What Does It Take To Get A Hong Kong Investment Visa Approved?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in 60 Second Snapshot, Investment Visas / 5 responses

Securing an approval for an investment visa is one of the hardest challenges there is in the realm of Hong Kong immigration practice.

Your mission is to pass the approvability test and demonstrate definitively to the Hong Kong Immigration Department that you can make a substantial contribution to the economy of Hong Kong as a whole.

First and foremost, you need a really good business investment story and the wherewithal to tell it in a compelling way.

A good way to think about how to go about doing this is to make believe that you are trying to persuade a rich, self-made uncle to back your business plan for Hong Kong financially.

If, after you have revealed all of your plans to him, do you believe he would see fit to put his hard earned money up to help you get your business in the HKSAR off the ground?

You might think of this as the smell test for how the Immigration Department will receive your story and so, if it won’t get past your uncle, why do you think it will pass muster with the HKID?

Assuming your story is compelling, you then have to ask yourself if you are going to put in place the three legs of what I have couched as the approvability stool for an investment visa approval.

Namely, are you going to be creating local employment opportunities in the not too distant future?

Are you planning to take on suitable business premises to accommodate your operations right from the get go and have you got real cash to put into the business as, by definition, this visa type calls for an act of investment?

Whether the cash you have available for investment is modest or significant, the HKID will also be expecting to see an array of additional resources which you plan to bring into play in your proposed business for Hong Kong.

This can take in partnerships, confirmed business in hand, exclusive contracts with obviously successful enterprises, bank guarantees, the support of local businesses or commercial personalities, a track record of personal and business success – indeed any other resources which are manifestly going to assist you set the business off on the path to eventual success.

And there are 2 other elements which are found in each and every business investment visa approval which we have been responsible for over the last 20 years.

These are an undying commitment to your enterprise, giving everything that you have to it and also a manifestly entrepreneurial spirit.

Hong Kong has this in droves and is the baseline against which all investment visa applications are considered by the HKID.

If you are less than enthusiastic about the possibility for success in your new business, no matter how well resourced it may be, this will undoubtedly come across in the way you articulate your story and manage your application, so think big, talk big and back up your representations with good paperwork and administer your application in a very timely manner.

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Is The Travel Pass As Good As A Hong Kong Employment Visa?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Hadley Says…, Visitor Visas / 10 responses

The Travel Pass is designed for frequent visitors to Hong Kong who have a current, pre-existing employment outside of the HKSAR that is going to continue in the future.

Moreover, the Travel Pass requires that your frequent visits here will be of benefit to Hong Kong.

You also need the support of a local contact who can vouch for your bona fides.

Essentially, then, if you can satisfy these three key elements it is reasonable to expect approval.

Of course, in order to get out of the starting gate, you need to have made three trips to Hong Kong in the 12 months immediately prior to submission of your Travel Pass application and you have to be a citizen of a country that is provided with visa-upon-arrival privileges.

It takes 4-6 weeks to finalise a Travel Pass application and, if successful, your prize is quick and easy clearance through immigration each time you arrive, a 2 month limit of stay granted ‘no questions asked’ and get three years of trouble-free to-ing and fro-ing between Hong Kong and your current country of residence (or any third country for that matter).

But it is NOT a visa to live in Hong Kong and so you cannot transfer your employment here on the strength of  your Travel Pass, cannot get a Hong Kong ID Card, cannot sponsor your family for dependant visas nor employ a foreign domestic helper.

So, for those of you who are looking for pseudo-residence permissions in Hong Kong it’s close, but no cigar!

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What’s The Deal About Advertising Your Job Locally Before You Can Apply For An Employment Visa In Hong Kong?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Hadley Says… / 5 responses

The question is often asked if it is absolutely necessary to undertake a local advertising campaign in respect of a job to be offered to a foreign national who needs an employment visa to take up a job in Hong Kong.

The answer is, it all depends.

In the case of intercompany transferees, certainly not.

The Hong Kong Immigration Department will typically not second guess the need to try to recruit locally in this situation.

However, in many other cases the spectre of ‘local recruitment first’ looms large.

The general rule of thumb is that the lower the skill set required to do the job, the more likely the Hong Kong Immigration Department will expect a local recruitment exercise to have been completed prior to the foreign national applicant being offered the position.

The same holds true for work that is remunerated at the lower end of the approvability scale (being about HKD200,000 per annum).

For those employers trying to pre-empt this challenge, you need to be aware that undertaking a local recruitment exercise that can be said to be mere window dressing is a 2 pronged barb.

On the one hand, the mere fact you undertake a local recruitment exercise first is tacit admission that the job CAN be done by a local person and the HKID will latch on to this and possibly use it to undermine your argument  for visa approvability.

In this instance they will ask you to submit copies of the CVs received in response to the campaign and then decide for themselves if any of the candidates are suitable – and then refuse the employment visa application on the grounds that the skills CAN be found locally.

So care needs to be taken in considering the ‘local employee first’ aspect of securing an employment visa in Hong Kong.

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How Will Your Employment Visa Application Be Impacted If The Hong Kong Company Employing You Is New?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Hadley Says…, Investment Visas / 3 responses

Where your proposed employer is a brand new company you can expect the Hong Kong Immigration Department to look very closely at the enterprise to make sure that it is in fact a suitable sponsor for your working visa permissions.

In many ways, the due diligence which the Hong Kong ID undertake is very much like that which they do for an investment visa application.

