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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.

PRACTICE UPDATE: How the content must now be read in light of current ImmD policy:

• Historical Editorial Standard: This lecture dissects the statutory foundation of the General Employment Policy (GEP) – Investment as Entrepreneur route, centering on ImmD’s open-ended discretionary mandate to determine whether an applicant is “in a position to make a substantial contribution to the economy of Hong Kong.” Historically, the presentation framed this policy as a flexible, holistic balancing test: case officers evaluated the founder’s credible background, qualitative two-year growth projections, prospective job creation potential, and reasonable startup capital sufficient to cover the first two quarters of operations, giving viable concepts runway to take root locally.

• Comparative Reading Under the Upgraded Regime: While the underlying statutory language of the Immigration Ordinance remains formally unchanged, the administrative policy codified and enforced since April 2026 has stripped away all discretionary leniency and prospective evaluation. The open-ended concept of a “substantial contribution” is now administratively benchmarked against the economic substance standard of Category A under the Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS), which assumes an enterprise scale capable of generating HKD 2.5 million in verifiable operational turnover. Consequently, the policy principles discussed in this lecture can no longer be interpreted as an invitation for early-stage, asset-light, or lifestyle founders to present qualitative business promises; the policy now operates as an exacting, institutional audit demanding unencumbered deployed capital (HKD 1.5M–2.0M in an active local corporate account), dedicated physical tenancy (“four walls”), and 2 to 3 local permanent residents already drawing MPF-compliant payroll prior to final visa endorsement.

The talk was graciously hosted at WYND Co-working Space, ran by a group of great people who I have a lot of time for.

The Complete Talk in Logical Segments

1 – Introduction

2 – Policy

3 – Visa Problem?

4 – Mainlanders

5 – Visitors

6 – Work Visa?

7 – Investment Visa?

8 – Approvability Test

9 – Cash Needed

10 – Catch 22

11 – Loved Ones

12 – Visa Refused?

13 – Trying Again

14 – D-I-Y

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