Does A Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa Need An Extensive Business Plan?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in 60 Second Snapshot, Investment Visas / 6 responses

Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa Need An Extensive Business Plan – Say 60 Pages Long?

Not massively so. In fact you can get away without one altogether if writing such a document doesn’t fall readily within your existing skill set. There are other ways to skin this particular cat …

Does A Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa Need An Extensive Business Plan – Not Really!

The Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa application process can feel daunting, especially when it comes to preparing a business plan. Many entrepreneurs are under the assumption that a lengthy, 60-page business plan is a strict requirement for a successful visa application.

Does A Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa Need An Extensive Business Plan – The Visa Geeza Says No!

The Hong Kong Visa Geeza blog speaks widely to this not really being the case. In fact, it is possible to meet the requirements of the Business Investment (Entrepreneur) Visa approvability test without having to submit an extensive business plan. In this essay, we will delve into the details of the visa requirements and analyze why a shorter business plan can be just as effective.

A Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa Can Include Extensive Business Plan Elements In The Argument

The Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa is designed to attract foreign entrepreneurs who can contribute to the local economy. The approvability test focuses on three main areas: the personal, business, and benefit factors. The personal factor assesses the experience, skills, and qualifications of the applicant. The business factor looks at the viability and potential of the proposed business. Lastly, the benefit factor evaluates the potential economic or social benefits that the business will bring to Hong Kong.

To satisfy the approvability test, an applicant needs to provide a comprehensive argument that addresses all the relevant requirements. This argument should highlight how the applicant meets the personal, business, and benefit factors. While a traditional 60-page business plan may seem like the ideal way to present this information, it is not the only option.

Focusing on substance rather than length is key. A shorter business plan for the business that covers all the necessary aspects in a concise and compelling manner can be just as effective. The goal is to clearly articulate how the proposed business aligns with Hong Kong’s economic needs and how it will contribute to the local community.

In lieu of a lengthy business plan, applicants can consider crafting the argument to included the business plan elements. You might also wish to include a well-crafted executive summary, a presentation deck, or a series of impactful documents that address each requirement in a succinct and convincing manner.

The emphasis should be on quality rather than quantity.

Get Entrepreneur Visa Argument Right And There Goes The Need For An Extensive Business Plan

It is important to note that although a shorter business plan can be sufficient, it does not mean that an applicant should overlook crucial details. The argument presented must be comprehensive and leave no room for ambiguity. Each requirement of the approvability test must be thoroughly addressed, providing evidence and supporting documentation where necessary.

Another advantage of a shorter business plan is the ease with which it can be updated and modified. As the business evolves, entrepreneurs can adapt their argument accordingly, highlighting new developments and achievements. This flexibility allows applicants to present the most up-to-date and relevant information to immigration authorities.

Ultimately, the success of a Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa application rests on the strength of the argument presented. A 60-page business plan is not a strict requirement if all the necessary elements of the approvability test are adequately covered. By focusing on substance, clarity, and relevancy, entrepreneurs can construct a compelling case for their visa application, without the need for excessive length.

Does A Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa Need An Extensive Business Plan? Last Words …

The notion that a 60-page business plan is strictly necessary for a Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa application is not accurate. Through a well-crafted, concise, and comprehensive argument that addresses all the requirements of the approvability test, entrepreneurs can effectively present their case. The importance of substance over length is key. By understanding the expectations of ImmD and presenting a compelling argument for approval, aspiring entrepreneurs can increase their chances of success in obtaining the much coveted Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa.

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Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa Case Study – 3 Examples Which Would Not Get Approved

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Case Study, Investment Visas / 13 responses

Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa Case Study Examples

The Hong Kong entrepreneur visa approvability test is extremely onerous when compared to other Hong Kong visa categories.

Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa Case Study Examples Shed Some Light …

Brand new businesses which do pass the test and end up supporting the business investment (entrepreneur) visa application of the entrepreneur-owner are often really ‘slam dunk’ cases.

