Hong Kong Visas Made Easy

Can I Sponsor Myself For Freelance Work ‘On-the-Side’ Whilst Working For My Current Hong Kong Employment Visa Sponsor?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Investment Visas, Your Question Answered / No responses

This is joining in a side business albeit in another name…and a solution for certain types of Hong Kong Employment Visa holders thinking about freelancing in Hong Kong

QUESTION

Info

-NZ Passport holder

-Working in Hong Kong for three years with an employer.

Hello

I would like to know how I would go about starting a business in Hong Kong. I would like to start a freelance business. I am worried about my visa with this if I sponsor myself.

Should I create my business now, and apply while I am with my current job to be safe?

ANSWER

This question really gives us an opportunity to discuss the possibilities of getting independent visa permissions for “freelance work” and, given the circumstances, as I understand them, the best possible way for you to bring about the outcome that you’re looking for, firstly, the thing to appreciate is that you presently have a Hong Kong employment visa sponsored by a third party employer.

If you wish to leave that employer and then go into business for yourself as a freelancer, as you state it, then you’re going to have to make an application for what’s known as a business investment visa. So you’ll be changing your category from sponsored employment through to business investment, and at that time you’ll have to show to the Immigration Department that you can make a substantial contribution to the economy of Hong Kong. Now, I’ve dealt with the elements of that approvability test elsewhere on the website, just do a search under business investment visas and you’ll find a lot of information about that.

The problem therein lies that you are going to be freelancer, which means it’s a one-man business, and such businesses normally are not in a position to make a substantial contribution to the economy of Hong Kong because there’s only one person ultimately going to be advantaged, that’s you as an individual freelancer.

So, I would urge you to look very hard and carefully at your plans to leave your employment and then go and start out working for yourself and making that application as a freelancer. Because unless you are in a position to create local employment opportunities, have a properly set up office and are particularly well resourced, you may find that the Immigration Department don’t buy into your argument and therefore you may not get the appropriate approval that you’re looking for. So, that really is probably the riskiest part of the proposition, as I understand it.

You can, on the other hand, take another path where you effectively maintain your current employment and, with the written permission of your existing employer, you request the Immigration Department to approve an application from you to join in a side business; and in doing those freelance activities on the side, the Immigration Department will arguably give you the approval that you’re needing. And, as I say, as long as you’ve got the permission of your current employer to be able to do that things should be okay.

So in summary, my best advice would be if you really are going into freelancing, in a sense, abandon the idea of being a self sponsored employee by getting a business investment visa.

I think it’s just probably too hard and possibly beyond your initial expectations of what you want to do commercially and how you go about earning a living and stick with the full time sponsored employment if it’s possible. Therefore, get the permission of your current employment visa sponsor to freelance on the side and then secure a business registration certificate as sole proprietor and then make an application to the Immigration Department for permission to join in the side business with your current sponsoring employer’s consent. That way you will be able to achieve your objectives, and at some stage in the future, you never know, your freelance business might grow to the point where you do need to create local employment opportunities and you are going to need independently a properly set up office and you might have the requisite resources in play, both financial and other commercial resources, to the extent that the time spent as a freelancer on the side could be a proving ground for a bigger application subsequently, where you would be able to pass the approvability test and show that you can make a substantial contribution to the economy of Hong Kong.

I hope you found that useful.

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Can You Study In Hong Kong If You Only Possess A Visitor Visa Here?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Visitor Visas, Your Question Answered / No responses

What kind of activity is permitted if you are in Hong Kong on a Visitor visa? Does this include informal study?

QUESTION

My wife and I are spending some time here in Hong Kong.

We do not work here and we do not intend to.

We just enjoy living here, enjoying the city.

We have sufficient savings to support ourselves financially. So yes, we are both here on a Visitor visa.

My wife would be interested in studying English to keep herself busy and improve upon her English.

She contacted the British Council but was informed she could not enrol because she did not have a Hong Kong ID card or a study visa.

Do you have any advice on how to proceed?

