Hong Kong Visas Made Easy

Interview: Do Mainlanders Typically Enjoy the Same Kind of Immigration Experience as Other Foreign Nationals Do in Hong Kong?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Family Visas, Investment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Musing, Special Programmes, Visitor Visas / 19 responses

First Published July 24, 2013

On June 6th, 2013 I was interviewed by five law students from the Chinese University of Hong Kong about my experiences practicing immigration here over the last 20 years.

We covered a great deal of ground in the 90 minutes we spent together and over the next few weeks I will be posting the interview broken down into 31 different segments, covering almost every Hong Kong related visa and immigration topic there is.

The students were: Dickens Roy Ken Lam, Sunny Wong, Toby Yip, Margaret Wo and the lady who asked most of the questions and organised the session on behalf of the group, Jacqueline Cheng.

In this segment the question posed was:

Do Mainlanders typically enjoy the same kind of immigration experience as other foreign nationals do in Hong Kong?

My friends and colleagues over at Astus Services Group very kindly hosted us in their facilities in Central for this interview.

 Other Questions Asked During the Session

How has the experience of Hong Kong immigration policy changed over the last 20 years?

Do you personally find Hong Kong an attractive place to live, work and do business?

How has Hong Kong’s attractiveness changed for you over the last 27 years?

Do your clients typically find Hong Kong’s attractiveness today as it was to you 27 years ago?

Do Mainlanders typically enjoy the same kind of immigration experience as other foreign nationals do in Hong Kong?

In what ways do you think the different entry schemes may affect Hong Kong’s socio-economic development?

Do you think the relatively low number of foreigners coming to live and work in Hong Kong is due to it being hard to get a visa? 

Do you think that the Immigration Department suitably promote and encourage participation in the various schemes designed to attract foreign national talent to Hong Kong?

How effective is the Hong Kong Immigration Department’s website in educating and promoting Hong Kong to the outside world as a place to live and work and do business?

In the last 20 years which visa type has been most in demand and easiest to anticipate an approval for?

Has Hong Kong’s effort to forge a particular social fabric through the constructs of its immigration policy been successful do you think?

In real terms what is the difference between the General Employment Policy and the Admission of Mainland Talents & Professionals Scheme?

Has there been any demographic change since the introduction of the Admission of Mainland Talents and Quality Migrant Admission Schemes?

What do you think about the Immigration Arrangement for Non-local graduates?

Do you think that IANG actually allows a loophole for foreign graduates to game the immigration system here?

Has Hong Kong ever been used as a kind of stepping stone into another immigration jurisdiction?

Do you think the special programmes designed  for Mainland residents are as attractive now as they were when they were first introduced?

Is there a threshold to attaining a visa under the General Employment Policy?

What’s actually involved in getting a Hong Kong investment visa approved?

Can it be said ImmD are sometimes lax in enforcing immigration policy? 

Which visa program would be most beneficial for Hong Kong’s society?

What was it like being an immigration consultant in Hong Kong during the time of SARS?

We hypothesize that while the influx of non-residents into Hong Kong may benefit the economy in the short-term, the long-term negative impacts outweigh any short-term positives.  Do you agree with this statement?

Do you think that there is preferential treatment to non-resident workers?

What do you think is the most difficult challenge facing Hong Kong now, when it comes to competing for foreign talents and workers? (i.e. as compared to the 3 other Asian Tigers)

What’s your view on Hong Kong’s liberal visitor visa arrangements, especially regarding the large numbers of Mainlanders who come here now?

So we have 20,000 vacancies in the F+B industry but we don’t have people to fill these spots – what are ImmD doing about it?

What about the possibility of a graduate management trainee visa for a foreign national applicant?

How well does ImmD respond to the lack of skills in Hong Kong through adjustments to the General Employment Policy from time to time?

Do you think any improvements could be made on the entry schemes? If so, how?

What do you think is the biggest problem in dealing with ImmD as an organisation tasked with the dual role of providing a public service yet serving as the gatekeeper to Hong Kong?

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How To Qualify For a Hong Kong Work Visa – From 39,000 Feet (Whiteboard Animation)

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Sherpa / No responses

How to qualify for a Hong Kong work visa – from 39,000 feet! We are presently building the website for our new corporate services proposition, Hong Kong Visa Sherpa.

We are bringing a whole new line of content to help companies with more than 100 employees to do their cases by themselves without needing to pay for any professional help. This new website, to be launched in Q3 this year, will contain many new and interesting ways to help you answer your Hong Kong visa questions and help solve your immigration problems.

The Visa Sherpa website is a build in progress – check us out as we bring the product to life!

More Stuff You May Find Useful or Interesting

The perils of contriving a job offer in order to make an employment visa application in Hong Kong

Is there such an animal as a ‘flexible working visa’ for Hong Kong?

How to get a Hong Kong working visa automatically with no questions asked!

Can I study then get married all whilst holding an employment visa for a company I no longer work for?

Is it ever OK to work in Hong Kong on a visitor visa?