This tends to mean that, so long as the investor has a solid plan for the business, a half decent sum of capital to deploy, is clearly going to be creating local jobs, has a good track record and enjoys the support of a local Hong Kong contact or a network in place, then the entrepreneur visa application consideration process for such an applicant might be said to be akin to a box-ticking exercise and the application will be quickly approved without very much ado.

Therefore, it’s the marginal investor who usually has to work hard for an approval.

This post sets out in brief, three case examples by way of general guidance which serve to illustrate the type of investment visa applications that will typically struggle to approval.

Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa Case Study 1

The first involved a French lady in her early 30s.

She determined that she would like to apply for an investment visa to support her trading fancy good products between France and China.

A Hong Kong limited liability company was established with the typical and standard share capital of 10,000 Hong Kong dollars which she owns 100% outright.

She conducts her trading business from her apartment in Wanchai and was turning over approximately 300,000 Hong Kong dollars a month.  She had no local staff working for her nor did her business plan anticipate that any would be needed.

She had secured the rights to a French fashion product for Northeast Asia but that product itself is from a relatively small company and did not, on the face of it, appear to be a particularly compelling commercial proposition, although the potential was always there.

In this situation, the nature of the business and the way the one-person operation was to be run along with the simple intrepot trading nature of the enterprise that the Hong Kong Immigration Department concluded that this lady would not be able to make a substantial contribution to the economy of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa Case Study 2

The second general example involves a German man who is a very talented linguist.

He spoke seven languages and saw the potential to establish a simultaneous interpretation service in Hong Kong.

The growth for the business involved marketing and business promotion activities principally via the internet and personal referral.

As the business was to only operate from home and relied exclusively on the personal service capability dealing with himself, this investment visa would never be approved as there as little, if any, investment per se and the contribution to Hong Kong would only be marginal and not substantial.

The business had no potential for scalability and the only party that will really benefit from the business would be the applicant himself.

Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa Case Study 3

The third, and final, example refers to a current Hong Kong resident who is here on an Employment Visa sponsored by his UK employer who transferred him to the UK three years ago.

Six months prior, he resigned from his job in order to begin a website development company.

He did the right thing by submitting his application to the Immigration Department right at the outset of his plans and so they were on side with him and from the get-go.

The business is well funded and each of the four cornerstones to the business investment approval was present from the outset.

As the processing time for Business Investment Visa is 4 to 6 months, by the time the Immigration Department came around to give him the decision of his application, the business had not actually materialized in the manner envisaged and in fact was struggling to get clients and make sales.

Five months into the venture, he was running out of cash and his reserves were at a complete stretch.

So, whilst at the outset the business looked was promising, by the time the decision came down it become more than obvious to both him and the Immigration Department that it was not going to work out.

For this reason, his investment visa was denied.

As it happened, this client closed down his business and found a job locally in Hong Kong.  He was able to secure an Employment Visa based on his new job offer and was not in any way negatively impacted by the prior refusal of his investment visa application.

How about you? Have you had an investment visa refused? Please let us know how you managed the situation in the wake of this disappointing outcome? Did you finagle an acceptable result in the end? Have your say below!

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How To Apply For A Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa – 10 Must-Have Resources

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Investment Visas, Musing, Resource, VG Front Page / 101 responses

How To Apply For A Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa

If you are intending to make an application for a Hong Kong entrepreneur visa, you’re going to need a variety of resources to manifest your intentions properly with the Immigration Department en route to your all-important visa approval.

10 All-You-Need Resources For A 100% Free Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa Application

Turning to the Hong Kong enterpreneur visa today, I have collected the following 10 resources from elsewhere across our websites and made available  all-in one place. If you intend to apply for a business investment (entrepreneur) visa, you’ll find them all really helpful so check them out and review them closely.

