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How To Start A Business In Hong Kong As A Foreigner – Business Investment As An Entrepreneur (Visa)

July 28th, 2018

Posted by / in Investment Visas, Musing / No responses


 

I recently gave a talk at Campfire Collaborative Space on the topic of how to start a business in Hong Kong as a foreigner, which in essence is the journey of getting a Business Investment Visa as an Entrepreneur after the implementation of the Enhancement Measures in 2015 and the Audit Commission Report Number 66 from 2016.

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

Historically, this foundational installment served as the definitive orientation for any foreign national seeking to establish and run an active enterprise under the General Employment Policy’s investment stream. The Geeza demystified the route by positioning it as a welcoming, discretionary pathway accessible to early-stage founders: an applicant did not need deep institutional funding or established corporate scale. ImmD focused on an elastic, holistic approvability test where an earnest founder with a well-structured business plan, modest seed capital of a few hundred thousand dollars, a flexible serviced office address, and a genuine commitment to gradually creating local employment over a two- to three-year horizon could readily secure approval.
The game has changed from a flexible, plan-based entry route into an unforgiving, high-threshold corporate audit. ImmD no longer treats the investment as entrepreneur visa as an incubator for early-stage ambitions or bootstrapped commercial concepts. Under post-April 2026 administrative practice aligned with TTPS Category A operational substance (~HKD 2.5M enterprise scale), a venture must substantiate live, empirical 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 the applicant has secured formal admission into an accredited government incubator (such as Cyberport or HKSTP), relying on traditional business plans, lean capital, or phased hiring models will result in swift and summary administrative refusal.

In this segment I discuss the immigration application and what you need to do to prove to the Immigration Department that you are worthy of this visa.

The Rest of the Talk

Introduction

How We Got Here

Must Have Resources

The Startup Visa

Business Investment As An Entrepreneur (Visa)

Three Elements To Approval

Have You Got Enough Money?

Is Your Business Sustainable?

A Properly Set Up Office

How About Local Jobs?

Economic Sector Advantages

Hiring Yourself

D-I-Y Application

 

Important Materials Referenced In The Presentation

10 Must-Have Resources for Any Hong Kong Investment Visa Application

Accredited Startup Programmes in Hong Kong

Hong Kong Visa Handbook Free Kits

Your Questions Answered

 

More Stuff You May Find Useful Or Interesting

Do You Have a Business Plan Template I Can Use for My Hong Kong Investment Visa Application?

What are you really buying from a Hong Kong immigration consultant?

How onerous is the sponsorship role in a Hong Kong investment visa application?

What do both Hong Kong employment and investment visa applications share in common?

STOP PRESS! Hitler’s HKSAR passport application has been rejected!

VISIT OUR PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE or VISIT OUR FREE D-I-Y VISA GUIDE

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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.

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