[ashtonwinkler]

Hi, I came to HK on a one year working visa, but while working at that job, I got offered one that sounded much better! so I changed jobs and my visa got canceled! Aparently, work was going to take care of it, but now they are telling me to do it myself! I have no idea of what to write for these letters as I have never done it before! Does anyone know a good solicitor or anyone that can help me sort this out!?!?! Thanks!

[mobespierre]

that sounds very fishy... your employer should be the one submitting the application.

[esears2004]

Better go first to Immigration and ask the forms that you and the company to to fill up and the documents you and your employer have to provide.

[PDLM]

Employment visas are linked to a specific job. You cannot start working for the second company before you have permission from Immigration to do so. If you have already started working for them then you (and your new employer) are likely to be in, as our colonial cousins seem to say, "deep doo-doo". The onus on applying for the visa is on you - with the new employer as your sponsor. But if they have already paid you knowing that you do not have a visa then I suspect fines and deportation are by no means impossible. At the very least you are going to need to do some extremely serious grovelling at the Immigration Department, and you chould certainly stop paid employment until you sort this out.

(The only exception to this is if you are an Aussie, Kiwi, or Irish on a Working Holiday Visa - then you are OK to change jobs - indeed you have to: no one job for more than 3 months.)

[nina_70]

PDLM is right. You can't officially start a new job until a work permit has been approved for that job by the Immigration Department. One thing I'm confused about is your old visa. Normally your old visa doesn't get cancelled. If you stop working for a company in HK your visa is valid for stay, but not for work. What that means is that you are OK to stay in HK for the duration of the old work visa as long as you don't start another job (I've had this confirmed several times by the Immigration Department).
So, as PDLM pointed out, you should stop taking payment now, and apply to the Immigration department for your new visa. You should be OK to stay in HK while you are doing this.