Applying for a study visa could be an option, but it will probably be too long before it is granted – if it is granted at all.

Thanks for any insight you can offer us.

ANSWER

As a general rule, it is not permitted activity to remain in Hong Kong as a visitor visa holder if it is your intention to study here. Therefore, you need to make an application for student visa, and there are essentially two tracks for the grant of the student visa: there is a track which is followed when you intend to follow a course of study in a university that will lead to a degree qualification, and then there’s a course of study for less formal study that doesn’t result in a formal degree and, in fact, can be offered by other properly incorporated and established learning institutes in Hong Kong that are not full blown tertiary education institutes, and many of the English schools and other language schools around town are very familiar with the process of proceeding with the grant of a student visa in support of actually what is representative of economic activity in Hong Kong. The Immigration Department will try to avail permissions for people to enrol in those less formal courses of study and will lead to the grant of a three or a six or possibly even a nine-month period of stay, depending on the nature of the programme and how the party that is offering the study programme is received or acknowledged by the Immigration Department as being properly empowered and orchestrated and constituted to support foreign nationals in their applications for student visas to participate in their programmes.

These student visas take 4-6 weeks to finalise and whilst I appreciate the British Council haven’t played ball with you this far, that’s more than likely because of the, in a sense, British government mandated-orientation of the British Council. But if you look around Hong Kong and find other properly established language institutes, you may find that they have all the expertise and indeed experience to assist you secure a study visa for your wife while she’s in Hong Kong.

I wouldn’t give up on the idea of a student visa just because the British council have taken one orientation towards you. Shop around, have a look, see what’s going on elsewhere and anticipate that there’s a very good chance that your wife will be able to get a student visa so that she can engage in her studies of English while she’s in Hong Kong and while you remain with her as a visitor.

Okay, I hope you found that useful.

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What Types Of Visa For The HKSAR Entitle You To Get A Hong Kong Identity Card?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Family Visas, Investment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Special Programmes, Your Question Answered / 4 responses

There’s a lot of confusion about the Hong Kong Identity Card so today I’d like to clear it up a bit…

QUESTION

Hello,

(1) Which visa categories require a Hong Kong Identity Card, and

(2) If they require a Hong Kong Identity Card then will it allow for access to the public health care system, even being a non-Hong Kong national?

Thank you

ANSWER

The question here is not so much what type of visa categories require a Hong Kong Identity Card, but rather what type of immigration status or permission to remain in Hong Kong qualifies you for a Hong Kong Identity Card?

The Hong Kong ID Card is issued under the registrations of Persons Ordinance, and it splits it into two particular types of ID card.

There are (1) non-permanent identity cards and there are (2) permanent identity cards.

Permanent identity cards are granted to people who are long stay residents or are permanent residents as a result of being born in Hong Kong to parents who can transfer their permanent residence status to them by descent. Other long stay foreign nationals secure as a result of being continuously and ordinarily resident in Hong Kong for a period of not less than seven years, so these are permanent identity cards.

However, temporary identity cards are issued to people who have been granted a residence visa, and have been granted a limited stay, which is a minimum of 180 days (that’s six months). And, once you have a residence visa, you get by operation of law called to register for a Hong Kong Identity Card, which you have to carry with you at all times; and, once you’ve got a Hong Kong identity card, effectively, then you’ve got access to the public health care system as of right, irrespective of the underlying immigration status behind it.

So essentially you need to be a resident of Hong Kong in order to get a Hong Kong identity card, and you need a limited state that is at least six months. And once you qualify or satisfy under that criteria, then you will get a Hong Kong identity card irrespective of the immigration status that you have.

Okay, I hope you found that useful.

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How Can I Regain The Right Of Abode In Hong Kong If I Have Been Downgraded To The Right To Land?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Feature Article, Long Stay & PR, Your Question Answered / 3 responses

Getting from the Right to Land to the Right of Abode is the same as coming from a temporary visa to a permanent identity card. It’s all about the magic seven years in Hong Kong… 

QUESTION

I am a UK Citizen with the Right to Land.

