Hong Kong Visas Made Easy

The Year Ahead – 2014 & New Stuff On the Horizon For the Hong Kong Visa Geeza

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Family Visas, Investment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Musing, Refusals & Appeals, Special Programmes, Visitor Visas / 4 responses

Season’s Greetings from sunny Western Australia!

You may have noticed that I have been very quiet these last 2 weeks.

Truth is I needed a serious break as the last six months of 2013 were just hectic all told.

The Hong Kong Visa Centre grew 100% last year (for the third year in a row), we opened Video Cha Cha (more on that soon) and the next 180 days ahead will see us creatively disrupting one more market in Hong Kong which Martyn and I have acquired expertise in down the years.

Fun times ahead!

This year we intend to introduce expansive new Hong Kong visa and immigration video content and also a new video blog called The Growth Switch  where I will share in detail the lessons we have learned about building a business from scratch by giving all of my expertise and know-how away for free.

That content is not really suited to this immigration focused website so I’m going to wax lyrical on my second favourite subject over there instead.

I’ll let you know when it’s ready to go – should be the early part of February.

To all of you who have asked me visa questions these last 2 weeks, I hope you found my short email answers  satisfactory. A 14 day break from PodCasting answers has been excellent for me – so thanks for understanding.

I return to Hong Kong next Tuesday (7/1) and hit the ground running as soon as I get back – so normal business on this Blog will be resumed from that date!

More Stuff You May Find Useful or Interesting

Social media keeping immigration consultants on our toes – scary stuff!

The industry secret most Hong Kong immigration consultants don’t want you to discover

But Stephen, how do you make any money when you give all of your Hong Kong visa and immigration expertise away for free?

100% Hong Kong visa application success rate? Take it all with a grain of salt

Why internet forums are a cr@p source of Hong Kong visa and immigration advice

Relocating to Hong Kong For Work or Business – Applying for Permanent Residency After 7 Years

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Family Visas, Investment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Musing, Refusals & Appeals, Special Programmes, Visitor Visas / 2 responses

On June 13 I was invited to address the 2013 Monaco Trade Delegation to Hong Kong & China on the question of visas to live and work in Hong Kong.

The Delegation was hosted by my good friends at Rosemont Hong Kong and I covered in a total of 50 minutes the whole sweep of employment and investment based visas as well as the question of permanent residency here eventually.

I have broken the talk down in 12 bite sized chunks under the following headings:

Introduction

The Last 20 Years

Immigration Policy

The Visitor Visa

Job Offer Based Employment Visa

Business Investment Visa

Business Investment Visa Cash Required & Catch 22

Capital Investment Visa

Visas for Accompanying Family

Why Do Applications Get Denied?

Permanent Residency

Q&A

More Stuff You Might Find Useful or Interesting

Will redundancy impact your eligibility for the right of abode in Hong Kong?

I lived in Hong Kong for  11 years but have been gone for the last 7 – can I still apply for permanent residency?

What can be said to constitute ‘ordinary residence’ for the purposes of a Hong Kong right of abode application?

10 Must Have resources for a successful Hong Kong permanent residency application

Time spent outside of Hong Kong – the impact it will have on your eventual right of abode application after 7 years

DATE FOR YOUR DIARY: 100% Free Hong Kong Investment Visa Application Workshop – HKTDC – December 13, 2013 in Wanchai (4 ~ 6 pm)

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Musing / No responses

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council have invited me to speak this week on Investment Visas – how to get one without paying for professional help.

 Hong Kong Investment Visa Application Workshop

“Do It Yourself: Apply for an Investment Visa for Hong Kong Visa Without Paying for Professional Help”

We are very happy to have Stephen Barnes, author of the Hong Kong Visa Handbook and renowned expert on visa and immigration matters in the HKSAR, to talk about the challenges faced by foreign national entrepreneurs in securing the necessary immigration permissions to join in or establish businesses here in Hong Kong.

This is a free seminar. Stephen will be spending quite a lot of time discussing one man investment visas and also explaining how the Hong Kong Immigration Department view such applications. Moreover, Stephen will also talk about dependant visa and employment visa applications, ways to improve chances of a successful application and giving detailed, practical step-by-step procedures (including all the resources you will need in your application.)

There will also be a Q&A section at the end of the presentation for your questions about your own visa.

Date: December 13th, 2013 ( Friday)
Time: 4pm – 6pm
Location:  HKTDC SME Centre
(Ground Level, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Expo Drive, Wan Chai, Hong Kong)

RSVP: Please click here

Sneak Peek – New Things Happening With The Hong Kong Visa Geeza!

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Musing / No responses

Never a dull moment at the Hong Kong Visa Centre…

Just a quick line today about our latest development.

We have just opened dedicated video studio facilities in Wanchai.

Back in 2011, when I started producing videos for the Hong Kong Visa Centre, video was seen as an important yet still an emerging content type for modern websites.

But that’s all different now. Video is really starting to come into its own.

Indeed, it is estimated that by 2015, 85% of all internet traffic will be video. The age of flat text and stock photographs on websites is rapidly coming to end.

As we inexorably move from an industrial economy to  a modern  network economy, there are seismic shifts underway in how you relate to your customers and others who do not yet have a relationship with you.

Today, with information on any subject matter just a Google search away, if you expect to grow your business and create a prosperous future, you have to be of real use, unconditionally, to the people who you wish to serve.

Harping on about what you sell is hardly useful to someone looking to solve a problem or have a question answered.

Instead you need to provide excellent information that is helpful and offered without any expectation of reward.

