A foreigner employed by a company outside of Hong Kong may apply for a training visa, when the foreign employee needs to enter HK and attend a training course. For this training visa, the usual application time should take from 4 to 6 weeks. The employer company needs to be the sponsored of this training course.
While the training visa is for a shorter and limited time period, the Hong Kong employment visa is for a person who takes up a full time job for a longer period of time. Usually such a work related visa is granted when the foreigner is working as a valid manager job, working as ina company executive, or taking up a specialized job (in which the skills are very difficult to get locally). The usual process time is between 4 and 6 weeks.
Before the foreigner considers to apply and work in Hong Kong, he must ensure he meets a few criteria including his education level, working experience, and salary expectation. For example, a bachelor degree should be a minimum required academic qualification. The previous work experience of this person should match the job that he’s going to take in HK. The expected salary should not be outrageous.
The employer company trying to relocate the foreigner to HK should actually submit proofs showing that the particular role is very difficult to be filled by a local staff.
The foreigner can actually bring his spouse and children to stay with him in HK during the time he’s working and living in Hong Kong. The solution is that his spouse must apply for a dependant visa. The application may take up to 6 week. The children who are under age of 21 years are eligible to also apply for the dependant visa. But when the children have past 21 years old, they must individually apply for a HK visa before they are permitted to enter Hong Kong.
It is very important to obtain a valid visa (that allows the foreigner person to work in HK) before actually entering and working in Hong Kong. Staying in HK or working in HK without a valid visa is illegal and/or an offence. For a Hong Kong employer, it is an offence to employ foreigners who are not lawfully employable. There is a possibility of penalty of up to imprisonment of 3 years and a fine of HK$350,000. Employers has the responsibility to take all steps to determine whether a person is lawfully employable before actually employing him for the job, according to the HK’s court sentencing.
