What’s A Suitable Hong Kong Visa & Immigration Strategy For A Highly Accomplished Professional Trailing Unmarried Partner?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Special Programmes, Your Question Answered / 8 responses

It’s only natural to wish to iron out all the immigration wrinkles prior to a relocation to Hong Kong when you’re joining your loved one who’s transferring here. This question provides a great opportunity for a discussion of the various options available in terms of a Hong Kong Visa

QUESTION

I have been offered a job with a large multinational company in Hong Kong which I have accepted.

As my girlfriend and I are not married the company are unable to help with her visa. We plan on moving there indefinitely.

She is however a highly skilled architect and scores 110 on the General Points test for the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme visa.

Are they currently accepting architects in this capacity?

What are the chances of the visa being approved?

We would also like to ask, can you apply for 2 visas? Eg. Working visa and Quality Migrant visa at the same time?

How long does it usually take to have a working holiday visa approved?

If you receive a holiday working visa can you then apply for a Quality Migrant visa whilst you are living in Hong Kong under a working holiday visa? 

ANSWER

I’m really grateful for you asking this question because the challenge for professionals who are following their loved ones to work in Hong Kong and who don’t yet have a job offer, the immigration status that they face could be somewhat daunting before arrival if you’re not familiar with how Hong Kong immigration operates; once you find yourself on the ground here, you’ll quickly understand that visas for Hong Kong don’t have to be the major challenge that you would expect them to be because you haven’t become familiar with the place yet.

But that notwithstanding, there’s a lot of good stuff here that we can discuss, and I’m pleased that you’ve asked the question. It gives me an opportunity to essay the answer for you.

Firstly, if you were married, you would be able to get a dependent visa sponsored by you; however, you’re not married, it’s not available, we don’t need to labour it. The one question that I’d just like to clear up, though, is the issue about the company helping with the dependent visa. Actual fact, the application would be promoted by you. Even though they may do the paperwork, they may do the running around on the ground, you would sponsor this application and you would be in the hot seat of showing that you could put a roof over your spouse’s head and putting food on her table. And the interesting thing about the approval fund of the dependent visa regime is that she would be lawfully employable at the point of the visa being granted to her. That would mean that she could work for somebody else, she could join in her own business. In a sense, in that regard, she’d have immigration status that was actually better than yours, other than the fact that her limit stays directly connected or would be directly connected to yours. So the moment your employment visa permission is ended, her dependent visa permission would end at the same time. But she’s got a lot more flexibility or she would have a lot more flexibility than you have if she did have a dependent visa. Okay, that’s out of the way.

If you are deemed de facto spouses and you’re cohabiting together overseas, you could secure a prolonged visitor visa. A prolonged visa visa is the same visa that you get granted to at the airport when you arrive, be it on a prolonged basis, that is up to six months at a time.

There is no greater immigration advantage in having a prolonged visa visa other than the fact that the process of applying for it puts the Immigration Department on notice as to the rationale for your partner being in Hong Kong with you, and it means that she doesn’t have her own.

The gauntlet of entering and exiting Hong Kong upon the expiry of her visitor visa, which can be a little bit disconcerting for people because they’re never quite sure whether or not they’re going to be readmitted when they do make an exit for a visa and as it were. So that’s another option for you.

Turning to the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme which forms a great part of your question and the fact that she’s got 110 points; the problem with the Quality Migrant Admission Schemes are myriad, frankly speaking. Firstly you have no visibility whatsoever whether or not in this instance architects are being selected. The Immigration Department genuinely don’t put out any data on the type of professionals and talents that are being admitted under the scheme, and it’s very much a crapshoot. The one hundred and ten points is a good start, but it just gets you into the selection pool. Once you’re in the selection pool you’re not going to know who you’re competing against. And the selection committee that meets ostensibly twice a year are going to have a whole array of different other professionals that they’re looking at in tandem with your girlfriend.

