The rule for dependant visas in Hong Kong is very simple and easy to understand.
In order to qualify, the family members must be either the legal spouse or unmarried children under the age of 18.
Where the principal applicant is moving to Hong Kong for work or investment, the family members simply follow in his or her wake, securing dependant visas as an adjunct to the main application, just so long as the main applicant can, as part of the application process, demonstrate that, as a family, they can all have a roof over their head in Hong Kong and will have food on the table without recourse to any kind of public assistance.
All pretty logical and sensible really.
Moreover, once the visas have been granted, the period of stay the dependants receive mirrors that of their main family sponsor exactly all throughout their time together in Hong Kong.
This means that, for example, if the principal changes jobs or immigration status, the family’s dependant visas will carry on unaffected unless the Immigration Department specifically intervene and change their limits of stay.
But it is very unlikely they will change any of the conditions though, so you don’t have to worry too much about that.
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Even if your business is relatively small, it is not totally impossible for you to serve as an immigration sponsor for a foreign national staff who you might wish to take up employment for you here in the HKSAR.
In these circumstances, not only must the visa applicant him or herself pass the approvability test of possessing special skills knowledge or experience of value to and not readily available in Hong Kong…
But your business must also demonstrate that you are justified in engaging the services of this applicant and you might also have to show that the skills involved can not readily be found within the local workforce.
Additionally, as this will be the first time your company has sought to sponsor such a foreigner to work for you in Hong Kong, the Immigration Department will expressly drill down on and request you to provide information on such things as:
– Your financial turnover and profitability.
– The local employees who work for you, their job titles and what they get paid.
– Who your clients are and what your business is really all about, and
– Your office accommodation arrangements
Moreover, if your company is less than 2 years old, the Hong Kong ID will also require specific information and representations to prove to them that your business will be able to, in not yet in fact, make a substantial contribution to the economy of Hong Kong.
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You know how it is… you arrive in Hong Kong for a year of fun and adventure and then you want to stay… This article deals with the transfer from a Hong Kong Working Holiday Visa to a full Employment Visa.
QUESTION
Hi there!
I’m an Australian citizen in Hong Kong, working under a working holiday visa which only permits me to work 3 months per employer.
Is the only way around this to be sponsored by my employer or can I transfer to another visa?
I presume it’s quite expensive and tricky to be sponsored for an employment visa by a company – is that true?
Thanks in advance for your help!
ANSWER
The working holiday visa is an excellent form of immigration status for people who are under 30 years of age who want to come to Hong Kong and experience Hong Kong for an extended holiday and embark on a little bit of a cultural exchange. However, there are conditions that accompany a working holiday visa depending on your nationality; and in this instance we’re talking about an Australian citizen. An australian citizen is allowed to be in Hong Kong for twelve months to work, but can’t work for any single employer for more than three months at a stretch. So in effect, what happens in the case of a working holiday visa holder who finds himself in a position that both him and his employer wants to regularise and make into a full time, in a sense, a permanent employment, then it is possible to make an application to adjust your status from working holiday visa through to employment.
But bear in mind that the Immigration Department will still apply the approvability test for the employment visa to deem you a professional for the purposes of the General Employment Policy. And that will mean that you will need to show in the context of the job offer that you have got for full-time employment that you possess special skills, knowledge and experience of value to are not readily available in Hong Kong.
Now I’ve dealt with the approvability test for the employment visa under the general employment policy ad nauseam elsewhere on the blog, so I don’t propose that we labour it on this occasion, but the procedure is very straightforward – you can be in Hong Kong possessing a working holiday visa, and you can make your application to adjust your status whilst you’re here and whilst you’re still carrying on providing your employment services under the working holiday visa.
In terms of the expense, well that’s a question of whether you pay for professional assistance to help you through that process or whether your employer has got the necessary resources internally to be able to complete that application on your behalf.
Or indeed, you’ve got all the resources available to you on the Hong Kong Visa handbook and indeed on this blog with me answering questions like this for you so that it doesn’t necessarily have to be an expensive exercise. You can certainly navigate the labyrinth which is the Immigration Department for very little or indeed no cost at all. So that shouldn’t put you off.
In a nutshell, the key thing to understand is that the working holiday visa isn’t designed to be a gateway visa through to full employment; the conditions that you got your working holiday visa under are quite strict. They tell you clearly in advance this is for short term educational and cultural exchange. If it just so happens that you find a really good opportunity whilst you’re here and both you and your employer wish to go through the process of regularising their employment, you can certainly make the application. But understand that the approvability test for the employment vision of the general employment policy is going to dictate whether you ultimately get approved or not.
Okay. I hope you found this useful.
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So, how does your prior immigration record in Hong Kong impact on future visa applications? Do the Hong Kong Immigration Department cross-refer previous applications for a visa to current application for a visa?
QUESTION
Hello!
I have a question regarding to my working visa.
Previously I have been working in Hong Kong in the skin care industry as promotion manager. I wanted to change employers and change the industry related to investments and real estate (I have education in business management, but not in Hong Kong).
I submitted an application to the Immigration Department already and have even spoken with the Immigration Officer handling my case together with my employer.
However the Officer had concerns about my past experience. Unfortunately I needed to withdraw my application as I felt it would be refused.
My question is – can I apply for a working visa again with the same company, but re. a different position (one that would suit better to my past experience as I worked in marketing before)?
