Frequently Asked Questions

The employer can submit the application online here or submit the duly completed application forms [ID 990A and ID 990B] together with all supporting documents in person or by post to:

Receipt and Despatch Sub-Unit
Hong Kong Immigration Department
2/F, Immigration Tower
7 Gloucester Road
Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Application form can be downloaded from the following website:

• https://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/forms/forms/id990a.html (for applicant); and
• https://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/forms/forms/id990b.html (for employing company)

Application form can also be obtained free of charge from the following offices:

1. Immigration Department Headquarters;
2. Immigration Branch Offices;
3. Overseas Chinese Diplomatic and Consular Missions; and
4. HKSAR Government offices outside Hong Kong.

You may refer to the Guidebook for Entry for Employment as Professionals in Hong Kong ID(C) 991 (Chinese version) or ID(E) 991 (English version) for the requisite supporting documents.

The employer can submit the application either online here, in person or by post directly to Receipt and Despatch Sub-Unit of Immigration Department. An acknowledgement form will be sent when the Immigration Department receives the application. If supplementary documents and information are required, depending on the situation, the Immigration Department may ask the employer to quote the reference of the application concerned and send the supplementary documents/information online, by fax or by post. In such a case, the employer does not need to attend the Immigration Department in person.

You may submit the application together with a business plan and relevant supporting documents. If it is satisfied that the business will bring benefits to the HKSAR in the long run such as enhancement of the HKSAR's economic development or creation of job opportunities for the local people, and that the applicant meets the eligibility criteria for admission under the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals, the Immigration Department may approve the applicant to enter the HKSAR for short-term employment initially. When the business development plan is materialized, the applicant may be granted an extension of stay to stay in the HKSAR to assist in the company's business operations subject to his/her fulfilling the relevant eligibility criteria under the Scheme.

Please click here for details of the facilitation measures under the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals.

It normally takes four weeks to process entry permit application for employment under ASMTP upon receipt of all the required documents. The Immigration Department will not be able to start processing the application unless all the required documents and information have been received.

If you meet the relevant eligibility criteria under the Scheme, you may apply to take up employment in the HKSAR under the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals. The Immigration Department will assess your application in accordance with the eligibility criteria set out for the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals. The fact that you are the owner of the company concerned does not exempt you from any of the eligibility criteria.

Regardless of the duration of their employment, Mainland residents entering the HKSAR for employment (including giving performances) should apply for admission under the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals. They should obtain an employment entry permit issued by the Immigration Department and the Exit-entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao with a relevant exit endorsement issued by the Mainland authorities before they are allowed to come to the HKSAR for the performances.

Applications under the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals must be submitted by the employer in the HKSAR and the employer must be a registered company in the HKSAR.

There is no definite period that the company's future business plan must cover. However, the plan should be able to show the company's commitment in developing its business in the HKSAR on a long-term basis.

The main reason for refusal is that the employees fail to meet the eligibility criteria such as the employee is not in possession of any knowledge, skill or experience not readily available in the HKSAR, or the post can be readily taken up by local work force, or the remuneration package offered is not commensurate with the prevailing market level for professionals in the relevant field in the HKSAR.

The Immigration Department will issue an entry permit (in the form of “e-Visa”) to the successful applicant. The successful applicant should then apply for an Exit-entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao (EEP) and a relevant exit endorsement from the relevant Mainland authorities. The applicant’s EEP bearing the relevant exit endorsement should be presented together with the “e-Visa” issued to him/her for immigration arrival clearance.

If a successful applicant wishes to enter the HKSAR under the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals, he/she must follow the above entry arrangement (see Q13 above) and apply for an Exit-entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao (EEP) and a relevant exit endorsement from the relevant Mainland authorities. The applicant’s EEP bearing the relevant exit endorsement should be presented together with the “e-Visa” issued to him/her for immigration arrival clearance.

If you have been approved to enter the HKSAR under the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals, you should apply for an EEP and a relevant exit endorsement from the relevant Mainland authorities. A successful applicant under the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals who is currently working in the HKSAR on the strength of an “Exit-entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao for official purposes” is required to return to the Mainland first to obtain a proper EEP and a relevant exit endorsement before coming to the HKSAR for employment under the scheme. The applicant’s EEP bearing the relevant exit endorsement should be presented together with the “e-Visa” issued to him/her for immigration arrival clearance.

Please consult the relevant foreign authorities.

You should travel abroad using your PRC passport with a valid entry visa issued by the relevant foreign authorities. However, when departing from and re-entering into the HKSAR, you must bring along and use your Exit-entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao and your Hong Kong identity card.

Mainland business executives may enter the HKSAR with "Business Exit Endorsement" to prepare for the setting up of the company in the HKSAR. Mainland residents holding an Exit-entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao with a 'Business Visit Endorsement' are visitors and are not allowed to take up any employment whether paid or unpaid. Mainland residents who wish to come to the HKSAR to take up employment should apply under the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals.