I understand that with Right to Land, I have no restriction in staying in Hong Kong apart from I can’t vote. 

After 7 years, I would like to apply for permanent residency again – how do I prove that?  

I do not intend to work and would be living with relatives. 

To supplement my application for permanent residency, would I need to prove my income or need official documents with my name on it e.g. bills or bank accounts?

Regards

ANSWER

If you’ve once held the right of abode but have lost it due to you not being in Hong Kong on at least one occasion in a seven year given period, and you have been downgraded to the Right to Land, it is perfectly possible to go on to subsequently reacquire the Right of Abode one more time; and you do this by passing the normal approvability test of showing that you’ve been continuously an ordinarily resident in Hong Kong for a period of not less than seven years, and that any absences from Hong Kong in that time have been of a merely temporary nature, as evidenced by what you leave behind to return back to at the end of each temporary stay abroad, and that you can show to the satisfaction of the right of abode officer that you have remained settled in Hong Kong.

So in your instance, if you are planning to return here but have no need to work, are going to be staying with relatives and, will not be typically generating the kind of documentation that one ordinarily generates during the creation of a life in Hong Kong, so it’s just tenancy agreements such as proof of employment, activities, payments to the Inland Revenue Department and the like. Effectively, if you’re not going to have these in place, then there will be a careful assessment of where you have spent your time; they will call for documents to show that notwithstanding the fact that you haven’t been working, notwithstanding the fact that you haven’t taken any place of your own in terms of where you’re going to live, that you’ve been living with relatives, suitable documentation that speaks to that fact.

In other words, the Immigration Department will look at the realities of where you’ve spent your time and what you’ve been doing, and they will be looking for evidence of settlement. So one would assume that in the seven years, whilst you may not have a tenancy agreement, you may not have a job, you will be engaging in some sort of activities that will allow the Immigration Department to objectively conclude that you’re settled in Hong Kong. This could be club memberships, charitable works, other philanthropic activity, interacting with society through clubs, perhaps things that you do that generate media. Naturally enough, the statement to travel records for the seven years should be acquired from the department and submitted to allow them to readily appreciate where you’ve been during the course of the seven years and how many days you spent in Hong Kong and how much time you spent away.

Therefore, if you don’t have the normal documents, then any other documents which speak to the reality that you have been living your life in Hong Kong full time on a settled basis, and such documents that would ordinarily be generated just by virtue of living an ordinary settled life here. That’s all you need to do.

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Will Extended Time Spent In Hong Kong As A Visitor Between Employment Visas Negatively Impact Any Future Application I Make To Work Here Again?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Visitor Visas, Your Question Answered / No responses

What do ImmD make of foreign nationals who hold an employment visa for a period of time, then remain here as Visitors again for a protracted time, then apply once again for an employment visa?

QUESTION

I was previously employed in Hong for a number of years, but have been not been working here for the past 2 years, so have had to make multiple re-entries into Hong Kong as a Visitor (consecutive re-entries over a span of 2 years). 

Hong Kong Immigration has never rejected my re-entry as a visitor into Hong Kong, nor have I over-stayed any visits. 

I have family ties in Hong Kong, and would like to remain here. 

I also have financial/bank accounts in Hong Kong. 

I was wondering if I were to get sponsored by an employer to work in Hong Kong again, would Immigration look at my work visa application unfavourably as a result of my previous years as a “visitor”?

Thank you for your most helpful service.

ANSWER

Each time that you present yourself as a visitor in Hong Kong there is an examination of your bona fide as a visitor and if the examining officer is satisfied as to your bona fide you get admitted and effectively no further questions asked about what you’re going to be doing and how you’re spending your time here.

So the fact that you’ve had protracted stays in Hong Kong as a visitor since the time of your last employment visa will not negatively impact in any way on future application that you make for an employment visa; the facts are what they are and, as I say the examining officer at the point of presenting yourself as a visitor has looked at your bona fide and has been satisfied with them and as long as you have no bistaid then there is no issues associated with any time spent in Hong Kong is visited negatively impacting any future application.