All of the resources are aimed at making your application process smoother and more efficient. Each resource has been chosen for its effectiveness and relevance, and collectively, they provide valuable insight into the entire project of securing a Hong Kong entrepreneur visa. From these resources, you can expect to gain a deeper understanding of what it takes – without paying for any profesisonal help.

Three Decades Of Expertise In The Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa Application Process

Additionally, you will find tips and advice that will help you navigate through our websites with ease. By dedicating some time to reviewing and familiarizing yourself with these resources, you will be better equipped to engage with our websites productively and confidently.

Of course, with more than 200 different pieces of free investment visa information, know-how and tools available across both the Hong Kong Visa Handbook and also the Visa Geeza Blog, but the ten included on this page are the starting point for putting your application together.

All Your Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa Questions Answered Personally – Gratis

And, as always, if ever you get stuck and need to ask me a question, please do so here. I guarantee you a personalised PodCast Answer within 48 hours – completely free of charge!

Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa Information From VisaGeeza.Ai

Query the only dedicated Hong Kong visa and immigration artifical intelligence large language model available in Hong Kong 100% for free. It contains 8 months of dedicated training and programming and predicated on 30 years of the professional practive of Hong Kong immigration.

Here Are the 10 Must Have Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa Resources

1. INFOGRAPHIC – One Man Investment Visa for Hong Kong

2. PDF – Information on the Hong Kong Business Investment (Entrepreneur) Visa

3. PLAN – The Hong Kong Visa Application Roadmap

4. CASE STUDY – Hong Kong Entreprenuer Visa Case Study Examples That Would Not Get Approved

5. TEMPLATES – Business Investment (Entrepreneur) Visa Application Argument & Other Supporting Documents

VIDEO – 60 Page Business Plan Needed for a Business Investment Visa?

VIDEO – Advantages of Being An Existing Resident When You Make an Application for a Business Investment Visa

PODCAST – Freelancers in Hong Kong – Can You Get a Visa?

TEMPLATE – Business Plan for a Hong Kong Enterprise

TEMPLATE – Hong Kong Employment Contract

ps – there are 12 resources actually (including the presentation above and the BONUS RESOURCE below), but hey, who’s counting!

BONUS RESOURCE – 3 Year Financial Projections Template (Excel)

PRESENTATION DOWNLOAD – How to Apply for a Hong Kong Investment Visa Without Paying for Professional Help!

 

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Making A Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa Application – What’s Involved?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Investment Visas, Musing / 9 responses

How To Get A Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa

Making ready for a Hong Kong entrepreneur visa (aka business investment visa) application? Read on.

The Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa – Many Aspire Yet Very Few Apply

Guess what?

You might be surprised to learn that, for an entrepreneurial driven economy such as ours, there are only comparatively few Hong Kong entrepreneur visas granted annually.

The 200-300 approvals recorded are very modest matched against the 25,000 work visas issued yearly and indeed, the 1,300 capital investment (CIES) visas which were typically granted in the years prior to Covid.

The CIES visa was cancelled in 2015 (yet is slated for re-introduction this year – 2023) and this reduced the number of visas issued on the basis of investment into Hong Kong.

The Number of Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visas Is Very Much Set To Rise

As the HKID don’t provide statistics on the amount of applications received, it does appear safe to say that the low number of entrepreneur visa approvals is less a suggestion of the interest of foreign nationals who want to create or join in a business in thus part of China but more a reflection of the reality that getting an investment visa approved is among the most challenging of all the HKSAR visa processes.

Even in spite of this, foreign nationals arrive in droves to take part in the wonderful business opportunities which the city has to offer and, naturally enough, the Director of Immigration doesn’t deter applications from folks to start up new, or join in existing, firms in the HKSAR.

The most significant difference between the 2 sorts of visa (CIES – coming again soon – vs Entrepreneur) lies in the character of the approvability tests and the basic issue of whether the candidate has got value at risk in the firm wanting to deploy his work in their business operations.

