How Do I Go About Setting Up A Side Business To Complement My Full Time Hong Kong Employment Visa?
Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Your Question Answered / 36 responses
Foreign national employment visa holders in Hong Kong are quite often interested in setting up a side business…
QUESTION
I am currently employed full-time by a company in Hong Kong. They successfully sponsored my Hong Kong employment visa and I just started my job 2 months ago. All is going very well.
But I would like to register my own business, because I see a chance to act as middle-man for service exchange between China and Europe, and would like that to be done in an official, legal manner.
A recent podcast answer of yours said it would be possible for me to request permission to join in a “side business”.
Does a “side business” involve getting others to register the company, and joining as partner?
Or does it simply mean I can register myself but there are restrictions on what I can earn or do?
Can you please advise on how I can actually go about setting up a side business and then getting the permission of Immigration here to be able to do this?
Best regards, and thank you for sharing your expertise in this manner.
ANSWER
I’m really grateful for this question because it gives me an opportunity to discuss how one goes about establishing a side business. If you’re here as an employee sponsored by an employer and your employment visa has been granted for you to do the work to that employer, but the side business has attractions to you and so you wish to get the permission of the Immigration Department to joining that side business to supplement what you’re doing with your formal full time employment.
Firstly, to establish a side business, you need to get the permission of your existing employer in writing, stating that they have no objection to joining in the side business. And then you need to ensure that you have a business entity properly registered in Hong Kong to your name, not to business partners as such, although you can have partners in a side business, but normally the Immigration Department are expecting that your side business is you doing some stuff that is in addition to your primary employment, as I say, that your current employer has no objection to engaging in.
So you register, typically a sole proprietorship, which is the simplest form, a business entity in Hong Kong with the Commissioner for Inland Revenue, which means you go down to the revenue tower in Wan Chai, which is next to Immigration Tower, and apply for business registration certificate, which is a simple exercise, filling in some forms and presenting a copy of your Hong Kong identity card and away you go.
At that point you’ll be issued with a business registration certificate once you’ve paid the fee, which is a little over HKD2,000, which is an annual fee, by the way. And once you have got your business registration certificate, you then effectively write to the Immigration Department seeking their permission to join in as side business with the consent of your existing employer.
And that application bundle itself will be including the letter from your employer, a copy of business registration certificate, short synopsis of what you’re planning to do with your side business, and showing also that your activities will contribute to the economy of Hong Kong. So that’s inimical to your argument. It’s not a long and complicated process. It’s relatively straightforward. The vast majority of these applications do get approved by the Immigration Department on the basis that it’s merely a business on the side. It’s not going to in any way conflict with your primary employment activities, which, after all, are the reasons why you’ve been granted permissions to remain in Hong Kong in the first place. That application process normally takes about four weeks to finalise, so it certainly doesn’t involve anybody else assisting you in respect of this side business. It’s expected that you’re going to be undertaking this business by yourself, as I say, as a supplementary activity to your core employment activities with your sponsoring employer.
Okay. Hope you found that useful.
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The Hong Kong Visa Geeza (a.k.a Stephen Barnes) is a co-founder of the Hong Kong Visa Centre and author of the Hong Kong Visa Handbook. A law graduate of the London School of Economics, Stephen has been practicing Hong Kong immigration since 1993 and is widely acknowledged as the leading authority on business immigration matters here for the last 24 years.
N
Hi,
I am employed in a multinational company and on a work visa in HK since past 4 years.
My spouse is on a dependent visa and works for another MNC in HK.
I have checked my spouse employment contract and it doesn’t mention anything regarding setting up a company or business.
Whereas my employment contract restricts me to setup any company or business.
I want to set up a company in HK (preferably under spouse’s name) and we both want to retain our jobs as long as the company doesn’t pick up pace.
Questions:-
1. If I set up a company under my spouse name (dependent visa), Does she have to disclose anything in her office?
2. Will the Immd have any objections and reach out to her office or my office?
3. Will there be any impact on our HK PR application ? (We are in HK since last 4 years)
The Visa Geeza
1. If I set up a company under my spouse name (dependent visa), Does she have to disclose anything in her office?
This is an employment law question, not an immigration one. Not my balliwick. From an immigration perspective there’ no disclosure requirement.
2. Will the Immd have any objections and reach out to her office or my office?
If your spouse is exclusively named on the recrods of the entity, there’s no immigration issue arising. If you’re involved, ImmD will want to pre-approve it. ImmD generally don’t contact employers unless they are part of active application or part of an investigation.
