While expanding into a new country or hiring staff in a foreign country can result in significant revenues for your company, unfamiliar rules and regulations can work against your firm’s goals and ambitions.
With low administrative, labor, and tax costs, attractive business incentives, and high rankings in the ease of doing business, Hong Kong is a desirable location for foreign firms, entrepreneurs, and workers looking to expand their operations in the region.
Among the factors contributing to Hong Kong’s success as a world-renowned worldwide financial, business, and trading hub are its top-notch talent pool, great infrastructure, first-rate telecommunications network, and an administration strongly devoted to free trade.
Hong Kong visa and permit restrictions necessitate professional assistance because they differ depending on which zones foreign nationals reside in – Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, or Macau. These regulations impact China, Asia, Europe, the United States, and other international locations.
List of Hong Kong’s Work Permit Options:
Many people use the General Employment Policy (GEP) To get work visas in Hong Kong. For the most part, these employment visas are only valid for a certain time. Candidates must have a job offer from a local sponsor company.
Work permits for the following occupations are also frequent:
- As part of the General Employment Policy (GEP) – A Professional Work Visa for highly skilled ex-pats
- Visas are issued under the Talent and Professional Admissions Program for Chinese Nationals (ASMTP).
- Graduate Visas under the Immigration Arrangements for Non-Local Graduates (IANG) Program For foreign nationals who hold a university degree from Hong Kong, this visa is required. Individuals can apply for this visa to stay in Hong Kong for a year after graduation. At this time, they can hunt for work in the city.
- Technology Talent Admission Scheme (TTAS)-sponsored visas Artificial intelligence (AI) and financial technology (fintech) specialists can apply for this work visa.
- Visa for Training – This visa option is for people who desire to stay in Hong Kong for up to a year to develop a skill or gain specific knowledge.
- EExpatsfrom particular professions who want to work in Hong Kong and have 1,000 slots for IT, financial, legal, and creative persons who do not already have a job offer are eligible for a visa under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme.
What You Need to Know Before Applying for a Work Visa:
A comprehensive application package must submit to the Hong Kong Immigration Department after all needed documents are in place.
- If your visa application has been granted, you’ll need to go to the consulate to pick it up.
- One year of work visa validity may extend indefinitely as long as the individual remains employed by the business.
- Any family members accompanying you must have a dependent visa.
- The employee must get authorization from the Immigration Department to apply for a new work visa if they wish to change jobs, as the current one is no longer transferrable.
- Applicants for permanent residency who have lived and worked in Hong Kong for seven years are eligible.
- Work visas can be issued in unlimited instances (no quota), given Approximately 40,000 visas under the GEP program. Visa processing can take anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks, with the possibility of further delays. As a result, applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their applications as soon as feasible.
Who Is Eligible for a Work Permit?
The eligibility criteria are required to be met to apply for a work permit under the Employment for Professionals program:
An applicant for a Hong Kong Work Visa who has a criminal background is ineligible.
- Applicants must have a solid academic foundation. They have a relevant undergraduate degree or other legitimate documentation of credentials, certificates, competencies, accomplishments, or job experience.
- Your company must have an opening to be able to work in Hong Kong,
- A local employee would not fill your position, so you have accepted the job offer related to your history and skills.
- Workers in Hong Kong are entitled to fringe benefits and remuneration packages that meet or exceed Hong Kong’s market norms.
Needed Documentation:
Work permit applicants are required to submit the following documents:
Application for a Work Permit Completed
- A photocopy of the page in your passport with your personal information is needed. Take a photocopy of all pages of your passport with the most recent Hong Kong arrival stamp or extension of the stay label if you are currently in Hong Kong.
- Your Hong Kong identity card, in original form (if any)
- A photocopy of your passport or other identification demonstrating that you currently reside outside the United States
- A copy of your diploma or transcripts, as well as any relevant job experience documentation
Instructions on how to submit an application and timetable:
After both the applicant and the employer have completed all required papers, they must mail a work permit visa application to the Immigration Department. An application form for a work visa typically takes two to three months to be processed.