I know from the company’s HR department that they will open position in marketing for me and if I pass the interview for that role I would be submitting documents to Immigration once again.
Would it be inappropriate in the eyes of the Immigration Department. Or you would suggest to find new employer?
Second question. Will the Immigration Department keep that record if I withdraw my application? Would it affect my further visa applications?
ANSWER
1 – ImmD have ALL your records and cross refer to them frequently.
2 – There is no reason why you cannot apply again for the same company with a different job title.
You still have to prove no local person can do the job, that the compensation is broadly commensurate with market rates and that you are a Professional for the purposes of the General Employment Policy but the fact that you withdraw one application with that employer doesn’t preclude you from making a new application with the same employer for a different job.
Be aware though ImmD might seek to learn in more detail if the new application is a proxy for the old one so you may need to explain in some detail how the 2 jobs are different and the decision process between your employer and yourself as to how you find yourself making such a 2nd application which is unusual but not remarkable.
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My partner and I run a company (LTD) in Hong Kong. We’ve been a bit behind on our bills and most likely the company will be taken to court to pay late fees and penalties.
My partner is due to receive his Right of Abode in July.
Would such court cases affect his Hong Kong PR status application?
ANSWER
Principally, the Immigration Department are looking to see that there is no security objection to a long stay foreign national resident of Hong Kong becoming a permanent resident and securing the Right of Abode in the process. Therefore, if there is a history of serious criminal activity, then you can expect the Immigration Department to look at that from the perspective of a security objection.
However, in the normal course of transacting and doing business in Hong Kong, if you find yourself on the wrong end of perhaps some government fines for non compliance with, say, company law or other licencing requirements, or you found yourself in a bit of hot water with possibly some other civil partner that you’re having some kind of civil dispute with, and that’s working its way through the judicial process.
None of those things would typically amount to a security objection, which would preclude your business partner from securing the rights of abode. So, unless what you are saying relates to something of quite significant weight, all things considered, because the details are not actually provided, my advice would be that it’s probably not going to have any impact on your partner’s permanent residency application whatsoever.
Okay. I hope you found that useful.
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You’ve been offered a job in Hong Kong and you need an employment visa.
But your new employer has no experience about the process, so what do you need to tell them?
1. Firstly, there’s the approvability test – namely – you need to possess special skills, knowledge or experience of value to and not readily available in Hong Kong AND your employer must be justified in engaging your services as opposed to those of a local employee.
2. Secondly, the minimum value of your total package should amount to no less than HKD260,000 per annum, give or take.
3. Their sponsorship of your application is an absolute prerequisite – which means they must agree to fund the cost of your repatriation if your residence does wrong for any reason.
4. Your employer will have to disclose certain corporate and business information in support of your application and they may find this information to be confidential (such as financial information and details about current employees, their job titles and how much they get paid).
5. They need to understand that patience will be required until you can start your duties – it will take a minimum of 4 weeks to process your visa application AFTER all the documents the HKID need have been received in their hands AND it is illegal for you to start working, paid or unpaid, until your visa application has been approved.
6. You can start your application whether you are inside or outside of Hong Kong but the HKID will not likely grant you an extension to your visitor visa just because you’re in Hong Kong when your application was submitted.
7. And, finally, your employer has an obligation to notify the Director of Immigration as soon as your employment with them comes to an end.
As is most things in life, just because you want something it doesn’t automatically follow that you’re guaranteed to get it.
The immigration process is no different.
If you both take the situation seriously, meet the minimum criteria for visa approval at least and be forthright, respectful, earnest and honest in your dealings with the Immigration Department, it is not unreasonable to expect a positive outcome to your employment visa application.
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Let’s assume you make an application on the basis you’re an employee but really you’re an entrepreneur in disguise.
If your employer’s business has been established for less than 2 years and has not successfully sponsored a foreign national’s employment visa before, ImmD will apply 2 specific tests to your application.
First, and foremost, they will apply the employment visa approvability test looking at the employee-applicant seeking to understand if he or she possesses special skills, knowledge or experience of value to and not readily available in Hong Kong.
In a new company situation (less than 1 year old) they will also look to the bona fides of the proposed sponsoring employer and apply the essence of the business investment visa approvability test too – namely, is this business in a position to make (or is actually making) a substantial contribution to the economy of Hong Kong?
You see, ImmD have to be satisfied that a proposed employer is actually a suitable sponsor: it is not sufficient that the company is properly incorporated and registered to carry on a business. They want to be satisfied that immigration policy is being properly implemented so with a new business situation, the Hong Kong ID will look into every nook and cranny to ensure that it is so the case.
It is for this reason that it is churlish to expect that newcomers to Hong Kong can simply incorporate a company and then seek to employ themselves in it. No matter how you disguise the actuality of your self-employment, the Immigration Department will always apply the much tougher investment visa approvability test. They do this in 2 ways:
(1) When the company is newly established, as discussed above, and
(2) When they see that you are a shareholder in the business (even though you have tried to mask it with nominees).
So, if you’re an entrepreneur, it’s the investment visa for you, not an employment visa. Dressing up as an employee will only make your application take longer to finalize, which means more uncertainly before case finalization and greater frustration as ImmD peel back the layers on the ‘employee-not-entrepreneur’ edifice you have tried to create.
VisaGeeza.Ai – Making Hong Kong Immigration A Lot Easier
