Hong Kong Visa & Immigration Topics

Interview: Is There a Threshold to Attaining a Hong Kong Work Visa Under the General Employment Policy?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Investment Visas, Musing / 7 responses

On June 6th, 2013 I was interviewed by five law students from the Chinese University of Hong Kong about my experiences practicing immigration here over the last 20 years. We covered a great deal of ground in the 90 minutes we spent together and over the next few weeks I will be posting the interview […]

I Have Technically Overstayed My Hong Kong Employment Visa by One Day But Have No Job – What Happens Now?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Musing, Visitor Visas / 1 response

Interesting and not at all unusual situation this one … how to deal with a technical overstay conundrum… QUESTION I have been living and working in Hong Kong for the past three years on a valid employment visa which has expired yesterday (2/11/2013). I finished my employment earlier in the month (I am not continuing […]

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Lame Excuses Won’t Cut It If You’re Caught Working in Hong Kong Without an Employment Visa

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Feature Article, Investment Visas, Musing, Refusals & Appeals, Special Programmes, Visitor Visas / 2 responses

Caught Working in Hong Kong Without an Employment Visa? If you’re working in Hong Kong  (paid, unpaid or temporarily transferred in) but do not have an employment visa sponsored by your current employer you are breaking the law and could be subject to 3 years imprisonment and/or up to a HKD350,000 fine. The law is very […]

Foreign National Entrepreneurs Starting Up in Hong Kong or China – Where is Better for Visas?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Investment Visas, Musing / 2 responses

   Image Courtesy of China Daily Mail Paul Bischoff recently laid bare the visa and immigration problems which entrepreneurs (and intending foreign national residents generally for that matter) face when seeking to set up in China in this provocative piece in TechinAsia.com (read the comments especially). China has always been a hard place to meet any level of […]

Which is Better – Change of Hong Kong Employment Visa Sponsorship or Seeking to Swap Over to a QMAS Visa Instead?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Special Programmes, Your Question Answered / No responses

If I had to choose between applying for a QMAS visa or otherwise seek to change my Hong Kong Employment Visa Sponsorship to carry on working in Hong Kong, I know what I’d do (hands down, no doubt about it) … QUESTION Hi, I have been in Hong Kong for the past 2 years under […]

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Corporate Immigration in Hong Kong From 39,000 Feet

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Investment Visas, Musing, Special Programmes / No responses

Useful summary of  Hong Kong’s corporate immigration programmes recently uploaded to Slideshare by Hong Kong law firm  OLN. FAQ on Corporate Immigration 10 Sept 2013 by OLN from linkedincontent_f16   More Stuff You May Find Useful or Interesting The reality behind the Hong Kong Immigration Department’s ’4 Weeks’ visa application consideration time frame How onerous […]

The Visa Geeza on RTHK Radio Three – September 2013

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Special Programmes / No responses

Mr Whelan once again got the date of my latest visit to him at RTHK Radio 3 completely wrong but I did finally get to see him on Morning Brew yesterday. And no sooner had I sat down did he tear in to me about all manner of things Hong Kong visa and immigration related […]

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The Remarkable Tale of a Hong Kong Investment Visa Approval – Buying a Restaurant, Maintaining Jobs & Managing Remotely

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Case Study, Investment Visas / 5 responses

On Friday last week, our client Mike Chapin very graciously invited my colleagues and I to have dinner at his restaurant JAR in Central. He asked us along as his guests to celebrate the approval of his and his wife Natalia’s Hong Kong investment and dependant visa applications a few weeks earlier. Due to travel and other (family) […]

Can an Offshore Company Sponsor a Hong Kong Employment or Business Investment Visa?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Hadley Says…, Investment Visas / 6 responses

You may be a director, shareholder or an employee of a company which is not incorporated in Hong Kong but thinking about the possibility of setting up shop here. In such a case, is it possible for the overseas incorporated entity to sponsor employment or business investment visa permissions for one of their officers or […]

Are Such Facilities as Virtual Offices, Incubators, Serviced Offices & Co-working Spaces Deemed ‘Suitable Business Premises’ for the Purposes of a Hong Kong Business Investment Visa Application?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Hadley Says…, Investment Visas / 4 responses

Hong Kong has an incredibly dynamic economy with the reality that the Hong Kong Immigration Department has recognized that entrepreneurs today have a wide variety of options in which to home their start up and early stage businesses. Consequently, incubators, serviced offices and co-working spaces are generally acceptable to the Immigration Department as early homes […]