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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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 / 2 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.

Last Words

I spoke about this on RTHK Radio 3 Backchat yesterday. You can listen here.

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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 / 33 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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HIV Health Checks & Your Hong Kong Visa Application

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Family Visas, Feature Article, Investment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Special Programmes, Visitor Visas, Your Question Answered / 24 responses

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 Abode and 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.

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Is It Possible To Change Employment Visa Sponsorship Where The Employer Has Not Yet Established A New Company In Hong Kong (i.e. Has No Business Operations Here Yet)?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Your Question Answered / 1 response

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.

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How Do I Go About Setting Up A Side Business To Complement My Full Time Hong Kong Employment Visa?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Your Question Answered / 36 responses

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 visa has 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.

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