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On May 30, 2016 I gave a talk at the Russian Club Hong Kong on the types of Hong Kong visas available to those nationalities who are only granted a 2 week limit of stay as visitors upon arrival in the HKSAR.

This ‘2 week rule’ has a very real practical effect on citizens of countries affected and so this talk is designed is speak to nationals of such countries.

PRACTICE UPDATE: How the content must now be read in light of current ImmD policy:

Historically, this guidance mapped out the realistic pathways for “two-week visitor nationals”—individuals from jurisdictions granted only a 14-day visa-free stay upon arrival—who were seeking legitimate permissions to work or pursue self-employment in Hong Kong. The Geeza laid out the spectrum of working permissions under the General Employment Policy, distinguishing between securing conventional corporate employment and pursuing the entrepreneur/investment route. While cautioning that a tight 14-day limit made onshore application processing virtually impossible without visa runs or formal extension requests, the substantive hurdles were historically far more forgiving: prospective entrepreneurs could feasibly establish a viable corporate vehicle with modest seed capital of a few hundred thousand dollars, secure a flexible serviced office address, and present a business plan promising gradual local hiring over two to three years to win discretionary approval.

The game has changed from a manageable procedural scheduling challenge into an insurmountable operational barrier for self-directed workers and founders. Attempting to transition from a 14-day visitor status into an operational role or investment status now triggers intense administrative scrutiny, as border control actively targets short-stay visa churn and treats unpermitted local business activities as breaches of conditions. More decisively, the investment as entrepreneur route is completely closed to lean or bootstrapped efforts. Under post-April 2026 administrative practice aligned with TTPS Category A operational substance (~HKD 2.5M enterprise scale), securing an entrepreneur visa demands immediate, empirical hardware audited on day one: HKD 1.5M–2.0M in deployed corporate bank liquidity, an executed commercial lease for exclusive physical premises (“four walls”) disqualifying serviced offices and co-working desks entirely, and active Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) payroll contributions for 2–3 local permanent residents. Unless a two-week national secures a genuine corporate employment offer from an established local employer or achieves documented admission into an officially accredited government incubator (such as Cyberport or HKSTP), attempting to establish an independent working presence will result in swift and summary refusal.

This third part of the talk discusses Hong Kong visas that allow you to work.

You can download the presentation slides here.

The Rest of the Series

Getting Started

Dealing With The 2 Week Visa Problem

Visas That Allow You To Work

Work For Yourself Or Someone Else?

The So-Called Start-Up Visa

The Study-then-Work Visa

Visas For Interns & Trainees

Visas for Very Smart People

Family Visas

The D-I-Y Visa – 100% Free!

More Stuff You May Find Useful or Interesting

10 ‘Must Have’ resources for a successful Hong Kong employment visa application

I am an independant contractor not an employee – can I get an employment visa as an inter-company transferee here in Hong Kong?

The 5 key factors which impact on your eligibility for a Hong Kong employment visa

Novel solution to an unusual Hong Kong employment-investment visa situation

Now That I’ve Lost My Job What About My Hong Kong Work Visa? Will I Get Kicked Out of the HKSAR?