China Introduces 5-Year Mainland Travel Permit for Foreign Permanent Residents of Hong Kong and Macau
Unless you’re a PR of Hong Kong and have been living under a rock this last week, you will no doubt have caught the buzz around Hong Kong at the moment about visa-free access to China for Non Chinese PRs.
Starting July 10, 2024, foreign permanent residents of Hong Kong and Macao can apply for a five-year multi-entry Mainland Travel Permit. This initiative is designed to facilitate travel within the Greater Bay Area for purposes such as investment, family visits, tourism, and business. The permit allows stays of up to 90 days per visit but does not permit working, studying, or engaging in journalism. Applications must be submitted in person at designated China Travel Service offices with the required documentation, and processing takes up to 20 working days.
Eligibility and Requirements
Eligible applicants include foreign permanent residents of Hong Kong and Macao who hold valid permanent resident ID cards. The application process requires the submission of relevant documents, including proof of identity, permanent residency status, and reasons for travel. The permit is intended to promote the integration of the Greater Bay Area, enhancing connectivity and cooperation between Hong Kong, Macao, and Mainland China.
Application Process
Applicants must visit designated China Travel Service offices in Hong Kong or Macao to submit their applications. Required documents include valid identification, proof of permanent residency, and any additional documents supporting the purpose of travel. The processing time for the permit is up to 20 working days, and applicants will be notified upon approval.
Duration and Conditions
The Mainland Travel Permit for Foreign Permanent Residents of Hong Kong and Macao allows multiple entries to Mainland China over a period of five years. Each visit can last up to 90 days. However, the permit holders are not allowed to work, study, or engage in journalistic activities while in Mainland China. Violating these conditions may result in penalties, including revocation of the permit.
This new policy reflects China’s efforts to streamline travel procedures and enhance the integration of the Greater Bay Area. By providing a convenient travel option for foreign permanent residents of Hong Kong and Macao, the initiative aims to strengthen economic ties and promote cultural exchange within the region.
Can you swap a Foreign Domestic Helper visa into a Regular employment visa? This is a reasonable question that has an obvious answer although not for the reasons you might typically expect. In 20 years of practising Hong Kong visa and immigration consultancy, the only successful change of status application from FDH to residence visa that I have ever experienced, naturally enough, is from FDH to dependant visa where there has been a legal marriage.
QUESTION
“I have an Indonesian furniture retail and design store in Aberdeen. I was wondering if I could apply for a work visa for an existing domestic helper to come and work in my business. My shop is specialized in Indonesian furniture, both standard design and also bespoke.
She is Indonesian and has immense knowledge and skills in this field, having been educated to Bachelor level in design and with 7 years of experience working for a producer in Bali. Our store is an interactive and educative shop where we educate the local community on design possibilities and ways to get excellent value for money in buying furniture from Indonesia.
I have advertised locally extensively for a shop assistant but no great response. I got only one response and have had to hire her despite the person not being qualified. It has been very hard to recruit.
This FDH is good and has good qualifications. Is it possible to apply for a work visa for my business?”
ANSWER
This question actually comes up more often than you might imagine, and unfortunately the answer is – it’s not possible to convert from a foreign domestic helper visa through to an employment visa issued under the General Employment Policy. You see, the problem really is twofold. Firstly, it is now impossible to secure employment visa permissions for any kind of retail sales position in Hong Kong simply because, let’s face it, Hong Kong is driven by primarily a Chinese population and the retail industry as such is serviced primarily by a Chinese population.
So, in principle, in our experience it’s been very difficult to persuade the Immigration Department of the merits of issuing an employment visa under the General Employment Policy for any kind of retail position. So that’s problem number one. Problem number two actually drives to the heart of the foreign domestic help visa permissions that your helper is holding.
You see, in securing the foreign domestic helper visa initially, she had to satisfy, believe it or not, the Immigration Department that she was kind of qualified to be a foreign domestic helper. And so the profile which the Immigration Department has on her is in relation to providing domestic duties.
