Registering Limited Company with Employment Visa!

[hrp10]

HI Guys,

I am planning to register a limited liability company with a chinese partner to open up a trading business.
The problem is i will still be on employment visa till 2012 and i am already in hong kong for the past 2 years.So according to hong kong laws,am i allowed to register a company if i am on employment visa?Or are there ways to change my employment visa to director visa?

Guys please help me,any hint would help.

Thanks.

[geo-seb]

Anybody can register and own a company in Hong Kong. It has nothing to do with your visa status. The visa issue only becomes relevant, if you want to employ yourself in that company.

[PDLM]

As geo-seb says. You don't need any sort of visa to register a company. But you cannot work for that company whilst you are on an Employment Visa sponsored by another company (without the explicit permission of ImmD and your sponsoring employer to do so).

There's no such thing as a "director visa". If you are no longer employed by the company sponsoring your Employment Visa then you could apply for an Investment Visa. Or a QMAS visa. Or for a change of sponsor of your Employment Visa to your new company. But each of the Investment and Employment Visas would require you to show that your company had concrete plans to employ local people and not just be a "shell" for your self-employment. Details of all visas mentioned here: The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region - Immigration Department