Hong Kong is one of the finest places to start or expand your business. If you want to establish your business in Hong Kong, you need to get the visa for it. Under Hong Kong Business Visa, the individual can live and expand their business there till the time visa is valid. You don’t need a visa if you want to visit Hong Kong for holidays, layover, or for a short-term non-business trip. The need for visa arises, when you want to study, work, or start your business in Hong Kong. Check out the eligibility criteria, cost, the processing time to get a Hong Kong visa.
The Business or Investment Visa allows one to invest as entrepreneurs or establish business in Hong Kong. An applicant who wishes to establish or join in business in Hong Kong should submit a two-year business plan stating the nature of the business. The main concern is to portray that the applicant is in position to make substantial contribution to the economy of Hong Kong.
Hong Kong, officially Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, is recognized worldwide for an outstanding economy rate. In fact, Hong Kong has been ranked as the World’s freest economy several times. Indians always consider Hong Kong as the best place to start up a business because of tremendous economy.
Are you confused, which visa category is suitable for you to travel to Hong Kong for business purpose? If you want to visit Hong Kong for Business purposes such as to attend seminars, for trade shows, for better business opportunities, or to meet Companies, you can continue such services without obtaining the access to an employment entry visa. An employment entry visa is required when you have to visit Hong Kong for your work purpose for an entity with a business place in Hong Kong.
a) General Visitor Visa – The applicants, who wish to come to Hong Kong for the business activities like conference meetings, attending seminars etc., should apply under the General Visitor’s visa. The visa application forms, to apply for the General Visitor’s Visa, are ID (E) 936 A, B, C, D and L. Further, the General Visitor’s Visa, is categorized into three sub-categories that include Leisure Visits, Social Visits and Business visits.
b) Investment Visa – The applicants, who are keen to start or expand their own business in Hong Kong, should go for an Investment visa. It is a sub-category of an employment visa. The visa application forms that need to be filled are ID (E) 936 A, B, E, F, and J.
c) HKSAR Travel Pass– The applicants, who receive no status between the visitor visa and an employment entry visa, come under this category. This visa puts the variation on the existing visitor visa category with most-suitable and friendly organization arrangements for those who hold one. The HKSAR Travel Pass is introduced by the Immigration Department as a result of both APEC member responsibilities and unable to choose the suitable visa between the visitor visa and an employment entry visa. The applicants, who want to attain the HKSAR Travel pass, has to meet the below-given requirements:
1) The applicant must have a travel document stating visa-free access to the HKSAR.
2) He/she should have an authentic reason to come to Hong Kong often.
3) The applicant should be employed in other countries as well, even, after attaining the HKSAR Travel Pass.
4) He/she should have visited Hong Kong, at least three times which excludes side visits to Macau and China, in the twelve months immediately before submitting the visa application Or has to convince the Director of Immigration Department that the visits are beneficial for HKSAR.
The benefits of obtaining an HKSAR Travel Pass include:
The application fee for an HKSAR Travel Pass is HK$660. If you have the plane to visit Hong Kong and China as well, you have to obtain a visa for your China trip.
The APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) Scheme allows the travelers who would like to be the part of Asia- Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) Business Travel Card (ABTC). Under this scheme, you can travel within the APEC economies.
This scheme is designed in keeping the purpose of maneuverability of business travelers in mind within the AAPEC economies to promote the business within the region. The validity of ABTC is up to five years.
The ABTC is of the six of a credit card and is plastic and is valid for the duration of five years (for the applications, lodged after September 2015). The card is used when you have to make frequent visits to participating economies for two-three months without carrying any visa if pre-clearance has been approved ( entry of Chinese citizen of the HKSAR is not allowed into the Mainland).
a) The cardholders’ traveling to a participating economy gets the benefits of using special service lanes for the clearance of entrance and departure if the pre-clearance has been granted to them. They even can use “resident counters” in Hong Kong, if available. After presenting the card and the valid passport, the cardholders gets the access to well-organized and modernized immigration clearance. Howbeit, cardholders can utilize the special service lanes at specified control points of participating economies irrespective of the approval of pre-clearance given by that economy.
b) If the pre-clearance has not been vouchsafed, then the cardholders have to go through with the standard immigration clearance process, like providing valid passports and even valid visas, where significant.
c) The card holders are eligible to use the “fast-track” lanes for passenger clearance while traveling to the United States at all International airports and get the utility of the special service lanes in Canada, at the time of arrival.
