How To Become An Entrepreneur In Hong Kong – 60 Minute Presentation
Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Feature Article, Investment Visas, Musing, VG Front Page / 2 responses
Last Thursday, July 7 2022, I participated in a hosted Webinar on How To Become An Entrepreneur in Hong Kong.
This one hour presentation was hosted by banking services provider Statrys and supported by my colleague Will Probert of Zzzzip.
The material itself is self-explanatory and I hope you find it helpful in understanding how to become an entrepreneur in Hong Kong, especially if you need immigration permissions in order to do this.
PRACTICE UPDATE: How the content must now be read in light of current ImmD policy:
Historically, this masterclass laid out the strategic playbook for foreign founders launching a new venture in Hong Kong under the General Employment Policy. The Geeza walked aspiring entrepreneurs through navigating the classic approvability test: how to craft a compelling narrative, assemble a persuasive multi-year business plan, structure lean initial capital of a few hundred thousand dollars, leverage serviced offices, and forecast phased local hiring over a two- to three-year ramp-up period. ImmD historically evaluated these applications with pragmatic administrative flexibility, coaching well-intentioned founders through requests for information (RFIs) and granting approvals based on commercial plausibility, founder background, and qualitative economic contribution.
The game has changed from an iterative masterclass in startup storytelling into an uncompromising, binary corporate audit. Today, the practical advice from that era—relying on aspirational forecasts, modest seed funds, and phased commitments—will result in swift disqualification. Under post-April 2026 administrative practice aligned with TTPS Category A substance (~HKD 2.5M enterprise scale), ImmD will not approve an entrepreneur visa on future promises. The business must prove live operational hardware on day one: HKD 1.5M–2.0M in deployed corporate bank liquidity, an executed commercial lease for exclusive physical premises (“four walls”), and active MPF payroll for 2–3 local permanent residents. Unless an applicant secures admission into an officially accredited government incubator (such as Cyberport or HKSTP), treating entrepreneurship as an incremental, bootstrapped journey is dead on arrival.
10 Must Have Resources For An Entrepreneur Applying For A Hong Kong Business Investment Visa
1. INFOGRAPHIC – One Man Investment Visa for Hong Kong
2. PDF – Information on the Hong Kong Business Investment Visa
3. PLAN – The Hong Kong Visa Application Roadmap
4. CASE STUDY – Hong Kong Investment Visas – 3 Case Examples That Would Not Get Approved
5. TEMPLATES – Business Investment Visa Application Argument & Other Supporting Letters to the HKID
VIDEO – 60 Page Business Plan Needed for a Business Investment Visa?
VIDEO – Advantages of Being An Existing Resident When You Make an Application for a Business Investment Visa
PODCAST – Freelancers in Hong Kong – Can You Get a Visa?
TEMPLATE – Business Plan for a Hong Kong Enterprise
TEMPLATE – Hong Kong Employment Contract
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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.
Richard Robbins
Hong Kong seems like an exciting place to do business…
…but the political environment, especially with strange things happening in China over the past couple years, seems volatile.
For a company that’s just starting to look at getting into Hong Kong, what reassurance can you give that there is not too much risk in the business environment because of potential changes made politically?
The Visa Geeza
Don’t believe everything you read / see in the western mainstream media. They are China bashing. I’ve been here 35 years. Apart from covid (which is a pain) it’s as good as it’s ever been.