This is our philosophy to the core.

With our new bespoke video content production facilities we plan to continually disrupt the Hong Kong immigration services market with the introduction of new free-of-charge product offerings and the highest quality self-help educational content in our niche that you will find anywhere in the world today.

So, if you’re curious about our intentions, watch this space!

(ps if you’re an entrepreneur or start up wanting to borrow our facility cheaply please let me know   +852 9667 4095).

More Stuff About How We Do Business

Britcham spills the beans on the Hong Kong Visa Centre’s biggest secret

The industry secret that most Hong Kong immigration consultants don’t want you to discover!

Why internet forums are a cr@p source of Hong Kong visa and immigration advice

But Stephen, how do you make any money when you give all your expertise and know-how away for free?

First Birthday, changes & the future of the Hong Kong Visa Geeza blog, Handbook and Centre websites

Hong Kong visa information, help & guidance on your mobile – 100% Free!

Relocating to Hong Kong For Work or Business – Why Do Visa Applications Get Denied?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Family Visas, Investment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Musing, Refusals & Appeals, Special Programmes, Visitor Visas / 4 responses

On June 13 I was invited to address the 2013 Monaco Trade Delegation to Hong Kong & China on the question of visas to live and work in Hong Kong.

The Delegation was hosted by my good friends at Rosemont Hong Kong and I covered in a total of 50 minutes the whole sweep of employment and investment based visas as well as the question of permanent residency here eventually.

I have broken the talk down in 12 bite sized chunks under the following headings:

Introduction

The Last 20 Years

Immigration Policy

The Visitor Visa

Job Offer Based Employment Visa

Business Investment Visa

Business Investment Visa Cash Required & Catch 22

Capital Investment Visa

Visas for Accompanying Family

Why Do Applications Get Denied?

Permanent Residency

Q&A

More Stuff You Might Find Useful or Interesting

How to go about applying for the Reconsideration of a refused Hong Kong visa application

All the Hong Kong Visa Handbook resources dealing with denied applications

Why do Hong Kong investment visa applications get denied?

The merits of applying for a Reconsideration of a refused Hong Kong Visa application

Hong Kong employment visa – when all else failed we appealed to the Chief Executive – and won!

How to Go About Applying for the Reconsideration of a Refused Hong Kong Visa Application

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Musing, Refusals & Appeals / 52 responses

The HKID will only entertain an application for a Reconsideration of a decision to refuse an application if there is significant additional, new information adding weight to the original application or relevant and important new facts which have come to light since the refusal – with comprehensive verifying documentation to support.

This means that you need to be ready to further argue your case stridently and have the bullets ready to fire in support. Emotional appeals are fruitless; as are a collection of mere testimonials from your consulate or chambers of commerce.

There are typically five key underlying reasons why cases get denied.

It could be that the case was destined to fail from the get go as the applicant was incapable of passing the approvability test applicable to the visa type applied for.

It might be that the case was very poorly put together or incorrectly argued.

Often times, applicants are unable to come up with critical supporting documentation required by the HKID or other specific information requests are not adhered to.

Finally, if the applicant has a poor immigration record in Hong Kong the Immigration Department could be minded not to afford the applicant the privilege of residence.

You should submit your application bundle for the Reconsideration in the same way as you submitted your original application.

If you are a Visitor in Hong Kong, dont; expect the HKID to afford you an interim extension to your current period of stay pending the finalisation of the Reconsideration process and notification of the outcome.

Things have tightened up considerably in the last couple of years, so you can expect to have to wait out the latter part of the Reconsideration exercise from outside of the HKSAR.

More Stuff to Help You Along

The Immigration Department website – a black hole for denied visa applicants

Will a criminal record impact on your application for a Hong Kong residence visa?

Hong Kong investment visa – 3 cases which would be denied today but approved 9-12 months later

When there really is no need to use professional advisors in your Hong Kong visa application

What happens if you overstay your Hong Kong visa limit of stay?

DATE FOR YOUR DIARY: Hong Kong Investment Visas – Public Talk by Stephen Barnes on Thursday November 28, 2013 @ 7 pm

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

I have been invited by the good guys at The Hive to talk about the challenges faced by foreign national entrepreneurs in securing the necessary immigration permissions to join in or establish businesses here in Hong Kong.

This is a free session (i.e. no $$ required) and a great opportunity to network with like-minded souls setting out on their own in doing business in the HKSAR.

I will be spending quite a lot of time discussing one man investment visas and also setting the scene as to how the Hong Kong Immigration Department view such applications and what you can do to improve the chances of successfully arguing for one.

I’ll also be on hand to answer any questions you have about your own visa situations, and will stick around after the session for as long as it takes to talk to you all.

Seats are quite limited (40) so if you don’t fancy standing up for 2 hours at the end of  a long working day, arrive bright and early!

While you’re there you can also check out The Hive’s excellent facilities.

If you are thinking of starting  your own business in Hong Kong (or in fact have already done so), don’t have huge amounts of capital, hate the idea of flying solo every day and have not yet decided where to locate your base of operations, The Hive is a first class choice – so don’t miss this opportunity.

In the meantime, please check out our 10 Must Have Hong Kong Investment Visa Resources, attend the talk, then pick my brains for all they’re worth!

See you on the 28th!

 

Date: November 28, 2013 (Thursday)

Time: 7 – 9 pm (7 pm start – sharp!)

Location: The Hive, 21st Floor, The Phoenix Building, No.23 Luard Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong  (Google Map)

RSVP: t: +852 3568 6343,  e: events [at] thehive.com.hk