So now if you were to go back to the Immigration Department and argue that, notwithstanding, she is actually incredibly experienced in the design and the display of retail furniture in an Indonesian context, the Immigration Department, I think, would be loathe to buy into that anticipating that there may be misrepresentations either on the case of the foreign domestic helper visa application, or in fact on this application where you’re now stating that she is qualified to undertake this retail job.
I think thirdly, the problem is that retail jobs typically don’t command the kind of salaries that the Immigration Department expects to see for probability purposes under the General Employment Policy. So even if the first two challenges could be overcome, you’d still be looking at paying this lady in the region of HKD200,000 a month for the work that she’s doing for you. Whilst that might be possible, I suspect you’re going to probably struggle tremendously under the first two challenges that we’ve already discussed.
VisaGeeza.Ai – Making Hong Kong Immigration A Lot Easier
More than 20 years in the business of Hong Kong immigration and this is the first time I can remember this question ever being raised. So, now you know how to go about HIV Health Checks Hong Kong Visa Application!
QUESTION
Hi Stephen,
I do not see this issue addressed on your web site (which, by the way, is fantastic).
What are the medical requirements for a Canadian citizen applying for a Hong Kong work visa (sponsored through current employer)?
Does Hong Kong require HIV testing or other testing, and if so, can those tests be done in the home country? How will the immigration authorities treat an applicant who is HIV+?
Thanks.
ANSWER
Interestingly, unlike most other first world jurisdictions, Hong Kong doesn’t actually have any requirement for health status cheques as part and parcel of the Hong Kong immigration process that covers every single aspect of Hong Kong immigration, from visitor visas through to temporary residence visas, all the way up to, indeed the Right of Abodeand becoming permanent residents.
So in relation to your health status, when you make an application, the entire process is silent as to health, so it doesn’t appear in the equation. So don’t have any concerns about the status of your health in any way impinging your ability to become a contributing member to Hong Kong society.
VisaGeeza.Ai – Making Hong Kong Immigration A Lot Easier
What’s the story where a new company in Hong Kong has not yet set up shop in the HKSAR but want to hire staff? What do the Immigration Department make if this situation when it comes to visa sponsorship for foreign employees?
QUESTION
Hello Visa Geeza,
Thanks in advance! Your website has brought clarity on a number of questions I had on the visa process.
I do however have a few more.
I’m currently employed by a Hong Kong limited company, in the professional services industry, as a U.S. citizen.
I was originally invited to Hong Kong to work for this company, and arrived in Hong Kong in June 2011 (approximately 3 years and 3 months ago) under an employment visa sponsored by the said company.
I have since renewed my employment visa with the same company in June 2014, and it will expire in June 2016.
I have since been offered a new job with a different company located in Singapore that has no currently business dealings in Hong Kong.
The new company in Hong Kong does not deal in professional services, but industrial chemicals.
The parent company has been established in Singapore for the last 15 years with offices in the U.S. and Europe.
The new company in Hong Kong does not currently have any employees, nor do they have a current/valid business registered.
As part of the new job, they have asked that I set-up an office and register a new business in Hong Kong focusing on sales/trading of their products with me being the sole director/shareholder of the intended new Hong Kong office.
The intentions are to leave my current company, and establish/register the new business within the next couple of months.
As I begin the process to apply for an investment visa (I believe this is the appropriate visa rather than an employment visa) and register the new business, I have yet to notify my current company of my intentions to resign.
No official documents have been filed on either end for the investment visa or business as I’m trying to determine the right course of action.
Given my intentions to apply for an investment visa and register a new business as the sole director, I’m wondering what steps need to be completed first to ensure I have the correct visa application process in place (sponsored by the new company in Hong Kong) to avoid any visa breaches, and which does not jeopardize the business registration, or vice-versa.
This seems like a chicken versus the egg dilemma…
My goal is to successfully apply for the investment visa under the newly formed company, and to keep my path towards Permanent Residency uninterrupted since I’m already half way there!
I have rented my apartment for the 3 years 3 months I have lived in Hong Kong, established bank accounts, utility services/accounts, and etc in Hong Kong.
Again, thank you for your help! This site and your services are invaluable for foreigners looking to establish ourselves in Hong Kong!