Right of Abode in Hong Kong For Foreign Domestic Helpers – It Was All So-Inevitable Really…

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Long Stay & PR, Musing, Refusals & Appeals / 1 response

First Published March 27, 2013

 

The Court of Final Appeal quashed the hopes of 1,067 long stay foreign domestic helpers(“FDHs”) earlier this week when they ruled that time spent in Hong Kong as a foreign domestic helper is not ‘ordinary residence’ for the purposes of a right of abode application.

Putting the human dimension to one side for a moment, in law, the right outcome, to my mind at least, has been determined.

1. FDH’s come to Hong Kong on prescribed, limited terms of employment – they are not allowed to come with ‘settlement’ in mind.

2. If the Court had ruled otherwise, ImmD would simply have introduced an administrative mechanism (say a “maximum 3 contracts” rule) to obviate an FDH from being able to spend 7 years in Hong Kong so the entire exercise would have benefitted only one segment of the FDH community, leaving the rest out in the cold.

3. Do we REALLY want the Basic Law tinkered with by Beijing after all?

I’m glad the saga is over.

The premise in challenging the law was right but the outcome was legally inevitable.

Wikipedia have an excellent synopsis of the case.

More Stuff You May Find Useful

What can be said to constitute ‘ordinary residence’ for the purposes of a right of abode application in Hong Kong?

Strategy on how to craft an argument to appeal a refused Hong Kong right of abode application

Will I still qualify for the right of abode if I worked temporarily in Macau yet lived in Hong Kong for the full 7 years?

Do I need to work for the same employer for 7 years in order to qualify for permanent residency in Hong Kong?

Why applying for a Hong Kong FDH visa for your girlfriend is not a good idea

Why Pay For Professional Help in Your Hong Kong QMAS Application When You Really Can Do It All By Yourself!

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Musing, Special Programmes / 17 responses

On this Blog, I normally eschew talking about my professional practice, how we provide services and how our fees are structured.

Both this website and the Hong Kong Visa Handbook are ‘sell free’ zones.

These 2 websites are designed to provide you with professional quality visa and immigration resources so that you can make fully informed decisions about your Hong Kong immigration status during your time here.

No more. No less.

However, in today’s post I want to both address an issue in respect of the need for professional assistance in a Quality Migrant Admission Scheme application and also create a single source resource that I can point people to when they enquire of our services in respect of a QMAS application.

The overarching message is this:

You Probably Don’t Need to Professional Help in Your Hong Kong QMAS Application!

Not even us.

Firstly the Hong Kong Immigration Department have put out an excellent Guide to Making a QMAS Application.

Most Immigration Consultants in Hong Kong provide their services in the light of this Guide.

Secondly, the Hong Kong Visa Handbook and also our  10 Must Have Resources add further information to the official guidance provided by ImmD.

 

QMAS – Likelihood of Approval

As you may have learned from my blog posts,  I am not a great fan of the QMAS programme.

Of all applications received, only 27% have ever been approved.

Out of this 27%, 77% go to Mainland Chinese and a further 10% go to Canadian, Australian and US nationals collectively.

In my view, it’s a lottery skewed towards Chinese nationals principally and those persons with outstanding personal accomplishments and traits under their belt.

Whilst the Selection Committee entertain all-comers, experience suggests that you to have something quite esoteric or remarkable about you as an applicant.

And waiting 7-12 months for the privilege of learning that your application has been refused, is not for the faint hearted.

That said, you have to be in it to win it and if you don’t apply, you will never know!

More Stuff You Might Find Helpful

The industry secret most Hong Kong immigration consultants don’t want you to discover

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But Stephen, how do you make any money when you give all your visa expertise away for free?

Paying for visa help – the who’s who of the Hong Kong immigration services industry

Do immigration consultants actually add any value to the Hong Kong visa application process?

Social Media Keeping Hong Kong Immigration Consultants On Their Toes – Scary Stuff!

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Investment Visas, Musing / 12 responses

First Published June 17, 2102

Hong Kong Immigration Consultants – this video ‘testimonial’ of our client came as a pleasant surprise but also with a great shock. At the time we were working on Annette’s Hong Kong investment visa application, we had no idea she was keeping a video log of the experience. Whilst we were thrilled with what she has done it at once made me understand the true power of social media. What if she had had a less than satisfactory experience? What would it have done to our carefully managed brand? Scary stuff – but by god, does it keep good companies on their toes!

More Stuff You Might Find Interesting

10 must have resources for any Hong Kong investment visa application

The economy at home is very bad – what investment visa options exist for you in Hong Kong?

The anatomy of a ‘slam dunk’ Hong Kong investment visa – taking just 7 weeks to approval

Why internet forums are a poor source of Hong Kong visa and immigration advice

Does your employer control your Hong Kong immigration destiny?

Considerably Heightened Diligence by ImmD on All Types of Hong Kong Visa Applications

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Family Visas, Investment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Musing, Refusals & Appeals, Sherpa, Visitor Visas / 2 responses

First published March 6, 2019 and updated May 8, 2019.