I hope you find this useful.

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Is It Ever Possible To Seek An Early Extension To A Hong Kong Investment Visa For A Non-Immigration Related Reason?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Investment Visas, Your Question Answered / No responses

What will the Hong Kong Immigration Department make of a very early application for an extension to a business investment visa?

QUESTION

I am 6 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 in March.

Am I allowed to apply for an extension to my current visa at this early stage and if so, should it be straight forward?

ANSWER

Unfortunately, the Immigration Department are quite rigid when it comes to seeking extensions of stay; they have only limited resources and they anticipate in the overall extension exercise that the requisite period of time for the delivery of services in the case of an employment visa, or in respect of an investment visa that period of time will have been fully completed so that they’ll be able to properly assess the merits of an extension once the application goes in.

Consequently, if you have a need, for whatever reason, to attempt to secure an extension four or five months prior to the expiry current limit of stay, I think you’ll find that the Immigration Department will not be particularly receptive to it, citing the fact that they believe that you don’t need the extension, even though you have got a good ancillary reason for requesting that extension, in this case, in order to assist you get a new residential tenancy grant because of a condition which the landlord seems to be imposing upon you. So unfortunately, whilst you can certainly attempt to make the application, I think you’ll find that you’ll get rebuffed at the first barrier where the initial officer will say: hang on a minute, you’ve still got five months left on your current limit of stay, we can’t see any compelling reason as to why we should grant you the exercise of considering an extension application at this time because your reason is not that compelling. On occasion, the Immigration Department do come to the party, but you do have to have a compelling reason.

In my experience those compelling reasons usually come down to matters of ill health, and that’s probably about the shape of it when it comes to the Immigration Department assisting with early extensions.

I’m sorry the news isn’t good, but I hope you found this information useful.

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Can I Remain In Hong Kong As A Dependant Visa Holder If My Spouse Has Died?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Family Visas, Feature Article, Your Question Answered / 3 responses

What can you do about your dependant visa status in Hong Kong if you have sadly lost your much loved spouse-as-sponsor?

QUESTION

Hello,

I came to Hong Kong on a dependent visa (my wife, a PR, sponsoring me).

I have already completed 3.5 years and my visa is about due for extension.

The dilemma I face is that I lost my wife who died last year and now I am left with no sponsor in Hong Kong.

Will I be repatriated back to my origin of country or do have any chance to remain in Hong Kong?

My earnings here presently average HKD 345,000 per year.

Can I remain in Hong Kong as a dependant visa holder if my spouse has died?

Please advise. Thank you.

ANSWER

Unfortunately, due to the death of your spouse, the prevailing conditions that are needed to extend the dependent visa are no longer present. Therefore, the availability for you to get an extension to your dependent visa is really non existent. However, having said that, the Immigration Department are, in my experience, sympathetic to scenarios such as that which you face and therefore normally they will look to see if you have an existing employment that can form the basis of your ability to remain in Hong Kong as a resident, thereby clearly not penalising you through your unfortunate loss.

So, in essence what happens is that you need to make an application for an extension of stay on your own merits, and those own merits will be factored into your application given that you’ve got an existing employment and that, through clearly no fault of your own, your ability to get an extension of stay through the death of your wife is not going to be available to you.

So the Immigration Department look at these applications usually positively, they have a process called on own merits and I expect that when you make your application for an extension of state they will ask to see all the documents that you need, typically for an employment visa, and when I’ve seen this in the past they’ve actually approved these extension applications in 48 hours; therefore, I believe that you’ll probably be in good shape, all things considered. So head off to the fifth floor of immigration tower with your ID91 extension of stay form. I would also include the ID990A and ID990B from your employer. Assuming that you’ve uh, got an employer and you’re not working for yourself otherwise, it might well be that you need to use form ID999A and form ID999B along with the ID91, and all the kind of information that is normally required for business investment visa. As I say, typically I’d expect the Immigration Department to kind of approve you quickly on your own merits because of your circumstances.

I hope you found that useful.

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