Upon establishment of the local company, Mainland business executives may be allowed to enter the HKSAR for short-term employment under the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals to prepare for office set-up and to start business. After the company's business plan is materialized, they may be granted extension of stay to continue their employment in the HKSAR if they can continue to fulfil the eligibility criteria under the scheme.

Mainland resident holding an Exit-entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao with a 'Business Visit Endorsement' may be granted permission to land in the HKSAR as a "visitor". As a visitor in the HKSAR, he/she is not allowed to take up any employment whether paid or unpaid. Mainland resident who wishes to come to the HKSAR to take up employment should apply under the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals.

A person permitted to enter the HKSAR as a visitor may generally engage in the following business-related activities: concluding contracts or submitting tenders; examining or supervising the installation/packaging of goods or equipment; participating in exhibitions or trade fairs (except selling goods or supplying services direct to the general public), settling compensation or other civil proceedings; participating in product orientation; and attending short-term seminars or other business meetings.

If you are admitted for employment under the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals, you may apply to bring in your spouse or the other party to a same-sex civil partnership, same-sex civil union, “same-sex marriage”, opposite-sex civil partnership or opposite-sex civil union entered into by you in accordance with the local law in force of the place of celebration and with such status being legally and officially recognised by the local authorities of the place of celebration ^Note , and your unmarried dependent children under the age of 18 as dependants. You must, to the satisfaction of the Director of Immigration, be able to support the dependants' living at a standard well above the subsistence level and provide them with suitable accommodation in the HKSAR.

Note:

For the avoidance of doubt, the terms “civil partnership” and “civil union” above mean a legal institution of a nature which is akin to spousal relationship in a marriage. The same-sex civil partnership, same-sex civil union, “same-sex marriage”, opposite-sex civil partnership and opposite-sex civil union entered into in accordance with laws outside Hong Kong are limited to only relationships which are legally and officially recognised in the places of celebration. Such relationships normally have the following features: (a) the entering into and dissolution of the relationship are governed by legislation of the place where it is entered into; (b) the relationship requires registration by the competent authority specified by the legislation of the place where it is entered into; (c) the registration is evidenced in a written instrument issued by the competent authority; and (d) parties to the relationship have a mutual commitment to a shared life akin to spouses to the exclusion of others on a permanent basis. Such relationships do not include de facto spouse, partners in cohabitation, fiancé/fiancée, etc.

Click here for relevant information.

The following documents are normally required:

1. completed application form (please see Q21 above);
2. photocopy of the applicant's valid travel document containing personal particulars, date of issue, date of expiry and/or details of any re-entry visa held (if applicable). For an applicant who is currently staying in Hong Kong, photocopy of his/her valid travel document page containing the latest arrival stamp/landing slip/extension of stay label in the HKSAR/the latest issued “e-Visa” (if applicable). A Chinese resident of the Mainland who has not been issued with a travel document may submit a photocopy of his/her People's Republic of China resident identity card;
3. photocopy of relationship proof with the sponsor (i.e. the principal applicant); and
4. proof of financial status showing that the sponsor is able to support the dependants' living at a standard well above the subsistence level and provide them with suitable accommodation in the HKSAR.

It normally takes four weeks to process a visa / entry permit application for residence as dependant upon receipt of all the required documents. The Immigration Department will not be able to start processing the application unless all the required documents and information have been received.

You may apply to bring in managerial or professional personnel from the Mainland to the HKSAR under the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals or through the intra-company transfer arrangement. You can submit the application online here or submit the completed application forms [ID 990A and ID 990B] together with relevant supporting documents in person or by post directly to the Receipt and Despatch Sub-Unit of the Immigration Department.

You may apply to bring in managerial and professional staff from the Mainland to assist in setting up an office and hire local staff in the HKSAR under the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals or through the intra-company transfer arrangement if your Mainland staff fulfil the relevant eligibility criteria.

You may apply to bring in managerial and professional staff from the Mainland to train up local staff under the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals or intra-company transfer arrangement if your Mainland staff fulfil the relevant eligibility criteria.

Intra-company transfer arrangement is applicable to

1. local enterprises with factories or offices in the Mainland;
2. Mainland enterprises with branch offices in the HKSAR; or
3. multi-national companies with branch offices in the HKSAR and the Mainland

The application should fulfil the following requirements:

1. it is a managerial or professional post;
2. the applicant must be employed in the Mainland office for not less than a year at the time of application;
3. the remuneration package after the applicant takes up employment in the HKSAR must be broadly commensurate with the prevailing market level for professionals in the relevant field in the HKSAR; and
4. the number of intra-company transferees sponsored by a company at any one time should be reasonable when compared to its total employment and the nature of its business operation.