UPDATE:  8.5.2019 – ImmD are now routinely 2-3 weeks behind their normal case consideration time frames, even as late as May with the Summer Rush just around the corner to boot.  This is borne out by our own dealings with ImmD day-to-day and also the number of visitors to this Blog looking for the answer as to why cases are taking so long. It’s presently the 2nd most popular piece of content we have. Pls see:

Back to the original post of March 6 now…

It’s been one helluva start to 2019 with significant ImmD diligence on all types of Hong Kong visa applications. Indeed, my colleagues and I are spending an inordinate amount of time dealing with worried clients who’s applications are caught up in a maelstrom of new documentary requirements and confirmations. ImmD are now deep diving into areas of client business operations and employment confirmations previously not required – all in a manner that I have not seen for very many years.

Specifically:

Business Investment (Entrepreneur) Visa Extension of Stay Applications – after the fact Business Review conditions are now being implemented even where the original approval came free of such Business Review.

Entry Employment Visa & Change of Employment Visa Sponsorship Applications – random requests for all-of-business MPF returns for all employees claimed working for the sponsoring company.

Entry, Change of Category and Change of Sponsorship Employment/Entrepreneur Visa Applications – where the entity forming the basis of visa sponsorship requires any form of SFC licensing permissions, ImmD are no longer forthcoming with pre-license visa approvals (as was the case 12 months ago).

In almost every instance, ImmD are coming back seeking detailed further and better particulars. With each new request you can readily anticipate an additional 15-20 days of processing time on your applications. It is a rare case indeed these days which gets done in 4-6 weeks.

More Stuff You May Find Useful or Interesting

Is there such an animal as a ‘flexible working visa’ for Hong Kong?

How to get a Hong Kong employment visa automatically with no questions asked!

The long stay visitor’s awkward predicament

How a Hong Kong employment visa application can go completely wrong if you don’t know what you’re doing!

Getting a working visa for Hong Kong is just a matter of filling in the forms, right?

The Hong Kong Immigration Department Official Video – Almost 10 Minutes of “Why Bother”?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Family Visas, Investment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Musing, Special Programmes, Visitor Visas / 4 responses

The Hong Kong Immigration Department official video was released in June of 2012. As of the date of this post, their video had 35,000 views.

This video is a typical government work of art – which begs the question as to why they produced it in the first place?

Lots of smiling faces, stirring music and suitably stern glances amongst featured Immigration Officers ‘in the know’ – but nothing of real use for service users to be found anywhere in this ‘community service’ effort.

If my Cantonese were not so awful, I’d be lining up to join the more than 5,000 of Wanchai’s Finest myself on the strength of this pitch.

But really, what’s the point?

All of the information served up here is available in their Report  published annually and, in any event, do we really doubt that that the HKSAR passport is produced, by them, to the highest security standards in the world or that the Department is responsible for the registration of all births deaths and marriages in the HKSAR?

Regular readers of this Blog or listeners to my commentary on RTHK Radio 3 will know for sure that I am a huge fan of the HKID. Quite apart from the fact that they enable my colleagues and I to feed our families, they really DO do a great job looking after the needs of the consumers of Department services.

But there’s always room for improvement.

So, while it’s understandable that the HKID do not pro-offer approvability advice to service users (limiting themselves to informing and deciding only) they could easily produce instructional videos on how consumers of Department services can efficiently get to grips with HKID processes and procedures.

A list of such videos, off the top of my head, could include:

1. How employers can inspect a HKID card presented by a candidate for a job to ascertain if they are lawfully employable.

2. The legal obligations of Hong Kong employers who sponsor foreign national employees.

3. The blow-by-blow procedures involved in extending each type of residence visa.

4. The mechanics of assessing eligibility for a PHKID Card at the time of verification by an Immigration Officer.

5.  How to submit an application for an employment visa on a change of status basis.

6. How to submit an application for the endorsement of a newly issued passport.

7. How the birth of a newborn child to a foreign national resident of Hong Kong can be registered and the baby’s travel document endorsed with requisite immigration status.

To cite just a few….

A series of procedural How-To’s would be a lot more useful and a much better allocation of budget than this 9 minutes of blurb about what the Department  and its staff do from day to day.

The HKID website is full of information which is less than useful and it would appear, at least from the emergence of their YouTube channel, that it’s a case of more of the same when it comes to their efforts to embrace service users via social media means.

Loads of  ‘me, me, me’.

Little or no, ‘you, you, you’.

 

Other Stuff You May Find Useful or Interesting

STOP PRESS! Hitler’s HKSAR Passport Application Has Been Denied!

The Impact of Brain drain & Resulting Immigration Policy Development

 ImmD are out to deny, not approve, visa applications – aren’t they?

The Hong Kong Immigration Department – what an efficient organisation they really are!

Why internet forums are a cr@p source of Hong Kong immigration advice