3. Will there be any impact on our HK PR application ? (We are in HK since last 4 years)
For your spouse none. If you get involved without the permission of ImmD it could be a problem.
Nicola
To summarise:-
If my spouse gets an employment approval , she can set up/register a HK company without informing the Immd and there will not be any immigration impact on her current dependent visa and future PR application.
Is that correct?
The Visa Geeza
What do you mean exact;y “If my spouse gets an employment approval “?
Sam
Hi,’
I currently have an HK work visa at a company and a sideline visa to do part time work.
Would it be OK to get a 2nd part time job and apply for a second sideline visa if my employer approves it?
Thanks,
Sam
The Visa Geeza
You can certainly try. But expect ImmD to enquire deeply into just how you can undertake all of this side work along with a full time job with your sponsor. Do you plan to sleep?
Laura
I’m on an employee visa and I wish to take up a side business. I recently emailed the Immigration dept and they told me that I need to also provide an ID91 form, on top of the business registration, the letter of no objections from my employer and a letter from my side company. My visa however expires in late 2022, so I’m confused… Is that expected?
Also, do you need to book an appointment at the Immigration dept to submit the above documents or can I send them through their website or over email?
Thanks!
The Visa Geeza
Yes in order to secure side business permissions you must get the approval of ImmD before you start the side business and ImmD use the forms ID91 even though you might not need an extension at this time. I would go in person to file the application. Their website is not designed to accommodate non routine applications.
Julien
Hi! I hope you are doing well and safe.
I am currently based in Hong Kong and sponsored by local company up to August 2022. I have quit this company one month ago to open my own business.
I have already created my company as Limited one in 2019.
I would like to know if I need entrepreneur visa to run my own side business? Do my working visa I got with my previous company can allow me to run my side business?
Thanks in advance
The Visa Geeza
I believe my colleague has spoken to you regarding this already?
Anne
Hello, could you please share your colleague’s answer here ?
I am in a similar situation and will get my PR in July 2023, therefore there is no point to apply for the entrepreneur Visa since it usually takes 4-6 months.
Can I still run my business with my current Working Visa sponsored by my current employer (ending employment contract in end Jan) ?
Thanks a lot
The Visa Geeza
To run your own business requires the permission of ImmD. You cannot legally operate your own enterprise on the strength of an employment visa sponsored by a third party employer. Therefore you must wait until your PR is approved ir you do not wish to get ImmD permissions in the meantime.
Matt
Hi ,
I am currently on a sponsored employment visa in Hong Kong. I would like to create a side business conducting paid consultancy work outside of my current employment. I understand I need
1. A letter of approval from my current employer
2. Register a business ( Done in Wan Chai office)
3. Set up a Sole proprietorship
4. Get approval from the ImmD
How do I go about setting up a sole proprietorship? And will this affect my current employment visa? Or can I keep my current employment Visa?
Thanks in advance,
Matt
The Visa Geeza
You set up a sole proprietorship at the IRD Tower in Wanchai. “And will this affect my current employment visa? Or can I keep my current employment Visa?”. I don’t understand this question as you’ve laid out your understanding of what you need to do visa-wise in your points 1-4?
CN
Hello!
I currently have a working visa in HK and I would like to open a side business but keep my current job at the same time.
I’m not sure if I can do it with a working visa but probably not.
Alternatively I’m getting married soon and my husband-to-be as a working visa. If I apply for a dependant visa can I both work for my current employer and open my side business?
Does my current company has to know I changed my visa?
Thanks!
The Visa Geeza
A dependant visa makes you lawfully employable under any configuration. You can progress your change of visa category without your employer knowing but when your employment visa date comes up for renewal you will need to disclose all to them at that time.
Clueless Lad
Hi,
Am I correct in saying that if I have a dependant visa I may register a business without the need to get an approval letter from my employer – as they are not the ones who sponsor my visa…?
The Visa Geeza
From an immigration perspective yes that’s correct. However, you might need to check out your employment contract carefully to see if your employer has something to say about you doing this or not.
Nick
Hello! Could anyone help me with whether it would be possible for to register a sole proprietorship company in HK if I am here on a working holiday visa? Or is LLC a better option?
Trying to avoid applying and getting rejected immediately!
The Visa Geeza
Sorry – rejected for what?
Nick
That they wouldn’t let me register SP because I only have a holiday working visa?
