Another Sole Proprietor Situation - any help appreciated

[jamessj97]

I wonder if its legal to work for yourself here on that visa?

I thought the Visa's were tied to the job you are on - unless you get a dependant visa..

change job need change visa?

would immigration see the writing of the blog is an "act of work" ?

ok I admit I dont actually know - but thats what goes thru my mind?

I don't actually do anything on it anymore - I have a couple of guys in Europe who manage the website. The whole thing is completley passive for me... All i have to do is keep the bills paid for the hosting etc (which is pretty much automated anyways).

[jamessj97]

1) Is this change over possible? If so do you have any recommendations on who i should speak to and should i just wait until closer to the end of my visa in 2013?

Yes it's possible to change visa's. I think the advice to speak to Invest HK is the best idea, they can give you an idea. It IS possible to self-sponsor on a work visa, but it's tough. Not sure if possible for a sole-proprietorship either, might need to be a proper company. Your other option is QMAS - you probably qualify. It takes about 9 months so start sooner rather than later.

2) If i can demonstrate in a business plan that there is a solid business possible and I can support myself and local staff will the money earned as the sole proprietor help my case (to show the validity of possible profits)?

It's the only way. You basically have to show that there is a company in HK that needs your expertise. In your case, the expertise is given so you just need to show the company is real and can support you. As above, may need to convert into a "real" company not sole properietorship, but not sure.

3) If I set up the LLC and lets say I'm denied a visa then I'm stuck with a company I need to file accounts with (which i don't have to unless i earn over 2 million HKD i believe) . So do I try for the visa then set up or do it vice versa?

Companies in HK are cheap to set up and cheap to shut down. I'd set it up first but that's just my view!

4) If i choose to leave HK before May next year and my taxes are up to date - can i leave HK and still keep the sole proprietorship and bank accounts here and run it all through HK (do i in that case pay the taxes to HK or to the country i am living in)?

I can't see why not.

5) At present most of the money earned is from the US/UK - but by opening in HK i can really focus on Asia. Excuse my ignorance but am i taxed the same on transactions outside of HK?

For salary income earnings, sometimes you can get dispensation if you work outside of HK. But for company revenue, no, I think it's all the same. Our company earns revenues from all over the place and we pay tax on all of it in HK because we are a HK company.

6) Is there anything i may have misunderstood or other options open to me?

Nothing I can think of.

Excellent - thanks.

I have been in touch with Invest HK now - so I shall see where that leads.