The employing company is also required to produce proofs showing that the intra-company transfer arrangement is to meet the company's operational or researching needs.

The application procedure and application form for intra-company transfer applications are the same as those for the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals. For details, please refer to the Guidebook for Entry for Employment as Professionals in Hong Kong [ID(C) 991 (Chinese version) or ID(E) 991 (English version)]. Apart from the supporting documents required under the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals, the employing company is required to provide documentary proofs showing the connection between the local and Mainland enterprises.

It normally takes four weeks to process an application under intra-company transfer arrangement upon receipt of all the required documents. The Immigration Department will not be able to start processing the application unless all the required documents and information have been received.

You may submit an application for extension for stay within four weeks before your limit of stay expires. The documents required include:

1. a completed application form ID 91;
2. original and photocopy of the applicant’s valid travel document and, where applicable, his/her previous travel document page showing the latest visa/entry permit label/arrival stamp/landing slip/extension of stay label in the HKSAR/the latest issued “e-Visa” (if applicable);
3. photocopy of the applicant’s Hong Kong identity card;
4. current company supporting letter stating the applicant’s position, total monthly remuneration, period of employment in the HKSAR; and
5. documentary proof of the applicant having an assessable income for salaries tax of not less than HK$2 million in the previous year of tax assessment, e.g. notice of salaries tax assessment of the previous tax assessment year issued by the Inland Revenue Department or relevant tax documents (for extension of stay applications under the top-tier employment stream^#).

You or your authorized representative may submit your application online here or in person or by post/drop-in to the Quality Migrants and Mainland Residents Section of Immigration Department.

# Admitted professionals who continue to meet the eligibility criteria under the ASMTP and fulfil the following criteria at the time of application for extension of stay may choose to apply for assessment under the top-tier employment stream:

1. the applicant has been permitted to take up employment as a professional in the HKSAR under the ASMTP for not less than two years; and
2. the applicant has an assessable income for salaries tax of not less than HK$2 million in the previous year of tax assessment.

You may apply for change of employment directly to the Quality Migrants and Mainland Residents Section of the Immigration Department if you continue to fulfil the eligibility criteria and is employed in a job relevant to your qualifications and expertise. For those top-tier professionals ^ who are permitted to remain in the HKSAR on time limitation only without other conditions of stay, they only need to notify the Immigration Department in writing of the change of their employment within the currency of their permitted limit of stay.

^ Admitted professionals who continue to meet the eligibility criteria under the ASMTP and fulfil the following criteria at the time of application for extension of stay may be regarded as top-tier entrants:

1. the applicant has been permitted to take up employment as a professional in the HKSAR under the ASMTP for not less than two years; and
2. the applicant has an assessable income for salaries tax of not less than HK$2 million in the previous year of tax assessment.

The following documents are normally required:

1. a completed application form ID 91;
2. original and photocopy of applicant’s valid travel document and, where applicable, his/her previous travel document page showing the latest visa/entry permit label/arrival stamp/landing slip/extension of stay label in the HKSAR/the latest issued “e-Visa” (if applicable);
3. form ID 990B duly completed by the new employer;
4. Photocopy of the company's employment contract or letter of appointment with the applicant containing information about post, salaries, other fringe benefits and employment periods;
5. Photocopy of the Business Registration Certificate ^@;
6. Photocopy of proof of financial standing (e.g. latest audited financial report, trading profit and loss account, or profit tax return) ^@;
7. Documents with details of company background such as business activities, mode of operation, background/ connection of company, product ranges, sources and markets, membership of chamber of commerce (if any), etc. (supported with catalogues, brochures, etc.) ^@;
8. Detailed business plan (e.g. information on source of fund, estimated capital injection, nature/mode of business activities, expected turnover, sales volume, gross and net profit in the coming years, and proposed creation of local job posts, etc.) [for companies newly set-up within 12 months only] ^@.

^@ Submission of the documents is not required if the employing company fulfills the facilitation measure(s) under the GEP and ASMTP. For details of the facilitation measures, please press here.

It normally takes four weeks to process an application for change of employment upon receipt of all the required documents. The Immigration Department will not be able to start processing the application unless all the required documents and information have been received.

If your spouse is issued with an entry permit on or after 15 May 2006 to join you as dependant, he/she is not prohibited from taking up employment in the HKSAR. If your spouse has already been admitted as your dependant and is currently subject to a condition of stay prohibiting employment, he/she has to apply for cancellation of the condition before taking up employment in the HKSAR.

There is no specific requirement on the minimum number of days that a Mainland resident admitted under the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals is required to spend in the HKSAR. However, he/she should work predominantly in the HKSAR instead of overseas or in the Mainland.

The Immigration Department will assess the applicant's eligibility for right of abode in accordance with the relevant provisions of the laws regarding right of abode on a case-by-case basis.