Paid Or Unpaid Work In Hong Kong

Your Questions Answered

Does The Hong Kong Immigration Department Positively Consider Family Reunion As A Factor To Employment Visa Grant?

January 16th, 2026

Posted by / in Employment Visas, Family Visas, Your Question Answered / No responses

Employment visa grant? What do the Hong Kong Immigration Department take into account exactly when considering an application for an employment visa where the applicant has recently divorced from a Hong Kong resident? QUESTION I have been in Hong Kong for two years and have recently divorced.  I have care and custody of our two […]

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Your Questions Answered

How Do You Prove To The Hong Kong Immigration Department That You Have Tried To Recruit Locally?

January 15th, 2026

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

Excellent question earlier this week. Great opportunity to slay a few sacred cows. QUESTION Hi, one of the requirements for the work visa application is a proof of genuine vacancy. What if a sponsoring company doesn’t do job ads? What can he present? He does recruit locally via his network since he is just a […]

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Your Questions Answered

Can I Still Sponsor A Hong Kong Dependant Visa For My New Wife If I Hold An Employment Visa But Am Presently Between Jobs?

January 14th, 2026

Posted by / in Employment Visas, Family Visas, Your Question Answered / 2 responses

What will ImmD make of an application to sponsor a dependant visa by a Hong Kong employment visa holding foreign national who doesn’t presently have a job here? QUESTION I am in between jobs (currently on an employment visa in Hong Kong) and plan to get married soon (outside HK). I would like to arrange […]

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Hadley Says

What About Your Hong Kong Employment Visa If You’re Thinking Of Changing Jobs?

January 13th, 2026

Posted by / in Employment Visas, Hadley Says… / 1 response

It happens all the time. You get an employment visa to work in Hong Kong for one employer – then your circumstances change and you want to take up a position with another. The question is – what about your visa? Is it OK just to swap jobs without doing anything down at Immigration Tower? As […]

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Your Questions Answered

QOTW: Can I Get An Employment Visa Again If I Still Owe Taxes From The Last Time I Worked In Hong Kong?

January 12th, 2026

Posted by / in Case Study, Employment Visas, Your Question Answered / 2 responses

What is the interplay between unpaid taxes and a Hong Kong employment visa application subsequently? QUESTION Hi, I worked in Hong Kong last year, 2013, and left the city mid year after my work terminated. When I left, my company filed a IR56G “leaving Hong Kong” tax form for me with the IRD. However, I […]

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60 Second Snapshot'

Why Do Hong Kong Technology Startups Mostly Struggle To Win Investment Visa Approvals For Their Founders?

January 9th, 2026

Posted by / in 60 Second Snapshot, Employment Visas, Investment Visas / No responses

I’m often asked how feasible business investment visas are for foreign nationals seeking to establish a new technology start up here. Bootstrappping and running Lean can be a double edged sword as a foreign national starting up in Hong Kong… The actual extent of the challenge is, in fact, no more onerous than it has […]

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Musing

LIFTING THE LID: Leaving Your Hong Kong Visa Extension To The Very Last Minute

January 7th, 2026

Posted by / in Employment Visas, Family Visas, Investment Visas, Musing, Special Programmes / No responses

In this short piece, I discuss the impact on our practice when clients leave their Hong Kong visa extension applications to the very last minute! In this occasional series of commentary, I provide a peek inside our professional practice and offer a glimpse of what it’s like to be part of the Hong Kong Visa Centre team. […]

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Musing

QOTW: Can I Get A Hong Kong Work Visa With No Degree?

January 5th, 2026

Posted by / in Employment Visas, Musing / No responses

An old chestnut this question which comes up time and time again about getting a Hong Kong work visa with no degree – albeit this time in the context of a technical apprenticeship undertaken straight out of senior high school. QUESTION  OF  THE  WEEK I moved to Hong Kong from France one month ago. I […]

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Musing

QOTW: Hong Kong Immigration… What Does It Mean… Visa Gossip & Rumours?

December 29th, 2025

Posted by / in Employment Visas, Family Visas, Investment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Musing, Refusals & Appeals, Special Programmes, Visitor Visas / No responses

Over the last 20 years or so I have coined a number of phrases in Hong Kong Immigration parlance, amongst which what I call the Visa Gossip & Rumours QUESTION  OF  THE  WEEK In this short video, I discuss the hoary old chestnut of Visa Gossip & Rumours Despite the passing of more than eight years […]

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Musing

Hong Kong Employment Visa Self-Sponsorship – The Reality For Entrepreneurs Masquerading As Employees

December 14th, 2025

Posted by / in Employment Visas, Investment Visas, Musing / 6 responses

There really is no such thing as visa self-sponsorship if you are an entrepreneur seeking permissions to join in your own business in Hong Kong. You either work for an independent third party employer, or you are working for yourself (or possibly in partnership with one or 2 others). Let’s assume you make an application […]

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