So in terms of what the likelihood of approval is, frankly speaking, you know, your guess is very much as good as mine because my crystal ball doesn’t work in relation to this programme anymore. However, it can be said if you look at the data that the Immigration Department have put out, particularly recently, the odds are stacked against you because 77% of all Quality Migrant Admission Scheme approvals historically have gone to Chinese nationals, with a further 10% having gone to Canadian, Australian and US nationals. So that effectively means that 87% of all approvals are going to Chinese, Canadians, Australians and US citizens. The balance 13% is being split up against all other nationalities.

So just looking at where you stand on the nationality scale, if you’re Chinese you’ve got a much better chance of getting in under the programme, and the further you move away from the middle kingdom, from a statistical perspective, the odds suggest tha you’re going to struggle to get approved.

Another problem with the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme programme is it takes seven to twelve months for it to play itself out. That’s seven to twelve months of waiting around not quite knowing whether or not you’re going to get approved under the programme. And I’ve been dealing recently with a number of Quality Migrant Admission Schemes successful visa holders who are coming up for their first extension. We didn’t do the work for them initially but they’ve approached us for assistance on the extension exercise, and the stories that I’m hearing out there in the field from such applicants really do mirror our own personal experience in dealing with Quality Migrant Admissions applications.

So I’ve always been loathe to recommend it and nothing that I’ve seen recently suggests to me that it’s an application that you might want to prioritise over the other options that are available to you. So, yeah, basically what I’m saying here is be prepared for it to take a long time and don’t be surprised if you don’t get approved at the outcome of the process.

Now your question then sort of moved on to whether or not you can apply for a Quality Migrant Admission Scheme visa and apply for other immigration statuses at the same time. In this particular instance, yes, it is possible to have two concurrent applications ongoing, one in relation to Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS), and another in respect of a visa issued under one of the other aspects of Hong Kong immigration arrangements. So, yes, QMAS and an employment visa, for example, or a prolonged visitor visa, or indeed a dependent visa if you were married. All perfectly doable.

Then you ask a question about the working visa and whether or not you can apply for working visa at the same time as a Quality Migrant Admission Scheme visa. And it’s to this particular visa that I think that your long term future effectively belongs. Because if she’s a qualified professional – architect, understanding the kind of cases that are coming across our desks at the moment, a lot of construction professionals, a lot of professionals such as architects and interior designers and others of that ilk are quite frequently finding themselves in Hong Kong as a visitor, are going through the job interview process which is perfectly lawful under the visitor visa regime and are getting job offers extended to them.

And on the basis that your girlfriend can find herself in Hong Kong as a visitor, perhaps register with a series of recruitment agents or headhunters and then goes on to secure a job offer as a result of that recruitment exercise, in all likelihood she’s going to be able to secure an employment visa.

The approvability test for an employment visa is to be able to show that you possess special skills, knowledge and experience of value to not readily available in Hong Kong and that in all the circumstances of the case the employer is justified in engaging the services of the foreign national professional rather than the services of a local person; and, as I said, recent experience suggests to me that if she is indeed a highly qualified architectural professional she’s going to get an employment visa in her own right. So, that’s certainly something that, I’ll be steering you in the general direction of as we get to the conclusion of this question.

Just turning quickly now to the working holiday visa. I’m not quite sure whether or not you’d be eligible for a working holiday visa because you haven’t stated your nationality in the question, but on the basis that you do qualify, it takes about 4-6 weeks to be able to get that visa approved on the basis that the quota for the year hasn’t been expended by the department.

The problem with the working holiday visa is that it’s going to get you on the ground for twelve months but you can only work for a single employer every three months at a time, which for an architectural professional isn’t going to be very, very good. It is possible to have a working holiday visa at the same time as you make an application for a Quality Migrant Admission Scheme visa.

In a nutshell, those essentially are all of your options, and, as I’ve stated a little bit earlier, I think that the practical reality of the situation that you find yourself in, even though you’re trying to sort of rule out or rule in, I should say, the best immigration options for you before you make your relocation here is, for all practical purposes, come to Hong Kong as a visitor, get yourself registered with a headhunter or recruitment firm – I have very little doubt that in due course, sooner if not later, a job offer will materialise,  and on the strength of that job offer, she’ll be able to get an employment visa in her own right.

I hope you find that helpful.