Essentially, then, they will examine your new employer’s bona fides to ensure that the business is positioned to make a substantial contribution to the economy of Hong Kong.

This will involve a requirement for dedicated business premises, the potential for, if not the actuality of, locally hired staff, good capitalization and the expectation of solid commercial activities in play which have led to the need to employ you, a foreign national, in the first place.

In fact, where a new sponsoring company comes forward seeking to employ a foreign national employee, and that business is less than 2 years old, you can expect a searching assessment of that entity for suitability as an employment visa sponsor.

And it is through this mechanism that the Hong Kong ID filter out contrived employment visa applications promoted by foreign nationals who are simply seeking to remain in the HKSAR, whatever the means.

So, not only must the job offer in question be a genuine one, it has to be extended from a credible employer all things considered.

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Shenzhen Residents Get Unlimited 7 Day Visits To Hong Kong

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Feature Article, Musing, VG Front Page / No responses

Shenzhen Residents Now Eligible for Unlimited 7-Day Visits to Hong Kong

The Visa Geeza Discusses On RTHK Radio 3 Today

 

Shenzhen Residents Get Unlimited 7-Day Visits to Hong Kong Starting December 2024

From 1 December 2024, Shenzhen residents will enjoy greater travel flexibility to Hong Kong with the reinstatement of the multiple-entry Individual Visit Scheme (IVS). Permanent residents of Shenzhen, as well as residence permit holders, can apply for this new IVS, allowing unlimited entries to Hong Kong over the course of a year. Each visit permits a stay of up to 7 days, providing convenient access for business, tourism, and leisure.

Shenzhen Residents Get Unlimited 7 Day Visits To Hong Kong – How?

The Exit and Entry Administration of Mainland China announced this enhancement, approved by the State Council. The expanded eligibility marks a significant change, particularly for non-permanent residents with residence permits in Shenzhen. This initiative replaces the current “one trip per week” endorsement, which will no longer be issued after 1 December 2024. Existing endorsements remain valid until their expiration date.

This development has been warmly welcomed by the Hong Kong SAR Government. Kevin Yeung, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Culture, Sports, and Tourism, highlighted that the unlimited 7-day visits by Shenzhen residents will drive growth in Hong Kong’s tourism, retail, and catering industries, further strengthening its economy.

Shenzhen Residents Get Unlimited 7 Day Visits To Hong Kong – Macau Qualifies too!

In parallel, starting 1 January 2025, Zhuhai residents will be able to apply for “one trip per week” travel permits to another neighboring SAR. Additionally, eligible residents of the Guangdong-Hengqin Cooperation Zone can apply for multiple-entry permits, allowing unlimited visits with a maximum 7-day stay per trip.

These updates make travel between Shenzhen and Hong Kong more seamless than ever, fostering closer ties and new opportunities for residents and businesses in the region.

The resumption of the multiple-entry Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) for Shenzhen residents represents a significant shift in travel policies between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, marking a return to more flexible arrangements discontinued in 2015. Initially introduced in 2009, the scheme allowed Shenzhen permanent residents to visit Hong Kong multiple times within a year. However, it was replaced by the “one trip per week” restriction in 2015 due to concerns about parallel trading and local capacity constraints, as well as public unrest regarding overcrowding in popular districts like Sheung Shui and Tsim Sha Tsui.

Shenzhen Residents Get Unlimited 7 Day Visits To Hong Kong – One Trip Per Week Gone!

The “one trip per week” policy aimed to curb the influx of visitors involved in parallel trading, which strained public resources and created tensions between visitors and locals. This measure led to a decline in same-day visitor numbers and impacted local retail and tourism sectors that had relied on higher visitor volumes. Despite these challenges, the policy persisted as part of efforts to balance economic benefits with social harmony.

With the multiple-entry scheme set to resume, this updated policy reflects both a revival of economic ties and a strategic move to boost Hong Kong’s tourism and retail industries post-pandemic.

It also demonstrates a concerted effort by both the Hong Kong SAR and central authorities to adapt border management policies to current economic and social conditions.

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Do I Automatically Qualify For A Hong Kong Dependant Visa If My Partner Has A Work Or Investment Visa Here?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Family Visas, Hadley Says… / 12 responses

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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Sometimes Large Employers Experience Hong Kong Employment Visa Refusals Too – Why Might This Be So?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Hadley Says…, Refusals & Appeals / 8 responses

Most sizeable employers in Hong Kong have in house expertise when it comes to applying for employment visas for their foreign national staff.

And, unless they specifically outsource their immigration service needs to professional advisors, they are typically very comfortable in making and managing work visa applications when the need arises.

But sometimes, these applications can come a cropper!

You see, there are three types of employment visa cases which the Hong Kong Immigration Department see each and every working day.

These are cases which just the need the basic of administration, which otherwise require a lot of argument, or are a hybrid of the 2.

In 99% percent of all cases with a large employer sponsoring the application, the case tends to be just administrative in nature, meaning the forms must be filled in properly, the simple set of  supporting documentation presented in good order and the applicant is obviously  a ‘professional’ for the purposes of the General Employment Policy under Hong Kong immigration law.

The problem lies in the 1% of cases which are not just administrative but actually fall elsewhere on the argumentation-administration axis.

So, when employment visa applications sponsored by large employers get refused, it is always down to this reality: the internal human resources executive tasked with getting the visa has not understood the need to argue for an approval and has assumed that it is mostly just a matter of filling in the forms, just like always.