| Japan-Republic of Korea | Singapore |
| Australia | Brunei Darussalam |
| Malaysia Mexico | People’s Republic of China |
| Russia | Indonesia |
| Chinese Taipei | Hong Kong (China) |
| Vietnam | New Zealand |
| The Philippines | Peru |
| Chile | Thailand |
Business people living in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region are eligible to apply for an ABTC Scheme if they fulfill the below-given requirements:
a) The Businessperson must be the holder of a valid national passport and Hong Kong permanent identity card.
b) He/she should have never denied the proposal of being the part of the participating economies in the past.
c) Never had an involvement in any criminal activity.
d) The legitimate business person has to visit often on short-term visits to meet the business commitments in the APEC region.The legitimate person is supposed to meet the people who have participated in the trading of goods, the provision of services or in the conduct of Investment activities. The people of categories like entertainment, music and even of similar occupations are not included in it.
e) The current prescribed fee for new issue of the card is HK$490; a fee of HK$190 will be charged for card replacement for the remainder of its validity period.
You have to fill the application form (ID 900). The form should be filled with blue or black ink and in block letters in English and consists of the below-given documents:
a) The photocopy of applicant’s Hong Kong permanent identity card.
b) Valid passport with all the personal information, nationality, date of issue and expiry.
c)a photocopy of the applicant’s Hong Kong permanent identity card (only the side with his/her personal particulars and photograph is required);
d) a photocopy of the applicant’s valid passport showing his/her personal particulars, nationality, dates of issue and expiry.
e) a letter from the applicant’s employing company supporting his/her application.The applicant may be required to submit further supporting documents and information in connection with his/her application when necessary.
The applicant may nominate a maximum of five economies which the applicant needs to visit as a priority when he/she submits the application. The nominated economies will expedite the processing of the applicant’s application as far as possible. Nomination of economies is optional. If the applicant wishes to make the nomination, please complete the “Options for receiving an interim card” (SF/IM/1609) and submit it together with his/her application.
The candidates who are keen to invest as an Entrepreneur in Hong Kong under the General Employment Policy (GEP) can apply. They can live and enter in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and have to start or join the business in the HKSAR. The Chinese residents of the Mainland of China and nationals of Afghanistan, Cuba, Laos, Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of), Nepal Na Vietnam can’t apply under this category.
The applicant can apply for the visa or entry permit to enter in Hong Kong as an entrepreneur if you meet the eligibility requirements:
a) The applicant should be free from criminal activities and there shouldn’t be any security objection.
b) The applicant must be capable enough to contribute to the economy of HKSAR.
Factors need to be taken into consideration before investing in Hong Kong :
a) Business plan: The applicant who wants to set or be the part in business in Hong Kong ought to submit two-year business plan mentioning the type of business, market analysis, business orientation, marketing strategy of product etc. in order to provide the rough sketch of the business plan and how it can contribute to the economy of Hong Kong. The applicant should also submit the two-year prophecy of the profit/loss prediction, cash flow statement and balance sheet to examine the ease of business
b) Business turnover: the applicant who wants to establish a business in Hong Kong, need to submit two-year prediction of profit/loss statement and balance sheet and also, includes the estimated turnover of the business to examine the ease of business operations and development. If the candidate has business overseas and interested in doing business in Hong Kong, he has to provide the profit/loss statement and balance sheet mentioning the business turnover and profit in the past year.
c) Financial resources: the applicant has to provide the personal and company of the past year and has to submit the evidence of other sources of funding. The applicant has to show that he/she has adequate financial resources to manage and run the business in Hong Kong.
d) Jobs for localities and introduction of new technology
The applicant has to provide the blue sketch of his /her business plan, including all the necessities, such as the proper structure of the business, requirement of staff depending on the type of business. And, has to convince the Government that how technology can help in adding value to the Hong Kong economy.
It takes around four weeks on average to process the visa application for visa/work permit for investment as an entrepreneur. All the visa applications are processed and monitored by the Immigration Department.
This scheme has been suspended by the Government. You can no longer apply under this scheme. However, the aim of this scheme is to ease the entry for residence by doing capital investment and it allows the person to invest in Hong Kong without getting involved in business activities here.
For availing more information about Hong Kong Business Visa, call the official helpline +919625212959 or drop your queries on info@makevisas.com .