New Content Daily Sign Up Here

A frequently experienced conundrum.

How can a foreign company temporarily sponsor Hong Kong employment visa permissions for its employees and contractors who need to work here in pursuit of a commercial arrangement which is of an indefinite or fixed duration here?

QUESTION

How can one visit and deliver short-term (typically 1-5 days duration) training courses in Hong Kong on behalf of an international training company headquartered in New York and which has a local office in Hong Kong.

The training would be delivered course-by-course under an ‘umbrella’ contract with the Hong Kong company i.e. no direct employee relationship, on an episodic basis to the Hong Kong office through an overseas Limited Company in South Africa  whilst travelling on a South African Passport.

What visa and application process would be applicable? It seems that different countries tend to treat this quite differently with some granting a business visa on written request from the host company, or in other cases allow this type of activity under a short-term waiver e.g. Singapore.

I am sure this must be a common situation, but I can’t see how this can be handled. Hong Kong Business Visas appear to stipulate you can’t work or provide a service or am I misreading the intention?  I hope that I have provided enough detail and it is succinct enough.

Thanks very much in advance and looking forward to your reply.

More Stuff You May Find Useful Or Interesting

The perils of contriving a job offer just for the purposes of a Hong Kong employment visa application

Is it ever possible to extend a Hong Kong training visa?

How flexible is the Admission of Mainland Talents & Professionals Scheme in enabling Chinese nationals to come and work in Hong Kong?

Can I study then get married all the while holding an employment visa sponsored by a company I no longer work for?

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

PODCAST ANSWER

Podcast: Play in new window