Employment Visas are for foreign employees to work in Hong Kong. The hiring company is required to provide a fixed monthly salary to the employee. Hong Kong Immigration Department will not consider pure commission based salary, part-time or freelance employment for an employment visa application. The position offered should be of a managerial or supervisory level. The key consideration for an employment visa application is the relevant working experience and academic background of the applicant; meanwhile the hiring company is required to proof that they cannot possibly find a local candidate to fill up such position. A fresh university graduate is extremely difficult to apply for an employment visa. Pure language skill, level of trust, or family ties are not justifiable reasons for an approval.

Another consideration for an employment visa application is the establishment of the hiring company. Generally speaking the longer the history and the larger in size, the less questions will be asked about the company. For a newly established company of less than 18 months of operation, and with less than 4 local employees, Immigration Department will even ask for a detailed business plan. Also personal information of all the shareholders, including all ultimate beneficiaries, will be required too.

Sometimes people might have taken the meaning of “employment” or “investment” too literally and somehow expect an employment visa is easier than an investment visa application. Immigration Department can ask any questions for an employment visa similar to the investment one. Your case officers have large extent of discretion on the documents required for each application. The assessment is discretionary based rather than checking off the items on the generic list of documents required.