Some Applicants Try To Fudge The Entrepreneur vs Employment Visa Policy Delineation

Hence ImmD look closely at the shareholding structure of the company that applicant will be engaged in and, as a general guide, anything greater than a 10-15% stock holding position in the hands of the visa applicant will steer the case toward the applying of the more burdensome business investment visa approvability test rather than the work visa approvability test.

Covering up the shareholding to attempt to find a way around this general rule is laden with difficulty as the Immigration Department will peer under each nook and cranny in an attempt to completely understand the business ownership arrangements.

Consequently, the utilisation of nominees solely for immigration purposes isn’t advised. If the company is a totally new start up, a fully fledged plan for the business is mission-critical to visa approval.

Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visas Take Many Weeks To Process – Typically

Hong Kong entrepreneur visas often take between four and six months for formal approval to eventuate (compared with the maximum 6-8 weeks for out and out work visas) and the explanation for this is to permit the new business to produce early commercial results and avail the chance for ImmD to appraise if the business plan is a practical one as measured by new ‘facts on the ground’ ensuing right from the tangible implementation of business activities.

Real New Facts On The Ground Are Integral To Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa Approval

Only very few Hong Kong entrepreneurs tend to be granted based merely on a paper plan; indeed such approvals are customarily limited to very well resourced organisation extending their operations into Hong Kong from overseas.

However,  where the business investment (entrepreneur) visa-applicant is in-country, sometimes as a visitor, though occasionally intending to change visa status from employment, the HKID expect to see the business moving forward before they will authorize a business investment visa.

The Catch 22 Facing the Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa Applicant

This creates a Catch 22 situation: you can’t join in a business till the approval of ImmD is secured. You cannot secure the agreement of ImmD without showing contribution to Hong Kong. You cant show contribution to Hong Kong without joining in a business!

The Immigration Department is extremely well informed about this conundrum and are practical in their work -around.

Fundamentally, if you have already made an application for a business investment (entrepreneur) visa, they’ll close their eyes to the technical breach of conditions of stay implicit in running a brand new business before having had your visa application approved.

The danger lies in not having an application in the system.

Apply For Your Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa Аs Soon As Your Intention To Reside Has Crystalized

So to provide yourself with protection from the danger of prosecution, you want to empower ImmD to take an early view of your activities and sign up for your Hong Kong entrepreneur visa right at the outset of your commercial endeavours not later on, after ‘its all moving forward’.

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The 5 Key Factors Which Impact On Your Eligibility For A Hong Kong Employment Visa

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in 60 Second Snapshot, Employment Visas, Musing / 14 responses

Your Eligibility For A Hong Kong Employment Visa?

The 5 Factors  In Play For Eligibility For A Hong Kong Employment Visa

1 –  You need a credible sponsor

– this means, an established company which has been established for more than 2 years and which currently employs local staff, has offices and manifestly operates commercially in the HKSAR.

2 – Your job offer must be genuine

– the HKID are on the lookout for contrived employments for the purposes of assisting foreigners to secure residence and such arrangements usually stand out a mile as the Immigration Department are alert to this reality.

3 – You must obviously be qualified for the position

– and clearly in possession of special skills knowledge and experience of value to and not readily available in Hong Kong.

4 – Your terms of employment should be no less favourable

–  than those which would be extended to a local person if such were available to do the job instead of you.

5 – The value of the employment should be suitable for the position

– and subject to an effective minimum of approximately HKD200,000 per annum.

Eligibility For A Hong Kong Employment Visa In A Nutshell

Consequently, the job you have been offered should be suitable for you, cannot be a ‘cheap’ employment, can’t be related specifically to language or cultural affinity and the job offer itself genuine and your employer credible.

Eligibility For A Hong Kong Employment Visa – A Specific Red Flag

Where there is a new company seeking to serve as your sponsor, this is a red flag to the Immigration Department, as are situations where there is a ‘top heavy’ foreigner to local staff employment ratio, the emolument is on the lower end of the scale and where your ‘specialness’ is language or cultural affinity.