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How Hard Is It To Secure A Visa Extension As An ‘Investor’ Under The Hong Kong Immigration Arrangements For Non-Local Graduates?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Investment Visas, Your Question Answered / 5 responses

The Hong Kong Immigration Department offer ‘liberalised’ immigration arrangements for foreign nationals and mainland students who graduate from Hong Kong tertiary education institutes (“IANG”). If you have a job in Hong Kong one year after graduation, then the extension process is all but a rubber stamping exercise. But what if you wish to start a business investment instead?

First Published August 20, 2013, still of interest today

QUESTION

Hello Stephen,

I have already graduated in summer 2012, and now I stay in Hong Kong by “1 year IANG extension” visa, and I need to get a visa before December 2013 which I can stay in Hong Kong.

The situation is I want to start a service business in a unique niche not presently served in Hong Kong.

I have got to know how to set up a company here, and after I read your Hong Kong Visa Handbook, I have better understanding.

The Visa Handbook is useful.

Based on your knowledge, what is the minimum monetary injections/investment to the company that I can extend my visa in Hong Kong in December 2013?

In other words, what is number is safe?

I have heard a successful case that a Chinese young girl set up her business in Hong Kong by HKD1,000,000 after finished her master program and she have extended her visa in the name of her own company.

Second question is, there are only three months that allow me to set up my business, is it even more difficult?

Let’s assume that, hopefully, I will register my company and start my business in November, will Hong Kong immigration reject my extension easily in December 2013, for reasons like the company is just started, or there are only few documents and contracts to prove the company can contribute to Hong Kong economy?

I am eager to start my own business in Hong Kong, instead of working for a company.

I hope you can give me some suggestions, thank you.

ANSWER

If you have a period of stay in Hong Kong that was afforded to you by the Immigration Arrangements for Non-Local Graduates (IANG), and you’re seeking to have that limited stay extended on the strength that you have started your own business here, then in order to achieve that you need to pass the approvability test for a business investment visa, which is you need to show that you are in a position to make a substantial contribution to the economy of Hong Kong.

That, of course, requires you to have things in your business plan that includes the potential for the creation of local employment opportunities and also that you’re going to have suitable business premises and that the nature of your business can be said to benefit Hong Kong in some discernible and tangible way.

And, therefore,the nature of your business itself is as important as also having the ability to create local jobs and be homing the business in the correct fashion. But to turn to your question about what the minimum or magic number is from a cash perspective, well, the truth is that there isn’t a particular minimum and there isn’t a particular magic number. It depends on the business that you’re intending to establish, or indeed you have established and whether those funds are sufficient to give effect to that business plan. From your question, it appears that you know someone who was successful in this endeavour with a million HKD, and I would say that, that’s not surprising. I think a million HKD is quite a good amount of capital to have to give effect to any kind of reasonable business plan; but as for what would work in your situation, again, I’m reluctant to put any particular number on it because it really does depend on all of the circumstances. But it is fair to say that based on my experience, if you have less than, say, a quarter of a million or maybe HKD300,000, you may struggle persuading the Immigration Department that your business is properly financed in order for your plan to really give effect to the potential for you to make that substantial contribution.

In relation to the timing aspect in your question, if you are planning to start your business in November and then expect the Immigration Department to grant you an extension based on that business in December, I think you’ll be very hard pressed to allow the Immigration Department to approve you in those circumstances because getting a business investment visa approved is one of the hardest challenges in Hong Kong Immigration.

Now, as a non-local graduate, you are afforded a certain kind of positive approach to such applications. But, the challenge of showing that you can make a substantial contribution to the economy of Hong Kong when you’re expecting the Immigration Department to consider that over the course of just a few short weeks, immediately prior to the expiry of your current limit of stay, is probably a little bit too much of an ask; so my strong advice is that if you’re going to do this, don’t wait until then but start now.

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How Long Should You Wait After a Rejected Hong Kong Employment Visa Application Before Trying Again?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Refusals & Appeals, Your Question Answered / No responses

Is there a ‘minimum waiting time’ between a rejected Hong Kong employment visa application and  then ‘trying again’?

