For my Hong Kong PR application, what happens if I am unable to provide copies of my tenancy agreements?
I never thought I would still be here for 7 years so I every 2 years I get rid of old documents i.e. bank statements, tenancy agreements, utilities etc.
Also for years 3~7 I was living with my ex partner so the tenancy agreement was in his name or his employer’s name.
This is the first time in the three years since we introduced this policy that we have had to honour our commitment and just goes to show that fabled 100% Hong Kong visa application success rates are quite a fickle metric of competence and capability.
This client’s application ultimately turned on the extent of his own personal financial contribution to the business and, whilst ImmD, did advise us that they thought the business plan and prospects were good, they felt that our client didn’t have enough financial skin in the game (“personally accessible resources”) to warrant the notion of an ‘investment’ in the HKSAR.
All fair enough.
Our client has decided to seek an alternate avenue to continue his proposed residency in Hong Kong (using a different immigration pathway) so our client engagement has ended with us both wishing each other the best of luck!
PRACTICE UPDATE: How the content must now be read in light of current ImmD policy:
Historically, this interview feature laid bare the practical, real-world mechanics of getting an Investment as Entrepreneur visa approved under the General Employment Policy (GEP). The Geeza walked an interviewer through the anatomy of an application, demystifying the official statutory standard of “substantial contribution to the economy of the HKSAR” and breaking down what case officers actually looked for behind the scenes. In that era, the answer to “what’s actually involved” was grounded in human discretion, narrative advocacy, and commercial common sense: ImmD case officers were portrayed as practical civil servants evaluating genuine commercial intent, professional pedigree, and realistic viability. An articulate applicant was coached to present a coherent narrative, back the venture with modest seed capital of a few hundred thousand dollars, lease a cost-effective serviced office or reputable co-working suite, and present a business plan demonstrating phased milestones with local hiring scheduled over a two- to three-year horizon.
The game has changed from a manageable exercise in advocacy, credibility, and commercial storytelling into an unforgiving, empirical compliance audit. Today, what is “actually involved” in getting approved outside the state incubator track has zero tolerance for qualitative arguments or forward-looking projections. Under post-April 2026 administrative practice aligned with TTPS Category A operational substance (~HKD 2.5M enterprise scale), ImmD has completely excised discretionary leniency from independent entrepreneur filings. The subjective question of whether an applicant makes a compelling personal case has been supplanted by an unyielding requirement for verified, day-one corporate hardware: HKD 1.5M–2.0M in deployed corporate bank liquidity sitting in a local bank account, an executed commercial lease for exclusive physical premises (“four walls”) that strictly disqualifies serviced offices, virtual addresses, and co-working spaces entirely, and active Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) payroll contributions for 2–3 local Hong Kong permanent residents.
Consequently, the entire playbook outlined in that historical interview is completely obsolete for independent founders. What is “actually involved” today is navigating a rigid institutional bifurcation: either a venture arrives with enterprise-grade balance sheets and day-one physical and headcount infrastructure, or it must secure formal, documented admission into an officially accredited government incubator (such as Cyberport, HKSTP, or the Design Incubation Programme). Because incubator accreditation is the sole surviving statutory mechanism recognized by ImmD to waive the crushing hardware mandates of upfront liquidity, dedicated commercial leases, and immediate MPF headcount, any early-stage entrepreneur attempting to follow the interview’s historical, bootstrapped advice will face swift and summary refusal.
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.
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?
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?
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?
If you have lived in Hong Kong continuously for the last seven years (or will have completed a full seven years in the next few months), then you won’t want to miss the talk I am giving on this very subject at Centre O in Wanchai on Thursday, January 23 2014 in Wanchai (7 pm kick off).
This is a free session (i.e. no $$ required) and a great opportunity to learn all about how to get a right of abode application approved with a minimum of fuss, stress and mixed-up paperwork!
The cut and thrust of my presentation will be on how to go about applying for – and getting approved – an application for a Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card without the need to engage any professional help.
That’s right – how to get Permanent Residency in Hong Kong, for free!
My presentation is only 17 minutes long, but the session is designed to be ongoing Q&A interactive in a very cosy atmosphere so expect to be engaged for about 90 minutes, eating drinking and networking with no more than 20 others.
Only 20 slots available!
The session has proven very popular in the past with all slots being taken up quickly so please RSVP to Josephine ASAP and reserve your place if you wish to attend next week.
I’m going to be on hand to answer any questions you have about your own PR situation, and will stick around after the session for as long as it takes to talk to you all.
Josephine provides an excellent service at Centre O (we are a client too) and goes out of her way to take care of her customers and guests.
There’ll be lots of wine on hand for the session, some great food and an excellent, convivial atmosphere.
Coming to live and work in Hong Kong – 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.
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?
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?
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?
The Hong Kong Visa Centre is growing and we are looking for experienced IC talent who would like to join our team.
As you would expect from a management team that spearheaded the development of a discrete immigration services industry in the early 1990’s and responsible for the introduction of sophisticated case management technologies in the 2000’s, our service model affords our clients the best advice, great service and excellent value for money.
If you are fed up with working with a global company, need more flexible working hours, prefer to spend most of your time discussing cases with clients and work with state-of-the art technology to manage your case load then we are the firm for you.
Please apply now with your CV and current compensation package. We’re happy to negotiate and pay properly for the right talent but we need to know what you are presently earning for us to have a meaningful discussion.
Hong Kong Immigration Consultant
* You have an opportunity to join the fastest growing immigration services enterprise in Hong Kong (if not the world).
* You are an Immigration Consultant with at least 3 years direct experience in dealing with Hong Kong immigration matters.
* You are highly competent in our professional niche; you write English well, can articulate a business story and are adept at carrying an argument.
* Most importantly you really care about your client outcomes.
* You empathize readily with the feelings of your clients as you guide them along their visa application journey and you are committed to a level of service that goes above and beyond what is normally experienced in our profession.
* Whilst your work output will be supervised, you will work independently and be highly trusted.
* You will have significant client contact; via phone, email, in-person – both in our business premises and outside too.
Start
ASAP
Yr(s) of Exp
3 years
Qualification
Degree or ImmD Experience
Compensation
Let’s Discuss
Reporting To
Me, But We’re a Cohesive Team
Location
Anywhere, Preferably in Hong Kong
Work Nature
Freelance, Full/Part Time, Permanent, Contract
Benefits
Flexible working hours
Work from home
No office politics or corporate BS
Leading edge practice
To apply please email me directly on sbarnes at hkvisacentre dot com.
