Hong Kong Visas Made Easy

The Hong Kong Immigration Department Really Are Getting Tougher Across the Board Now…

Posted 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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My Week At Pinewood Studios Learning TV Presenter Skills & Programme Production Techniques

Posted 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!

Interview: 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?

Posted 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?

Do Mainlanders typically enjoy the same kind of immigration experience as other foreign nationals do in Hong Kong?

In what ways do you think the different entry schemes may affect Hong Kong’s socio-economic development?

Do you think the relatively low number of foreigners coming to live and work in Hong Kong is due to it being hard to get a visa 

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?

How effective is the Hong Kong Immigration Department’s website in educating and promoting Hong Kong to the outside world as a place to live and work and do business?

In the last 20 years which visa type has been most in demand and easiest to anticipate an approval for?

Has Hong Kong’s effort to forge a particular social fabric through the constructs of its immigration policy been successful do you think?

In real terms what is the difference between the General Employment Policy and the Admission of Mainland Talents & Professionals Scheme?

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?

Do you think the special programmes designed  for Mainland residents are as attractive now as they were when they were first introduced?

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?

More Stuff You Might Find Interesting or Useful

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The anatomy of a ‘slam dunk’ investment visa application -taking just 7 weeks to approval

Why do Hong Kong investment visa applications get denied?

The ImmD are out to refuse – not approve – visa applications (aren’t they?)

10 Must Have resources for any Hong Kong investment visa application

QOTW: Under What Conditions is it Possible to Apply for an Early Extension to a Hong Kong Investment Visa?

Posted 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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Can an offshore company sponsor a Hong Kong employment visa application?

What’s a suitable Hong Kong visa & immigration strategy for a highly accomplished professional trailing unmarried partner?

QOTW: What’s the Exact Rule About Losing the Right of Abode After Three Years Away From Hong Kong?

Posted 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?

More Stuff You May Find Interesting or Useful

How do foreign national children resident in Hong Kong for 7 years go on to acquire permanent residency here?

How to apply for the right of abode in Hong Kong – the approvability test

Am I compelled to apply for Hong Kong permanent residency after 7 years or can I maintain the status quo of my present employment visa?

If you stay in Hong Kong for 7 Years as a de-facto spouse holding a prolonged visitor visa will you qualify for permanent residency?

Does my child get the right of abode if she wasn’t born in Hong Kong but I have the right to land?

New Company Law in Hong Kong Impacts Entrepreneurs, Startups and Business Investment Visa Applicants

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Investment Visas, Musing /

Hong Kong company law will never be the same again…

I am grateful to Belinda Wong of Leader Corporate Services for sending through her Note on the new Hong Kong Companies Ordinance which came into effect earlier this month.

If you’re a shareholder or director of a limited liability company incorporated in Hong Kong, you should read it to understand how it affects you in your role as a stakeholder in your enterprise.

As the author of the definitive Hong Kong Company Secretary’s Practice Manual, Belinda is widely acknowledged as the leading authority in this space.

Belinda regularly shares her insight into the law of company administration and a complete list of her recent works can be found here.

More Stuff You May Find Useful or Interesting

Why do Hong Kong investment visas get denied?

The Hong Kong Immigration Department are out to deny – not approve – visa applications (aren’t they?)

Are there any advantages in being an existing resident of Hong Kong when you make an application for an investment visa?

10 Must Have resources for any Hong Kong  investment visa application

Hong Kong investment visa – the 3 legs of the application approvability stool

QOTW: Can I Work as an Independant Contractor in Hong Kong if I Hold a Working Holiday Visa?

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

Hong Kong working holiday visas are essentially a breeze to secure – but can you be an independant contractor if you hold one?

QUESTION  OF  THE  WEEK

I am from the UK and have just gained a working holiday visa for Hong Kong.

As I understand it, as a UK citizen, you can work for 12 months and the 3 month limit does not apply for me as it does to most other nationalities.

I have an opportunity to work for a company, but in doing so I am required to register as a sole proprietor and have a business registration certificate.

Is this possible?

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Will I still qualify for the right of abode if I lived in Hong Kong but worked in Macau temporarily for some of the 7 years needed?

The perils of contriving a job offer just for the purposes of a Hong Kong employment visa application