Hong Kong Visa & Immigration Topics

Is There Such an Animal as a Hong Kong Employment Visa for an Independant Contractor?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Investment Visas, Your Question Answered / 3 responses

Hong Kong Employment Visa for an Independant Contractor? The General Employment Policy anticipates that foreign national Professionals seeking to work in Hong Kong are subject to a formal employer-employee relationship. So what’s the situation if the employer wants to engage you as a contractor? Is it do-able? QUESTION Dear Stephen,  I got a working visa […]

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Is It Possible to Change Employment Visa Sponsorship Where the Employer Has Not Yet Established a New Company in Hong Kong (i.e. Has No Business Operations Here Yet)?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Your Question Answered / 1 response

First Published August 17, 2014 What’s the story where a new employer has not yet set up shop in the HKSAR? QUESTION Hello Visa Geeza, Thanks in advance! Your website has brought clarity on a number of questions I had on the visa process. I do however have a few more. I’m currently employed by […]

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How Do I Go About Setting Up a Side Business to Complement My Full Time Hong Kong Employment Visa?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Your Question Answered / 36 responses

Foreign national employment visa holders in Hong Kong are quite often interested in setting up a side business… QUESTION I am currently employed full-time by a company in Hong Kong. They successfully sponsored my Hong Kong employment visa and I just started my job 2 months ago. All is going very well. But I would like […]

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How Hard Is It to Secure A Visa Extension as an ‘Investor’ Under the Hong Kong Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Investment Visas, Your Question Answered / 5 responses

First Published August 20, 2013 The Hong Kong Immigration Department offer ‘liberalised’ immigration arrangements for foreign nationals and mainland students who graduate from Hong Kong tertiary education institutes (“IANG”). If you have a job in Hong Kong one year after graduation, then the extension process is all but a rubber stamping exercise. But what if […]

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

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Investment Visas, Musing / 6 responses

First Published May 1, 2012 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). Let’s […]

Business Review – The Sword of Damocles for Successful Hong Kong Investment Visa Applicants

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

If your 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. This works as follows: During your original application the HKID may not have been completely persuaded of […]

Hong Kong Business Investment Visas – the Catch 22 for Foreign National Entrepreneurs

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Investment Visas, Musing / 3 responses

  There are 2 pathways you can follow to apply for a business investment visa for Hong Kong. 1. You can be in Hong Kong as either as resident or a visitor seeking to adjust your immigration status to join in an existing, or establish a new, business; or 2. You can apply prospectively for […]

The Challenge of Visa Approvability for Freelance Writers & Reporters in Hong Kong

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

Freelancers in Hong Kong are often faced with a round-pegs-in-square-holes visa situation that is not easily resolved. This post attempts to deal with the challenge of visa approvability for these people and shed some light on what is actually do-able from an immigration perspective. QUESTION I am currently a full-time reporter in Hong Kong, I […]

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Can You Work For a Single Client as a Pseudo-Employee Whilst Holding a Hong Kong Investment Visa?

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

If you are granted a Hong Kong investment visa, does this allow you to (essentially) take up a dedicated employment on a consulting basis for a single client, effectively taking up a full time role to the exclusion of all other business opportunities for your self-owned company? QUESTION Hi, I’m currently in the process of […]

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What Visa Options Exist for a Presently Employed Writer to ‘Go Solo’ Whilst Holding an Employment Visa ‘Cruising’ to the Right of Abode in Hong Kong in 2018?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Investment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Your Question Answered / No responses

Freelance writers always struggle to secure investment visas here… QUESTION I have been working in Hong Kong for about 4.5 years and my current employment visa expires in 2018. I would like to be a freelance writer, but I understand that getting an investment visa can be onerous especially since I will be a one-man […]

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