QUESTION

I have a visa question, I got an offer from a recruitment company in July, they applied the working visa for me, but it got rejected by the end of August.

Now I have a new offer from another recruitment company, they will try to apply the visa for me, if they phrase my qualification better this time, is that possible to be approved?

Is it a good idea to apply again within 6 months?  

Will my first, rejected Hong Kong  employment visa application be a problem the second time around?

ANSWER

Thanks for your question. It’s an interesting topic that hasn’t really been raised in this guide before, so I appreciate you putting it forward to us for sharing on the blog.

There is no minimum waiting time between employment visa applications. The Immigration Department considers such applications on their own merits, and if you’ve been refused for one employer and you’re seeking to make another application, this time for an alternate employer, then the Immigration Department will consider, as I say, that second application entirely on its own merits, irrespective of what passed previously.

So, yes, you’re not going to be advantaged at all in any meaningful sense by, say, waiting for six months. So if you have a job offer and you’re eminently qualified for that job even though you’ve been refused previously, it doesn’t automatically follow that you should wait before your next application.

But I think the real question at play here is the reason why you were denied. From your question, it’s difficult to understand what the circumstances are that could have led to that refusal; it may be, for example, that because you don’t have a university degree, the Immigration Department don’t deem you to be a professional.

On the other hand, you may have a university degree, but you may not have at least two years post graduation working experience in the managerial or supervisory capacity. These are two good reasons for why you might have been denied the first time around. And, even if you make a second application with a new employer, those challenges will not be overcome. They still subsist and the Immigration department will not be deeming you as a professional, so you won’t get approved.

On the other hand, you may be a professional under the policy, but the Immigration Department may not like the sponsor, or they may not believe that the sponsor is a suitable and credible employer.

The sponsor may, for example, have a track record of securing employment visas for a very large number of expatriates with almost no local employment opportunities being created, and they may feel that the local workforce is not being potentially advantaged as a result of allowing an employer to continuously sponsor on an unlimited basis foreign nationals for employment visa permissions.

I’m just stabbing in the dark here, of course, because I don’t have any detailed information as to what the reasons might be. But in very general terms, the refusal could lie at your feet, it could lie at the feet of your old employer; and then when you take an application for a new employee to the Immigration Department, it may be that you’ll be successful; that time you could have been denied also on the grounds of compensation arrangements, not receiving the necessary minimums to be deemed a professional under the policy.

So lots of things in play that could impact on your initial application, and then you could find themselves still at play in your subsequent application. So, all things considered, no, don’t be restrained from making a subsequent application because you think your chances will be improved as a result of you waiting six months.

Rather do a searching assessment of whether you’re actually approvable yourself and whether the sponsor is deemed a suitable and credible sponsor for the purposes of the application. And of course, all things considered, could a local person be expected to take up that role? And, do you have the necessary experience to boot in order to fulfil that job to the exclusion of a local person doing that work?

Okay, I hope you found that useful.

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Can You Expect The Hong Kong Immigration Department To Be Flexible In A Work Visa Application If You Expect To Qualify For The Right Of Abode A Few Short Weeks Later?

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

It’s important to undertake one application at a time en route to your eventual right of abode in Hong Kong…

QUESTION

Hi. I need to extend my IANG visa by the end of July. As of the second week in September I will have been in Hong Kong for 7 years, thus eligible for permanent residency.

I currently do not have a employer sponsor. In negotiating an employment contract (I’m a consultant with no desire to start my own firm) it may be favourable to have a a contract term of 59 days, excluding my potential employer from needing to start an MPF account.

However, would Immigration look unfavourably on that contract term of less than one full year?  I basically need an IANG visa for the “gap weeks” of August 2014 and first week of September 2014 as well as employment sponsor.

Your help is greatly appreciated.

ANSWER

So as I read it, in this scenario you’re seeking to adjust your status from student through to employment status under the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates (IANG).

Applications for working permissions under the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates are favourably considered on the strength that you have a suitable employer and that you’ve got a genuine job offer and that the sponsor (in this case, your employer) is definitely suitable and is credible.