The Visa Geeza
Yes, that seems to be current IRD practice.
Joe
Hi Visa Geeza,
It’s now 2019. Have the policies for side business under a sponsored employment visa remained the same or tightened?
I’m currently to extend my own visa but the consultant my company uses says it’s not possible…?
As I understand the visa type remains the same (Employment under GEP), but you simply get permission to also engage in a side business.
Thanks
The Visa Geeza
Yes applicants for side business permissions are scrutinized more robustly now. and yes you must have a main employment / sponsor under GEP and then layer over the side business permissions as a separate application.
Zoubi L
Dear all,
I am currently under a working Visa in Hong Kong, sponsored by my company.
I would like to set up my own business in Hong Kong, without letting know the current company which will not accept the sideline visa as they will be afraid that I leave the company within a short terms.
Is there any other solution to open a company in Hong Kong than the side line visa which inform the current company ?
Thanks
The Visa Geeza
Alas no.
The Visa Geeza
Emailed you.
Nick
Hi, I have been trying to get a sideline visa for a while now but keep running into difficulties. I have a business registered which I did in Wan Chai a month ago. My employer is happy for me to have the side line work and I have given them the ‘investment ID999B (sponsor) form but they replied to me with the following….
“I have checked with Immigration Department. We cannot complete the form that you provided to us yesterday.
If you submit that application form to Immigration Department, your working visa will be changed to “ Investment as Entrepreneurs” visa, then you cannot work at our company.”
Have they been given the wrong information or have the rules changed?
Thank you
The Visa Geeza
Normally te ID999B sponsorship form is not needed in a side business applciation. Your main sponsorship as an employee (originally made on ID990B) remains in situ. You may have an officer who is not well versed in handling these types of cases.
Nick
Thank you. I have just applied for the sideline visa without the business as the office told me it was very difficult to get this visa I should apply for this one!
Once I have set gained this visa I am hoping to switch to the business one. I think you are correct about the officers, they didn’t seem to be able to answer my questions or advise on the sideline business.
angie
Hi Nick, could you please let me know where did you find the sideline visa application form and how does it work?
Thank you,
Angie
The Visa Geeza
Who’s Nick? There is no sideline visa application form as such. Start the application off with form ID91 and make a case from there on.
Adam
Thank you for this podcast answer. It has been very helpful. I am interested to start up a graphic design side business to complement my visa-sponsored full-time university job in HK.
Do you have any example letters for 1) the no objection letter from my full-time employer, and 2) the letter of business intent and benefit to HK economy? I am guessing these are fairly straightforward letters to write, but as with any official business with HK immigration, I want to get it right the first time – so any help you can provide would be very much appreciated. Thank you!
The Visa Geeza
The no objection letter simply states “We have no objection to our sponsored employee XXX joining in the side business of….” There is no template as such for business intent and benefit – that is where you write up your argument. See our template cover letter for a full investment visa application to get the gist: http://www.hongkongvisahandbook.com/business-investment-visa/application-templates/
Jason
Hello
I am currently in Hong Kong on a sponsored visa (nearly 4 years) and have now set up a registered company in Hong Kong.
My girlfriend is currently in Hong Kong on a 30 day visit and I would like to be able to sponsor her (through my company) to obtain the necessary working visa and start working in Hong Kong.
Can you please advise the steps that I should be taking for this? Also, would it be easier if she applies for an Entrepreneur visa?
Are there any special requirements that I should be considering?
Many Thanks
Jason
The Visa Geeza
Lots of problems here:
1 – If you hold a sponsored employment visa yourself then you yourself need to get permission of ImmD to establish this business – your employment visa does to allow you to start this business without getting your own set of approvals (see: http://www.hongkongvisageeza.com/tag/join-in-a-side-business/).
2 – As the company is newly set up you’re going to have to demonstrate that it can be a suitable and credible sponsor for a foreign nationals’ employment visa permissions. This is much like seeking approval as an entrepreneur (see: http://www.hongkongvisageeza.com/hong-kong-investment-visa-the-3-legs-of-the-application-approvability-stool/)
3 – You will definitely have to demonstrate that your girlfriend as applicant is a Professional for the purposes of the General Employment Policy and also that no local person could reasonably be expected to up take the work.
4 – I can’t comment on whether or not she should be applying as an Entrepreneur as I know nothing about your plans for the business, the ownership interests in it nor have sufficient information to determine the likelihood of a successful outcome.