kong visas and immigration, I hear you asking?
As you may recall, late last year Martyn and I established Video Cha Cha.
This investment on our part is intended to empower us to significantly improve the quality of our video content – thereby further helping to solve your immigration problems, answer your questions and, all things considered, to make our internet proposition that much more compelling for you, the users of our websites.
I undertook the week-long training course with client and all-round good guy Jason Black of Empire Media.
We had a ball – and learned so much.
We were trained by seasoned TV presenters, producers and directors with significant BBC, ITV and Channel 4 experience.
There were 8 in our class in total which took in talk to camera pieces, interviewing, ‘morning-show’ type productions and a full day in London on location practicing everything that we had learned all throughout the week.
On location in London – April 11, 2014
I am just about to head off to Heathrow now for the flight back to Hong Kong.
Some very interesting things are in the pipeline for the rest of this year so stay tuned for Visa Geeza TV!
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11
Apr 2014Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Musing / 8 responses
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.
We covered a great deal of ground in the 90 minutes we spent together and over the next few weeks I will be posting the interview broken down into 31 different segments, covering almost every Hong Kong related visa and immigration topic there is.
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:
We Have 20,000 Vacancies in the F+B Industry But We Don’t Have People to Fill These Jobs – What Are the Hong Kong Immigration Department Doing About It?
My friends and colleagues over at Astus Services Group very kindly hosted us in their facilities in Central for this interview.
Other Questions Asked During the Session
How has the experience of Hong Kong immigration policy changed over the last 20 years?
Do you personally find Hong Kong an attractive place to live, work and do business?
How has Hong Kong’s attractiveness changed for you over the last 27 years?
Do your clients typically find Hong Kong’s attractiveness today as it was to you 27 years ago?
In what ways do you think the different entry schemes may affect Hong Kong’s socio-economic development?
Do you think that the Immigration Department suitably promote and encourage participation in the various schemes designed to attract foreign national talent to Hong Kong?
Has there been any demographic change since the introduction of the Admission of Mainland Talents and Quality Migrant Admission Schemes?
What do you think about the Immigration Arrangement for Non-local graduates?
Do you think that IANG actually allows a loophole for foreign graduates to game the immigration system here?
Has Hong Kong ever been used as a kind of stepping stone into another immigration jurisdiction?
Is there a threshold to attaining a visa under the General Employment Policy?
What’s actually involved in getting a Hong Kong investment visa approved?
Can it be said ImmD are sometimes lax in enforcing immigration policy?
Which visa program would be most beneficial for Hong Kong’s society?
What was it like being an immigration consultant in Hong Kong during the time of SARS?
We hypothesize that while the influx of non-residents into Hong Kong may benefit the economy in the short-term, the long-term negative impacts outweigh any short-term positives. Do you agree with this statement?
Do you think that there is preferential treatment to non-resident workers?
What do you think is the most difficult challenge facing Hong Kong now, when it comes to competing for foreign talents and workers? (i.e. as compared to the 3 other Asian Tigers)
What’s your view on Hong Kong’s liberal visitor visa arrangements, especially regarding the large numbers of Mainlanders who come here now?
So we have 20,000 vacancies in the F+B industry but we don’t have people to fill these spots – what are ImmD doing about it?
What about the possibility of a graduate management trainee visa for a foreign national applicant?
How well does ImmD respond to the lack of skills in Hong Kong through adjustments to the General Employment Policy from time to time?
Do you think any improvements could be made on the entry schemes? If so, how?
What do you think is the biggest problem in dealing with ImmD as an organisation tasked with the dual role of providing a public service yet serving as the gatekeeper to Hong Kong?
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07
Apr 2014Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Investment Visas, Your Question Answered / No responses
What will ImmD make of an early request for the extension of a Hong Kong investment visa?
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Hello Stephen,
I am 7 months into my first 12 month stint of an investment employment visa.
I am looking to move into a new apartment and the landlord is requesting a minimum of 12 months remaining on any visa.
Nothing has changed in my circumstances since my application was approved 7 months ago.
Am I able to apply for an extension to my current visa at this early stage and if so, should it be straight forward?
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31
Mar 2014Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Long Stay & PR, Your Question Answered / No responses
Whilst the right of abode is called what it is, in actual fact, a long stay foreign national of Hong Kong gets something less than a “right” as discussed in this question this week…
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
I have a Hong Kong permanent ID card and it is coming up to 3 years since I last returned to Hong Kong.
Do I need to return 3 years from the date I last left or 3 years from the date I last entered?
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