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Hong Kong Visa & Immigration Topics

Your Questions Answered

Can You Remain In Hong Kong Under An Employment Visa Sponsored By An Ex-Employer & Run A Hong Kong Sole Proprietorship Providing Services Outside Of Hong Kong (Mostly)?

March 4th, 2026

Posted by / in Employment Visas, Investment Visas, Your Question Answered / No responses

Remain in Hong Kong under an Employment Visa sponsored by an ex-Employer? Unusual set of facts in this case and a question never posed to me in this fashion previously… PRACTICE UPDATE: How the content must now be read in light of current ImmD policy: This warning against attempting to retain residence via a defunct […]

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Your Questions Answered

Is There A Minimum Number Of Days You Need To Be In Hong Kong In Order To Maintain Your Investment Visa Status?

February 27th, 2026

Posted by / in Employment Visas, Family Visas, Investment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Special Programmes, Your Question Answered / 4 responses

Hong Kong is a small place with borders on our doorstep so how much time do you need to be physically in Hong Kong to retain your Hong Kong investment visa? PRACTICE UPDATE: How the content must now be read in light of current ImmD policy: This article addresses the common scenario of mobile entrepreneurs […]

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Your Questions Answered

Will Performance-Based Equity Compensation Suffice Instead Of A Cash Salary For A Hong Kong Employment Visa?

February 26th, 2026

Posted by / in Employment Visas, Investment Visas, Your Question Answered / 2 responses

To what extend the salary can be replaced with performance-based equity compensation in case of a Hong Kong employment visa? No one has asked me this type of question about compensation for employees for about 17 years now so I’m grateful to the questioner for raising it as she did. QUESTION I have successfully registered […]

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Your Questions Answered

What Will The Immigration Department Make Of A Third Party Objection To An Application For A Hong Kong Investment Visa?

February 12th, 2026

Posted by / in Investment Visas, Your Question Answered / 4 responses

Objection to an application for a Hong Kong investment visa? Revenge is a dish best eaten cold, as they say. PRACTICE UPDATE: How the content must now be read in light of current ImmD policy: This advisory piece regarding how ImmD handles malicious or competitive third-party objections must now be read alongside the department’s forensic […]

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Your Questions Answered

How Easy (Or Hard) Is It For A Second Foreign National Business Partner To Get A Hong Kong Investment Visa For An Unprofitable Company?

February 5th, 2026

Posted by / in Investment Visas, Your Question Answered / No responses

PRACTICE UPDATE: How to read in light of current ImmD policy: Where this guidance previously suggested that struggling, pre-profit, or turnaround entities could sponsor an incoming partner by simply demonstrating turnover, an operational space, and a credible forward-looking plan for downstream growth, it must now be read with extreme caution. Under ImmD’s alignment with TTPS […]

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Your Questions Answered

I Have A Socially Advantageous Yet Modestly Capitalised Business Plan – Can I Get An Investment Visa For Hong Kong?

January 27th, 2026

Posted by / in Investment Visas, Your Question Answered / 12 responses

This is an important question on the business investment visa for Hong Kong…. Experience suggests that the Hong Kong Immigration Department do tend to look favourably upon such business plans, but the applicant absolutely does not have it all his or her own way, as you will learn in my PodCast answer. (Please note the […]

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60 Second Snapshot'

Why Do Hong Kong Technology Startups Mostly Struggle To Win Investment Visa Approvals For Their Founders?

January 9th, 2026

Posted by / in 60 Second Snapshot, Employment Visas, Investment Visas / No responses

I’m often asked how feasible business investment visas are for foreign nationals seeking to establish a new technology start up here. Bootstrappping and running Lean can be a double edged sword as a foreign national starting up in Hong Kong… PRACTICE UPDATE: How the content must now be read in light of current ImmD policy: […]

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Musing

How To Apply For A Hong Kong Investment Visa Without Paying For Professional Help – 4 – Investment Visa For Mainland Chinese Applicants

January 6th, 2026

Posted by / in Investment Visas, Musing / No responses

I have given this talk around town for the last couple of years now and so pleased to finally add it to our coverage of the Hong Kong investment visa, specifically discussing the Hong Kong investment visa for Mainland Chinese applicants. PRACTICE UPDATE: How to read in light of current ImmD policy: Historical Editorial Standard: This […]

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Musing

Hong Kong Employment Visa Self-Sponsorship – The Reality For Entrepreneurs Masquerading As Employees

December 14th, 2025

Posted by / in Employment Visas, Investment Visas, Musing / 6 responses

PRACTICE UPDATE: How the content must now be read in light of current ImmD policy: This warning against attempting to bypass the investment visa test by setting up a company, owning shares, and applying for an employment visa as a “self-sponsored employee” carries far heavier consequences today. Historically, ImmD would simply “pierce the corporate veil,” […]

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Musing

Hong Kong Entrepreneur Visa (Business Investment) – A Practical Guide

November 20th, 2025

Posted by / in Investment Visas, Musing, Resource, VG Front Page / No responses

The Hong Kong entrepreneur visa (business investment) is arguably the most challenging immigration status to acquire in the HKSAR… PRACTICE UPDATE: How the content must now be read in light of current ImmD policy: This primary portal page—which historically outlines the general qualification principles and describes an approvability test accommodating early-stage commercial concepts—must now serve as […]

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