Hopefully, I have given a detailed account for your guidance.
ANSWER
Very interesting question with lots of moving parts. So, I’ll get straight into it. Effectively, if you’re going to change your employment visa category through to investment from employment, then you need to pass the approvability test that shows to the extent that you can make a substantial contribution to the economy of Hong Kong.
However, I suspect in the way that you’ve couched the language of your question, you’ve interpreted being a director and a sole shareholder as effectively representing ownership by the Singapore parent entity, with you being the single executive that’s responsible for the development of the legal establishment and the commercial operations going forward.
So on the basis that it’s the parent company who’s going to be the shareholder, that is essentially the new Hong Kong entity is going to be a wholly owned subsidiary of the Singapore office, then you will not be an investor, you will be an employee for the purposes of your immigration status.
So you would be applying to change your visa sponsorship from your current employer through to this new employment scenario. Now, because it’s a completely new business situation without any legal establishment or any commercial operations or infrastructure at all on the ground here, effectively, what you’re going to have to do is to steer your parent company employer in Singapore to fund the necessary infrastructure arrangements so the Immigration Department can be satisfied that the new subsidiary in Hong Kong is going to be a suitable and credible sponsor for the purposes of your employment visa permissions.
And to that end, clearly you’re going to have to incorporate a new company and get it registered under the business registration arrangements and get a business registration certificate issued to you. You’re going to have to procure suitable business premises for you to report to work to each day. And you’re going to have to set out what your staffing plan is as you roll the operations out in Hong Kong, in the wake of having successfully secured the Immigration Department’s permission to change your sponsorship into the hands of this new employer accordingly.
Now, as part and parcel of that exercise, because the Singapore entity doesn’t have a presence here in Hong Kong yet, effectively, as a new business scenario, you’re going to have to show to the Immigration Department documents as to the Singapore business, its commercial performance, its accounts, what it’s doing in Singapore, how long it’s been in business, all of that kind of good stuff to allow the Immigration Department to rest assured that the new Hong Kong operation, as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Singapore business is resourced sufficiently enough to satisfy the Immigration Department’s requirement that the new Hong Kong entity can be a suitable and credible sponsor for your immigration permissions.
So in that respect, assuming that you are going to be the founding director, but the shareholding is going to be held in the hands of the uh Singapore company, then, effectively you are on your way on the basis that you can get the infrastructure in place and your plans laid out for the Immigration Department to be satisfied that this business arrangement is suitable for the purposes of Hong Kong’s requirement for Singaporeans to make a substantial contribution to the economy of Hong Kong.
Now turning, to the question of you switching industries from professional services through to chemicals trading. Well, as long as you’ve got in your background the requisite skills, knowledge and experience to be undertaking these types of activities, then as a founding executive in this situation if you’ve got a good track record as a professional previously, then I suspect that there’ll be sufficient enough meat in your sandwich, as it were, to persuade the Immigration Department that you do possess the requisite skills, knowledge and experience to do the job and that somebody locally can’t be expected to uptake that work instead of you. But aligned with that will be a requirement for the Immigration Department to be advised as to what the future staffing complement of the business in Hong Kong is going to look like and where you fit in the overall sort of organisational framework what you’re going to do as regards implementing those new jobs.
So all things considered, this is an application that from the sounds of it appears approvable; you’re just going to have to grasp the nettle and recognise the fact that this would not be an investment visa application as such, although the Immigration Department as it is a new business situation, will apply elements of the investment visa provability test to it, that is Singapore companie’s to show that through the establishment of its operation in Hong Kong, it can make a substantial contribution to the economy of Hong Kong.
And that from your perspective as an incoming employee, that is employee number one, you do possess special skills, knowledge and experience of value to and not readily available in Hong Kong. So if you can put all that together then it seems to me that you’re probably on your way.
On the other hand you stated that you are going to be the sole shareholder. Now if you are a sole shareholder then, effectively the situation is completely different because it’s not going to be a wholly owned subsidiary scenario. It’s going to be effectively the Immigration Department looking at your ability to make a substantial contribution to the economy of Hong Kong.
