How To Start A Business In Hong Kong As A Foreigner – Hiring Yourself
Posted by The Visa Geeza / 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 practical guide provided a self-directed, step-by-step roadmap for a foreign national to incorporate a Hong Kong entity and secure an investment as entrepreneur visa without paying for professional advisory support. The Geeza framed the DIY route as entirely achievable for resourceful founders: by diligently following statutory incorporation steps, assembling a comprehensive business plan, securing a flexible serviced office address, depositing modest working capital of a few hundred thousand dollars, and charting a gradual local hiring timeline over two to three years, an applicant could navigate the approvability test. ImmD case officers were historically receptive to well-organized, earnest DIY applications, offering leeway through iterative requests for information (RFIs) to help promising, lean startups cross the finish line.
The game has changed from an accessible, narrative-driven DIY exercise into an unforgiving, high-stakes corporate compliance gauntlet. Today, attempting a self-directed entrepreneur visa filing on the basis of a standard business plan, lean seed funding, and serviced office space will result in immediate failure. Post-April 2026 administrative practice subjects all new ventures to TTPS Category A operational substance benchmarks (~HKD 2.5M enterprise scale). An applicant cannot rely on procedural diligence or persuasive explanations alone; the business must substantiate live operational hardware upfront: 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 founder has already secured admission into an officially accredited government incubator (such as Cyberport or HKSTP), submitting an unassisted DIY application without these heavy institutional fundamentals guarantees swift and summary refusal.
In this segment I talk about the fallacy of “Employing Yourself”.
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
What type of visa do you think you need for Hong Kong?
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Do I automatically qualify for a Hong Kong dependant visa if my partner has a work or investment visa here?
Married to a PHKID card holder overseas – the Hong Kong visa situation for the foreign national spouse
How to cure your Hong Kong vise extension headache and make sure it gets approved the very first time!
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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.