Now, on the basis that you can muster that scenario for yourself, that application to take up employment for that employer will be, as I say, favourably considered and you’ll be granted a one year limit of stay without any preconditions. And because what you’re seeking to do in a sense is to bridge the gap over the course of the next few weeks to the point where you will have been continuously and ordinarily residence in Hong Kong for the seven years required for the right of abode.

A question is begged as to the nature of the employment relationship that you  propose to the Immigration Department for the purposes of IANG and you’ve suggested a 59-day employment contract and that would be suitable, I think, as you stated, for the potential employer because of MPF considerations and all that kind of good stuff.

But I think you’re probably looking at it in quite a convoluted and overly complex manner because effectively most employment contracts in Hong Kong are indefinite term. So as long as you go to the Immigration Department with a genuine offer of employment from a suitable and credible sponsor and so long as the employment contract details that you’re suitable for the position and that the salary that you’re going to be beying paid is broadly commensurate with what’s charged in Hong Kong, then the Immigration Department won’t look askance at that contract.

If, as I say, it’s a genuine offer and you are prepared to deploy for a period of time under that offer because if it’s indefinite term, what it means is that by the time you have finalised your approval under IANG and then moved on to make your application for the right of abode at the point of your right of abode being approved, all your conditions attached to your current stay in Hong Kong will be removed. So you’ll then be able to freely negotiate an end to your current employment arrangements with that sponsor and move through into an independent contractor or some kind of freelance arrangement, which is really what you’re hoping to achieve.

So my advice would be to go to an employer and state that what you’re really looking for is an interim employment, and that until such a time as your right of abode application is approved, whereupon you’ll be free to renegotiate your terms of engagement with them. You will be engaged with them on an indefinite term basis, which is, in a sense, standard practise in Hong Kong in any event, and that way you’ll be able to achieve the objective that you’re looking for without too much fuss or kerfuffle, I suspect.

The important thing to appreciate is that the Immigration Department, they’re not going to cut you any slack in your initial application just because you may be eligible to make an application for the right of abode subsequently, because from their perspective, they’re not going to do any assessment as to your eligibility of right of abode. So they’re never going to know whether or not you will get approved under that application. So they’d never take it into consideration. What you need to do is to focus on this particular challenge, and don’t worry so much about the next particular challenge, in this case, your right of abode application.

So that’s the way that I’d play it. And I think you’ll probably be successful all the way through.

Okay, good luck.

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Mainland Travel Permits for Non Chinese PRs | RTHK3 Backchat

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Long Stay & PR, Musing / No responses

Mainland Travel Permits for Non Chinese PRs

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.

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Can You Use The Foreign Domestic Helper Visa To Employ Your Mother In Hong Kong?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Musing, Special Programmes, Your Question Answered / 2 responses

The Hong Kong Immigration Department are not especially receptive to what can appear to be family reunion via the back door…

Can you use the Foreign Domestic Helper visa to employ your mother in Hong Kong?

QUESTION

Hello,

My wife and I are on work visas in Hong Kong and are expecting a baby in the Autumn.

My wife would like to keep working, and wants to bring her mother over (she is from Central America) to look after the baby, possibly for up to a year.

Her mother would only be eligible for a 30-day visitor visa.

Could we employ her as a domestic helper?

Do we have any other options?

Thanks!

ANSWER

Whilst it’s a perfectly logical conclusion to draw that it would make sense to employ your mother or your mother in law as a foreign domestic helper sponsored by you in Hong Kong, unfortunately such an approach won’t hold water with the Immigration Department for a number of reasons. One set of reasons that are specific to the nature of the foreign domestic helper visa and the second reason relates to the nationality of your mother dealing with the nationality issue.

First, the foreign domestic helper visa has been constructed in Hong Kong by the Immigration Department as a result of a series of bilateral negotiations between a variety of different countries that are prepared to allow their nationals to come to Hong Kong to work under very strict conditions as foreign domestic helpers. And principally in this regard strict conditions are relating to the protection of  the interests of the nationals that are going to be coming to do the work under foreign domestic helper visas. So, if you’re from, or your wife’s mother is from a country that does not have such a bilaterally negotiated arrangements in place, then citizens of that country cannot participate in the foreign domestic helper programme, unfortunately.