The Immigration Department will issue a Visa/Entry Permit label if the application is approved. The applicant or an authorized representative must pick it up in person from the immigration office.
Upon arrival in Hong Kong, the applicant must show the Immigration Officer the Visa/Entry Permit label attached to a blank visa page in their passport. Most work permits issued at the outset are for a one-year term. Can appeal work permit applications to authorities in the event of rejection.
How quickly is the data processed?
After submitting all the necessary paperwork, you’ll have to wait up to six weeks to acquire the visa and permissions if you want to work in the country.
For immigration purposes, we will not take this period into account. The immigration department can’t begin the procedure of the applicant’s form unless they have all the necessary paperwork and information.
Structure of Fees:
- USD 1880 is the base fee (Which includes 12 hours of admin support and handling mails from the immigration department. )
- It costs USD 30 to submit a Visa Application (HKD 230 Government Fees)
Information on Renewing Your Work Permit in Hong Kong:
If you already have a Hong Kong Employment Visa and are employed in Hong Kong, renewing your work visa is straightforward.
Hong Kong works visa holders should apply for renewal at least four weeks before the expiration of their work permit stay by submitting a renewal application form. I will complete the renewal application if the employee is still eligible for a Hong Kong work visa.
Once a Hong Kong work visa extension has been granted, the practice is for it to be renewed for two or three years. Work permits can extend based on an applicant’s employment contract length.
The advantages of a Hong Kong visa for employment include:
There are many advantages to having a Hong Kong work permit.
- If your Hong Kong Employment Visa application is refused or denied, the Hong Kong Immigration Department enables appeals to be lodged.
- A dependant visa is available to those who have obtained a Hong Kong Employment Visa or Work Permit and are eligible to bring their immediate family (spouse and unmarried children under the age of 18) to Hong Kong.
- A person may be eligible to apply for Permanent Residence in Hong Kong if they have had a valid Hong Kong work permit or work visa for at least seven years and have lived in Hong Kong continuously.
Hong Kong Dependent Visa:
GEP-approved workers can bring their spouses and children as dependents under the GEP’s policy on family members. The visa holder must sponsor dependents of people with work visas.
- Same-sex civil partnership, civil union, marriage, opposite-sex civil partnership, and opposite-sex civil union are spousal relationships for work visa holders. Legal and official recognition of this partnership or union is required where it was originally established.
- The children of a work visa holder must be unmarried and under 18 to be eligible for a dependant visa.
- Dependent candidates may benefit from the following factors:
- There are no red flags regarding the applicant’s character, such as a criminal past.
- Proof that the applicant and visa holder/sponsor have a real relationship.
- An indication of the sponsor’s ability to financially and economically maintain the dependents and provide them with adequate lodging.
Required Documents for a Visa for a Dependant:
The following documents are required for the application process:
- One that is passport-sized and taken within the last several months is ideal.
- If applicable, a copy of both the applicant’s and the sponsor’s passports.
- The sponsor’s HK identification card, photocopied
- Proof of the applicant’s link to their sponsor and a photocopy of that photocopy. If you have a spouse or children as dependents, you’ll need a marriage certificate, and if you do, you’ll need a birth certificate.
- A document demonstrates that the sponsor has the financial resources necessary to support the application. By examining Bank, it is possible. It can prove this by seeing that, In this case, financial statements or tax receipts can demonstrate a person’s earnings.
- Documentation demonstrating that the applicant has a place to live. Providing a copy of the rental agreement or receipt will establish this fact.
Conclusion:
Recognizing a person’s right to work in Hong Kong is the aim of an employment visa. If you have a job offer in Hong Kong, you can apply for an employment visa. However, you must also do so before entering the nation.
Most people can’t meet this condition because it would necessitate frequent trips to Hong Kong to look for work. A first-time worker’s Employment Visa is valid for two years and can be extended at any time. For this reason, if you renew your Hong Kong residency well in advance of the Immigration Department’s arrival, you can stay in the city for as long as you like. Under certain situations, you may also bring some of your qualifying dependents (your family members).