And in that regard then I suggest that you look really in detail at the investment visa approvability criteria detailed elsewhere on the website. But, as I say, my sense is from how you’ve couched your question that you are in fact not going to be an owner of this business, the business in fact will be owned by the Singapore parent, and given that you’ve got a sufficient period of time left on your current limit of stay, you need to make an application to change your sponsorship, and you’ll only be able to do that once you’ve laid down the infrastructure for the new commercial presence and legal presence in Hong Kong. So the sooner you crack on with that the better. And, insofar as your, permanent residency scenario goes well, as long as you maintain your continuous ordinary residence in Hong Kong all throughout the period of transitioning from your old employer to the new employment arrangements. And then in the wake of getting the permission of the Immigration Department to change your sponsorship into the new employer arrangements, you continue to be ordinarily resident in Hong Kong. Then you’ll maintain your present trajectory through to an eventual seven years continuous ordinary residence so that when the moment comes for you to be able to make an application for the Right of Abode, you’ll be able to do so.
And now just a note on the practicalities of this type of application: it’s firstly incorporate, get the business registration certificate, secure clear arrangements for your business premises where you’re going to be reporting to work to each day. Don’t expect that you’ll be able to run this business from your spare bedroom or your kitchen table. The immigration department won’t buy into that. You’re going to have to have dedicated business premises. Immigration Department are going to want to see, as I said, a staffing plan and that the new company bank account is properly funded to be able to finance operations. You then, once all that’s in place, make an application to adjust your sponsorship from your old employer to this new arrangement. It’s a fifth floor application and you’ll find that it probably takes about between six and ten weeks for the Immigration Department to finalise your case, given that it is a new business situation. Okay, so as I said, there’s quite a lot of moving parts to this but I see this scenario happen all too often and as long as the Singapore parent, in your instance, is a decent sized operation, I think you’ll find once you’ve got your infrastructure on the ground here that the immigration plan will more than likely buy into the plan and allow you to adjust your sponsorship accordingly.
Okay. Hope you found that useful.
VisaGeeza.Ai – Making Hong Kong Immigration A Lot Easier
I have been in Hong Kong for 2 years as a Visitor and my work visa application was denied for the second time a couple of weeks ago.
My visitor visa doesn’t run out until next week. I wanted to ask if my refused visa application will have an impact on my re-entry when I go to Macau to renew my visitor visa. I’ve been going to Macau for renewal every few months and there hasn’t been a problem but all of those times, I either wasn’t applying or it was in progress.
Now that it has definitely been denied, how heavy is the risk that I will be told to go back to Switzerland? (I have a Swiss passport).
I also applied for a Work Holiday visa a couple of years ago that was denied.
My boyfriend lives here with an Italian passport and so I’m very worried about possible separation.
ANSWER
When you present yourself for admission as a visitor to Hong Kong, the examining officer at the airport or at the boundary is assessing your bona fide as a visitor. And in this regard, it takes into consideration a number of factors. He does a risk assessment in terms of, you know, who you are, how old you are, possibly what you look like, an assessment into your means, have you got a return ticket, etc.?
They will also look to see your pattern and frequency of visits to Hong Kong. And essentially, if you’ve been coming and going nonstop for two years now, engaging in what I’ve couched as the Shenzhen shuttle, albeit going by Macau, you are, in any event, irrespective of what’s happened down at the Immigration Tower, regards your previous visa refusals, at risk of not being assessed as a bona fide visitor to Hong Kong if for no other reason that the officer can see you’ve been here for two years and may suspect that you’ve been breaching your conditions of stay by uptaking unauthorised employment.
So, presently, when you present yourself, you may get an experience with an officer where he essentially waves you through at the point of doing the assessment. The immigration officer at the border or at the airport won’t have immediate access to the knowledge that you have had previous visa applications refused. But once they do stop you and inquire into further details as to what’s keeping you in Hong Kong, then clearly that will come out. And, the fact that you do have efforts on file of trying to take up residence for employment purposes that have been repeatedly refused makes you a very high risk candidate for admission as a visitor.