So given that there are no countries in Central America today that have got a bilaterally negotiated arrangement in place, the foreign domestic helper visa will not be available to her, end of story, unfortunately. But in terms of what the Immigration Department do when they receive applications from very close relatives, effectively they look at these applications with a very let’s say cynical set of eyes because whilst it makes perfect sense to want to have a mother or a mother in law in Hong Kong taking care of a new grandchild, especially during the first year, effectively the Immigration Department will see this as an application for family reunion by the back door because there’s non-permanent residents seeking to have their mother, or a parent physically present in Hong Kong with them, that means that you precluded from  sponsoring such a dependent visa for that would be the visa type that you would normally use because the dependent visa for a parent normally requires the sponsor to be a permanent identity card holder and the parent to be over 60 years of age and with clear proof of dependency.

And in your circumstances this is obviously not going to apply. So the Immigration Department, for another reason are not going to be receptive to an application for a foreign domestic helper visa notwithstanding the fact that there is an expectation that there is going to be an arm’s length commercial arrangement between the two parties in relation to the provision of employment services. Clearly, where you have a family member that’s going to be providing those services, then this is not going to be a typical arm’s length commercial arrangement. So now that we’ve kind of sort of buried the idea that the foreign domestic help of visa might work for you in your circumstances, what are the other options that are available to you?

Well, you could make, and I would suggest that you do this in any event, make an application for an entry visa for your mother in law to come and join you for an extended period of time on the strength of the fact that you are having a child, and it would be exceptionally useful to you to be able to have your mother physically present in Hong Kong for a few months at least to be able to help out with the new child rearing duties. And you do this by making a visitor visa application, as I say, on an entry visa that is not relying on the 30 days that you are granted upon arrival at the airport, but actually setting out in detail all the circumstances that are giving rise to you seeking to sponsor an extended visitor visa for your mother in law.

You may get a three-month limit of stay depending on how the Immigration Department respond to the application. Additionally, you could conceptually make such an entra visa application for her let her arrive and enter on that perhaps, 60 or 90 day limit of stay, depending what the immigration department give you.

And then at the end of that limit of stay, she could make an exit and then reenter again and get another 30 days, and in that intervening period you could make another application for another entry visa, and again get another 60 or another 90 days, and at the end of that limit of stay you could make another exit and possibly do that twice more before you get to the kind of magic number that the immigration department hold to be quite dear.

And that is, a visitor should not be spending more than half of their time in Hong Kong over the course of a twelve month given period. So I think you’re probably going to be able to finagle possibly six or seven months as visitor visa status for your mother in law in those circumstances.

Not exactly twelve months I appreciate, but if you work the system in a good and logical way and set out all the facts surrounding the need for the need for extended visitor status for your mother and the fact that you’re clearly going to be responsible for her health and welfare while she’s here, I think you’ll find that you’ll end up getting a reasonable amount of time that will allow you to be together during these important months, whether you get a full year or not.

Difficult to say, I would suspect probably not. You’ll be testing the Immigration Department’s patience somewhat, if you made a third or a fourth application for an intra visa on that basis; but you know, the Immigration Department appreciate that this is an important time for you and wonder, actually, what’s wrong with having your mother in Hong Kong, helping you raise your new grandchild in the early months of his or her arrival in Hong Kong.

It’s just a matter of working the process, setting out all the facts, allowing the Immigration Department to understand what the reasons are for this extended period of stay in Hong Kong as a visitor, and I think you’ll find that, all things considered, as far as they’re able to help you, they probably will do so.

Okay, I’ve appended the link to the visitor visa information on the Hong Kong visa handbook that will help you navigate the labyrinth of the visitor visa application process that you’ll no doubt be going through. And also, I hope you found this useful.

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Is It Ever Possible To Swap A Foreign Domestic Helper Visa Into A Regular Employment Visa In Hong Kong?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Feature Article, Your Question Answered / 31 responses

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.

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