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How Important Are A Good Set of Financial Projections In A Hong Kong Business Investment Visa Application?

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

The Importance Of A Good Set of Numbers In A Business Investment Visa Application

Educating The Immigration Department is Your Responsibility

Applying for a business investment visa? ImmD expect to be able to take a view of a proposed new from 39,000 feet and for this, a good set of financial projections are expected to form part of a business investment visa application.

QUESTION

Does the Immigration Department look for forecasts for profitability and actually estimates of employee hiring?

I have written in my business plan a general outline of positions I intend to hire, and some initial support staff in the first year, but this is in a description format rather than a list.

Welcome your thoughts and many thanks!

TEXT ANSWER

Forecasts

The Hong Kong Immigration Department takes into consideration the future prospects of your business when evaluating applications for the Business Investment Visa. This means you need to provide forecasts for profitability, along with other important financial considerations. These forecasts should cover a period of three years and include details of potential hires, their expected salaries, and when they will be added to your team.

Template

While it is acceptable to outline your recruitment plans in your application, it is crucial to encapsulate the overall financial performance of your business in a comprehensive set of financials covering the next three years. To assist our clients in this process, we provide a standard template that can be used to create these financial projections.

Our template allows you to input all the necessary financial information, such as sales revenues, expenses, and projected profits for each year. Additionally, it provides a space for you to include details of anticipated hires, their job roles, and the timeframes in which they will be recruited. By utilizing this template, you will have a clear and professional presentation of your business’s financial outlook.

As part of this post, we are pleased to include the template for your convenience. You can use this template to create a comprehensive set of financial projections that will assist the Immigration Department in evaluating your application for the Business Investment Visa. We understand that this process can be complex and time-consuming, but we are here to support you every step of the way.

Painting A Good Picture

It is important to note that the Immigration Department primarily assesses the viability and potential success of your business when considering your application for the Business Investment Visa. This visa is designed to attract foreign investors who have the financial means and intention to establish or expand a business in the host country. Therefore, the financial projections you provide must demonstrate the profitability and long-term sustainability of your venture.

Last Words …

In conclusion, when applying for a Business Investment Visa, it is vital to include a set of comprehensive financial projections for the next three years. By utilizing our standard template, you can present a professional and well-structured forecast that showcases the potential success of your business. Our team is dedicated to assisting you throughout this process, ensuring that your application stands out and maximizes your chances of obtaining the visa.

 

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PODCAST ANSWER

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Hong Kong Work Visa Rejection Reasons | When All Else Failed We Appealed to the Chief Executive | And Won!

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Case Study, Employment Visas, Refusals & Appeals, VG Front Page / 14 responses

Hong Kong Work Visa Rejection Reasons?

If an application for a case Reconsideration has played itself out without the Hong Kong work visa rejection reasons being overturned, where does that leave you in the appeal process?

 

Hong Kong Work Visa Rejection Reasons – Until 1999 …

Until 1999, section 53 of the Immigration Ordinance was widely used as a means of final appeal for a large number of refused visa applicants as the mechanism allowed the applicant to remain in Hong Kong as a visitor pending the final review process which often took 12-24 months.

This liberal application of policy was almost inevitably abused.

It had the effect of enabling employment visa applications from people who really didn’t have much chance of satisfying the approvability test but came to Hong Kong as visitors, applied for a change of status while in Hong Kong, and then used the fact of their application pending as a means to secure a de facto extension to their visitor visa all throughout.

For some nationalities, particularly those from the subcontinent, this  manipulation of the processing and consideration mechanisms meant that often two to two and half years would pass before the entire application consideration process from initial submission through to final review report was finalized.

In this time, such applicants were physically present in Hong Kong and the temptation for them to breach their conditions of stay by taking up employment unauthorized by the Immigration Department was manifest.