So, you are essentially at risk in any event, but elevated. So because of your history of prior refusals, by the way, your working holiday visa was refused not because there’s anything wrong with you as an applicant other than the fact that you’re a nationality that doesn’t qualify for one.
So it’s your two prior employment visa refusals that are an issue for you. But then you see, you’ve got the issue as regards your relationship with your boyfriend and that is clearly a reason for you spending as much time here as you are. Is it sufficient for the immigration department to just admit you nonetheless? Well, given that they won’t have all the facts and information and evidence on hand at the time that they’re assessing you for admission as a visitor the next time around it’s difficult for them to essentially rely on the representations that you’ll be making to them as to the nature and the state of your relationship with your boyfriend.
So what I would suggest that you do to try to at least ameliorate this, if you do get stopped, is to have with you all his information. A copy of his passport, his visa label, a copy of his ID card, his mobile number. Indeed, a letter from him addressed to the examining officer at the airport or at the border stating that you’re in a loving, committed relationship and that he’s prepared to assume responsibility for you during the currency of your next visit; and it may well be that information could be just enough in a go or no go situation for the officer to admit you for a further three months.
However, that approach is certainly not sustainable and you are in a sense relying on the discretion of the examining officer to cut you some slack in real terms. Because two years as a visitor is a long time. Your nationality gets three months. That’s a reasonable timeframe to be visiting Hong Kong as far as policy goes.
Of course I know that you do have a reason for being here longer than, but unfortunately immigration rules all over the world are such that they don’t allow unlimited de facto residents to people who visit; and you are at risk of the steam running out of your engine in this respect.
Now a longer term solution might be that if you’re in a loving committee life partner relationship and you and your boyfriend are both free to marry but choose not to, and you can show to the Immigration Department that during these two years you have been cohabiting in Hong Kong, then you may be able to secure a prolonged visitor visa upon application to the department on the strength that you are essentially de facto spouses.
Your boyfriend will clearly have to participate in this application and sponsor you for this; it’s an out of policy application. So there’s not even a section in the immigration department that’s set up to deal with these applications. You really are once again throwing yourself at the feet of the immigration officers to positively consider an application for you not to be separated from your boyfriend given the nature and the longevity and the committed sense of your relationship with them.
So there are plenty of resources on our websites that speak to prolonged visitor visas; the mere fact of having one in the pipeline, again, doesn’t automatically address your bona fide as a visitor when you are undertaking the Shenzhen shuttle; and because it does take between, well, six to eight months for these things to play themselves through, normally could be a little bit quicker; but normally, because it’s out of policy, they are quite sort of long in the applying. So you will have to run the gauntlets of the Shenzhen shuttle probably on two or three more occasions to you get an outcome on that application. So that’s really the sort of the lot of it for you, I’m afraid.
In a nutshell, there’s a bit of light at the end of the tunnel, but you keep relying on the Shenzhen shuttle, then I think you’re going to find sooner or later, the hammer’s going to fall, and the sword of Damocles will have worked to end your time with your boyfriend.
I hope you found that useful.
VisaGeeza.Ai – Making Hong Kong Immigration A Lot Easier
Simple question this one with an easy answer and indicative of the fact that, even though quite a straight forward issue, the information is not otherwise readily available anywhere else on the web.
QUESTION
I am a Canadian citizen, working in Hong Kong holding an employment visa for 7 weeks. I want to stay after my job is finished (work visa will expire at the same time) to see Hong Kong, then travel to Macau and Thailand.
Do I need to have my visa changed from employment to visitor?
Thank you so much for your help.
ANSWER
At the time that your employment visa limit of stay is due to expire, if you don’t have the continuing rationale for remaining in Hong Kong as an employee, because your contract has come to an end and in any event, it was just a short term employment visa;nonetheless then, for you to remain in Hong Kong as a visitor will not be problematic at all, but there will be a process that you need to go through in order to achieve this outcome.
There are two ways to go about doing it. The first is to go down to the Immigration Department to the visitor extension section, wait probably three quarters of a day, and get yourself up to a maximum of possibly two week visitor visa extension upon request of an immigration officer going through the visa extension process, and they will readily grant you, no doubt, a two week extension to your present limit of stay, converting you from an employment visa holder to a visitor at that time.
