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Do I need to register a business in hk?

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  1. #11

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    I work for a publicly-listed company very heavy on compliance. We faced the issue when working with a consultant based in the Philippines and processed multiple-entry business visit visas (as requested by Immigration Department) for the consultant and his support team.

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  2. #12

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    It is fine to enter HK as a visitor for certain business activities, including: "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, or constructing exhibition booths), settling compensation or other civil proceedings, participating in product orientation, and attending short-term seminars or other business meetings". However, visitors cannot legally take up employment or study or establish or join any business.

    The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region - Immigration Department

    The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region - Immigration Department

    We routinely have non-HK clients and lawyers from our other offices out to HK to attend meetings and do associated work, but as I understand we cannot have a lawyer from another office seated in HK that is not working on a specific HK based matter.

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  3. #13

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    Original Post Deleted
    this was debated on a thread a few years back and if I recall correctly hull and pdlm had some links. I believe it was related to where the benefit of the stuff done in the meetings went. So if you are working for a us company and have meetings related to that work its fine but if the product of your meetings is for the benefit of a hk co then that's work and illegal. but thats a memory from a while back. . . But there Was a difference.

    Sent from my GT-P1000 using GeoClicks Mobile
    Last edited by MovingIn07; 22-05-2012 at 06:03 PM.

  4. #14

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    ps. do believe that what the OP proposes to do is not strictly legal as they would be selling/ supplying services to the public...


  5. #15

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    What I know comes from what I have read and interpreted as well as talking to the lawyers at my firm.

    Feel free to put up some documentation that refutes what I'm saying instead of spreading hearsay and pushing your own guesswork.
    Last edited by HowardCoombs; 22-05-2012 at 06:05 PM.

  6. #16

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    There is a one-stop form for visitor visa and options to select leisure, business, family visit etc. and we were requested to process under the business visit criteria which also requires a specific section on the form to be completed Section 4(iii)

    http://www.immd.gov.hk/pdforms/ID1003A.pdf

    We had the consultant over twice under what we considered to be our correct interpretation of the rules as hello_there has quote and he was stopped on the second entry. That is when Immigration asked us to complete the business visit visa process. Country of origin could have played a large part in that, though.
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  7. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by hello_there:
    ps. do believe that what the OP proposes to do is not strictly legal as they would be selling/ supplying services to the public...
    Except that is only what every single travelling professional photographer is doing. Tehnically, he's being hired in his home country and getting compensated there as well. The image delivery is often electronic and even physical is likely sent from OPs home supplier (with whom he has established contracts, etc). He's simply coming to HK to take pictures. How is what he's doing different from every other tourist with a camera?

    Let's say I'm a freelance photographer who is on holiday in HK....while here I take some images which after I come home end up being sold to Getty, Reuters, etc. Should I have gottena work visa...just in case? Immigration departments will not waste time on this.

    Bottom line, nearly impossible to prove OP is actually doing "work" here....

  8. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by climber07:
    ....He's simply coming to HK to take pictures. How is what he's doing different from every other tourist with a camera?

    Let's say I'm a freelance photographer who is on holiday in HK....while here I take some images which after I come home end up being sold to Getty, Reuters, etc. Should I have gottena work visa...just in case? Immigration departments will not waste time on this.

    Bottom line, nearly impossible to prove OP is actually doing "work" here....
    IMMD doesnt have to prove anything to refuse entry.
    a possible scenario : we meet, I find out what you do, you piss me off and I decide to report you to IMMD as someone who is really working here but pretending to be tourist; I show them your snapshots from Getty. IMMD decides to look at your pattern of arrivals and concludes that you probably are working. Guess what, your next attempt to enter will be blocked.

  9. #19

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    I think the photographer example is kosher because the benefit of the work is outside HK.


  10. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by HowardCoombs:
    IMMD doesnt have to prove anything to refuse entry.
    a possible scenario : we meet, I find out what you do, you piss me off and I decide to report you to IMMD as someone who is really working here but pretending to be tourist; I show them your snapshots from Getty. IMMD decides to look at your pattern of arrivals and concludes that you probably are working. Guess what, your next attempt to enter will be blocked.

    IMMD indeed can block anyone's entry at any time (and anyone entering HK that many times in one year will likely get questioned). But as long as OP marks business for his reason for visit on the entry form, he should have no issues....and your example is pretty ridiculous in practice. He's technically employed outside of HK.