[PhilE]

My situation is as follows:

- I'm a dependent of someone on a 2 year work visa
- I'm currently employed full-time on a work visa applied for and obtained by my employer (prior to the change in law on dependents having the right to work)
- I've been offered a new job with a different, multi-national employer on a daily rate, contract basis

I'm looking for info on the process (and costs) of setting myself up legitimately and with any relevant insurance/ indemnity under this arrangement. E.g.

- is it best to set up a company, or can I 'just' set up as a 'sole trader'/ contractor? (Note I have no plans to employ anyone or otherwise develop my 'business')
- do I need to inform and/or get permission from Immigration for this?

Any advice based on experience, or links to relevant info would be much appreciated!

TIA
Phil

[discobay]

Your new employer and prospective employers may want to employ you as a limited company for peace of mind. Saying that a limited company has higher costs such as annual audit and mpf (you pay both employee and employers) to name a few.

[marion counsell]

I am working as a contractor in HK and found the following company very helpful for information - Tricor Services Limited - contact Chris Campion 2980-1177

[PhilE]

Thanks DB and Marion. I'm still doing some research on this - will post back with my observations when I've decided what suits me best.

If there are any expat IT contractors out there set up in one of these ways I'd still be interested to hear why you chose to go the sole prop or limited company route.

In particular, if you are a sole proprietor, can you take out sufficient insurance to cover the other party deciding to sue you (and is it cost effective compared to going the limited company route)?

[KnowItAll]

PhilE : Liability insurance is extremely tough to get in Hong Kong, specially in the IT sector.

The costs of a limited company are not that much, specially if you go through a no-frills chinese accountant and don't have many transactions per month.

Let me know if you need a refferal to our guy.