Some might say the process was simply misused by the applicants.

Hong Kong Work Visa Rejection Reasons – Then Suddenly The Game Changed

Nevertheless, at a stroke, one day in 1999, the Immigration Department changed the policy and no longer extended the visitor visas to applicants who are undergoing section 53 review.

These had the effect of diminishing the role of section 53 considerably for disgruntled employment visa applicants and consequently tends not to play a significant part in the practice of Hong Kong Immigration advisers these days.

Hong Kong Work Visa Rejection Reasons – A Last Throw Of The Dice?

There is, however, the remote possibility of a final throw-yourself-at-the-feet-of-the-chief executive appeal as we have once in 30 years of combined practice had the opportunity to travel this route and was successful in the process.

It must be stressed, however, that there must be a substantial matter of public interest at stake and such an application should not be made lightly.

Frivolous applicants will simply not be entertained and will no doubt have an adverse impact on their immigration record.  At some stage, the Immigration Department will have fully played out their role in considering your application and it does inevitably come a time when the result really is final.

So, in the two years, just prior to the 1997 hand back to China, Hong Kong’s economy was booming.  These positive economic conditions naturally enough coloured the Immigration Department’s view of the world and impacted on how they viewed implementation of visa policy.

However, quite soon after the handover, Asia slipped into a deep economic crises led by Thailand and Hong Kong went into a serious slump as it played itself out.

In this time we had a client who was an operator of specialty bookshops in another Asian country.  This client’s operations were very large and they were investment-bank backed candidates for public listing in their home country.

Hong Kong Work Visa Rejection Reasons – What Is A ‘Bookseller’?

This client’s bookshops were revolutionary in how they retail books.  They display the books on the shelves in a non-traditional way and employ people to work in their shops who are experts in a particular field.  In fact a necessary condition of employment is that their employees have to read one book a week from the dedicated section of the shop that they service.  This enables staff to talk knowledgeably to customers and genuinely help them make the right book choice and, compared to traditional book retail was revolutionary, taking the region by storm – and Hong Kong was next.

In the beginning of 1997, our client opened their first of four initial outlets in Hong Kong and they were planning on a final total of 12 over a 3-year investment period and their business plan called for the creation of at least 150 new jobs in the HKSAR.

In the latter part of 1997, when the financial crisis was biting hard, our client had an employment visa application refused for one of their managers who was transferring to Hong Kong  from the home country operation to open a second shop in the HKSAR.

Upon review of the paperwork, it became apparent to us that the problem lay in the fact that the local Hong Kong staffer who had crafted the application had treated the case merely as an administrative one and had not made any effort to substantiate the argument within the context of our client’s business operations.

The job title of ‘bookseller’ for the manager as it was detailed on his letter of appointment, was actually not only an exercise in branding but also descriptive of a new definition which our client’s mode of retailing book represented for people who sold books.

So, we made a confident application for Reconsideration which was refused within two weeks.  We were dumbfounded as was our client.

We submitted a further Reconsideration which in and of itself was especially unusual. Two weeks later, no change in mind on the part of the Immigration Department.

In the meantime, our client was getting very upset.  His manager was due to oversee the opening of the new bookshop in three weeks and everything was a mess, books were arriving and were not being placed on shelves and new staff were unable to be trained.  Chaos reigned writ large and the client was seriously thinking that they would pull the rest of their investment from Hong Kong.

As for the posture of the Immigration Department, they were locked into the idea that a book-seller is a simple job that anyone local could do, and it was actually making it impossible for them to deliver on their investment plan –  and all this was happening at a time when Hong Kong was losing 5,000 retail jobs a week due to the economic downturn.

Hong Kong Work Visa Rejection Reasons – The Chief Executive Comes Good

When it became apparent that the Immigration Department wouldn’t budge we decided to appeal directly to the Chief Executive.

Long story short, the visa was approved within five days of having lodged the appeal!

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