So that should not be problematic at all. The real problem there, of course, is that even it’s going to take a long time, it gets very busy. And the visitor visa guys at the Immigration Department are under a lot of pressure and they tend to be somewhat brusque in the way that they process such applicants. But you will get the extension, so don’t worry about that.
Alternatively, and ideally, what I would suggest that you do is – on the final date of your current limit of stay as an employment visa holder, take in a sense the 11:00 evening ferry over to Macau. Arrive in Macau and come back from Macau into Hong Kong on the very next ferry, which will bring you into Hong Kong on the next day, the day after your current limit to stay as an employment visa holder expires.
And at the point of arrival, the immigration officer will only be able to grant you a visitor visa because that’s the only status that will be open to you, given that your employment visa will have expired the day before. And as a Canadian national, you will get a 90 day period of stay; and that’s the same for most western nationalities, such as most Europeans and also Americans for that matter. And, at that point, you’ll be then granted the time that you need in Hong Kong to complete your final activities here as a visitor. Okay, I hope this helps.
VisaGeeza.Ai – Making Hong Kong Immigration A Lot Easier
Foreign national employment visa holders in Hong Kong are quite often interested in setting up a side business…
QUESTION
I am currently employed full-time by a company in Hong Kong. They successfully sponsored my Hong Kong employment visa and I just started my job 2 months ago. All is going very well.
But I would like to register my own business, because I see a chance to act as middle-man for service exchange between China and Europe, and would like that to be done in an official, legal manner.
A recent podcast answer of yours said it would be possible for me to request permission to join in a “side business”.
Does a “side business” involve getting others to register the company, and joining as partner?
Or does it simply mean I can register myself but there are restrictions on what I can earn or do?
Can you please advise on how I can actually go about setting up a side business and then getting the permission of Immigration here to be able to do this?
Best regards, and thank you for sharing your expertise in this manner.
ANSWER
I’m really grateful for this question because it gives me an opportunity to discuss how one goes about establishing a side business. If you’re here as an employee sponsored by an employer and your employment visahas been granted for you to do the work to that employer, but the side business has attractions to you and so you wish to get the permission of the Immigration Department to joining that side business to supplement what you’re doing with your formal full time employment.
Firstly, to establish a side business, you need to get the permission of your existing employer in writing, stating that they have no objection to joining in the side business. And then you need to ensure that you have a business entity properly registered in Hong Kong to your name, not to business partners as such, although you can have partners in a side business, but normally the Immigration Department are expecting that your side business is you doing some stuff that is in addition to your primary employment, as I say, that your current employer has no objection to engaging in.
So you register, typically a sole proprietorship, which is the simplest form, a business entity in Hong Kong with the Commissioner for Inland Revenue, which means you go down to the revenue tower in Wan Chai, which is next to Immigration Tower, and apply for business registration certificate, which is a simple exercise, filling in some forms and presenting a copy of your Hong Kong identity card and away you go.
At that point you’ll be issued with a business registration certificate once you’ve paid the fee, which is a little over HKD2,000, which is an annual fee, by the way. And once you have got your business registration certificate, you then effectively write to the Immigration Department seeking their permission to join in as side business with the consent of your existing employer.
And that application bundle itself will be including the letter from your employer, a copy of business registration certificate, short synopsis of what you’re planning to do with your side business, and showing also that your activities will contribute to the economy of Hong Kong. So that’s inimical to your argument. It’s not a long and complicated process. It’s relatively straightforward. The vast majority of these applications do get approved by the Immigration Department on the basis that it’s merely a business on the side. It’s not going to in any way conflict with your primary employment activities, which, after all, are the reasons why you’ve been granted permissions to remain in Hong Kong in the first place. That application process normally takes about four weeks to finalise, so it certainly doesn’t involve anybody else assisting you in respect of this side business. It’s expected that you’re going to be undertaking this business by yourself, as I say, as a supplementary activity to your core employment activities with your sponsoring employer.
Okay. Hope you found that useful.
VisaGeeza.Ai – Making Hong Kong Immigration A Lot Easier
