Hong Kong Visa & Immigration Topics

The Visa Geeza on RTHK Radio Three – July 2012

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Musing, Refusals & Appeals, Visitor Visas / 7 responses

I really enjoyed my entanglement with Phil @ Morning Brew today when he really went to town on the question of people who overstay their visa and Professional Visitors. We also talked about the Hong Kong Immigration Department as a system and what happens when the hammer falls on people doing their umpteeth Shenzhen Shuttle […]

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Hong Kong Employment Visa – Teenage High School Graduate Gets Approved!

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Case Study, Employment Visas / 11 responses

There are about 15,000 Hong Kong employment visas granted each year. Every one of these applications is unique with its own particular qualities and circumstances. Consequently the application of the approvability test for permission to work in the HKSAR, obviously, differs from case to case. The test for approval places a burden on the applicant […]

How to Ensure You Are Not Breaking the Law by Operating a Business in Hong Kong as a Visitor

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in 60 Second Snapshot, Employment Visas, Investment Visas / 4 responses

The fabled Catch 22 applies if you are a visitor to Hong Kong, have started a business here and have become defacto resident without the correct visa permissions in the process. Eventually, the immigration hounds will catch up with you and you will have to deal with the question of an investment visa. But what […]

What’s the Basic Income of a Typical Hong Kong Employment Visa Holder?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Hadley Says… / 5 responses

Many employment visa applicants and the companies which want to hire them struggle with the question of what’s the minimum salary for visa approval? The answer is quite easy really: – The target should be two hundred thousand hong kong dollars each year – This is the total value of the employment not just the […]

Is There a Base Salary Requirement for a Hong Kong Employment Visa?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in 60 Second Snapshot, Employment Visas / No responses

Effectively, yes, there is. The target sum that you’re looking for is about 200,000 Hong Kong dollars a year. However, this sum is not in of itself, definitive. We’ve seen approvals down at the HKD186,000 level. And this amount is NOT the value of the cash salary to be paid. No, the HKD200,000 can amount to the total value […]

Shareholder in the Company Employing You? What the Hong Kong Immigration Department Think…

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in 60 Second Snapshot, Employment Visas, Investment Visas / 4 responses

There really is no such thing as visa self-sponsorship if you are an entrepreneur seeking permissions to join in your own business in Hong Kong. You either work for an independent third party employer, or you are working for yourself (or possibly in partnership with one or 2 others). The Immigration Department will look through […]

‘Temporary’ Hong Kong Investment Visa Approvals – What Does it Mean?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in 60 Second Snapshot, Investment Visas / 2 responses

If your Hong Kong investment visa has been approved but the Hong Kong Immigration Department believe your application was marginal, you can expect your visa to be subject to Business Review the first time that it comes up for extension. An investment visa approved subject to Business Review is bitter-sweet. Further Content for More Information […]

I’ve Lost My Job – What Happens to My Hong Kong Employment Visa?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in 60 Second Snapshot, Employment Visas, Investment Visas / 3 responses

You will not get kicked out of Hong Kong now that you’re no longer working for the sponsor of your current employment visa. Instead, you need to approach the Immigration Department to change employers (which is an employment visa application) or establish or join in a new business (an investment visa application). This short presentation sets […]

Realistically, What is the Minimum Number of Points for a Shot at a QMAS Approval?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Special Programmes, Your Question Answered / 12 responses

The Quality Migrant Admission Scheme attracts a lot of interest from the Asian subcontinent, ostensibly because of the ‘if-you-don’t-try-you’ll-never-know’  nature of the programme along with the facts that it costs next to nothing in official fees to apply (compared with, say, Australia where you seemingly have to mortgage your first born in fees to the […]

Hong Kong Employment Visa Self-Sponsorship – the Reality for Entrepreneurs Dressed as Employees

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Hadley Says…, Investment Visas / 2 responses

If you are an entrepreneur seeking permissions to join in your own business in Hong Kong, you can’t fudge the issue of the ownership of your own business No matter how you dress it up, the Hong Kong Immigration Department will treat you as an entrepreneur-investor if your company is less than 2 years old […]