[ohchk2001]

I have a big problem.

I am self employed and own two U.S. corporations and am doing well for myself. I am in the process of setting up a Hong Kong corporation and a Bank of East Asia bank account through my HK accountant.

Well here is my situation:

The HK company will have two employees and may have more in the future. Myself and my business partner. It is also expected to generate a profit of about $HK 1,552,640.00 per year which would be used to pay salaries as well as invest into new ventures.

Well I was planning to moving to Hong Kong in September while my business partner would continue to stay in the states but hit a bit of a road block.

It turns out for a work visa I have to have a officer or some sort of employer in a Hong Kong corporation sponsor me. This individual must live in Hong Kong.

Well this is quite a problem for me since both owners of the HK company live in the states persently.

I know there another Visa called a "Capital Investment Visa" which is for investors, but that requires a 6.5M Hong Kong dollar investment into real estate, stock market, or other approved investment. Unfortunately at this point the best I could pony up is 1,940,800.00 HKD and that is really my business assets not personal assets.

Is there another type of Visa for people who wish to start a small to medium sized enterprise? I thought there was something called a "Investment Visa" that offered this but I may be confusing this with the "Capital Investment Visa".

Also if this so called "Investment Visa" does exist I heard that it requires to to jump through a lot of hoops and show a lot of proof on how your business will benefit the HK economy. I have been told this very vague and possibly difficult.

The only major benefit I could see this business giving is the fact that it will pay a profits tax on all of its income and maybe offering employment for 2 more people. Despite the business officially doing business in Hong Kong, its major source of revenue will be based on U.S. sales as opposed to Hong Kong sales.

Am I screwed or do I have a chance to gain a visa to hong kong?

What about going for a traditional work visa by propping a friend in Hong Kong as a paper boss? He would then sponsor me and so forth. Could that work, or do you think it won't since by then the company will only be in business for 6 months at best? Plus I'd prefer to get rid of the paper boss and become the "real" boss after I actually come to HK....which could possibly cause me big problems......I mean the whole idea doesn't sound like it would be very safe to do.

What are my options?

Edit: Just so you guys know. My HK accountant doesn't really know much about work visas, I already asked him.

Just from a quick glance Investment Visa looks like the best option but we will need to do a complete case evaluation before we can suggest the best course of action. (This assessment is free).

[flyingchair]

1,552,640.00 may be the most exact approximation I have seen in some time

My experience of the Hong Kong Immigration department, of whom I am a considerable fan, is quite simple.

For conditional residency, if you are a good prospect for paying tax (especially in considerable amounts) you should have little to worry about and a professional organisation like Emigra (with whom I personally have had no dealing) should not be struggling to make a case.

Only an insignificant minority of Hong Kong residents pay tax in Hong Kong. If you threaten to join those ranks and even worse might employ someone then there will be a way forward for you. I have a friend who approves PR applications - I once had a very enlightening conversation with him in Lan Kwai Fong.

That is not an official policy though.

[KnowItAll]

I bet the approximation is +/- $40.

In all seriousness, you have little to worry about. HK is not in the habit to rejecting people who show genuine business cases and have a record of running businesses. (If you walked of the street with no experience and claimed you owned two US corporations... that will be dodgy). They will look at your track record and experience and if your case is genuine and you have employed local people and use local services and pay local taxes -- i.e. contribute to the local economy, you have little to worry about.