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What are chances of approval of GEP without any degree? (accepted job offer in HK with very good salary)

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  1. #1

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    Oct 2018
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    What are chances of approval of GEP without any degree? (accepted job offer in HK with very good salary)

    I've got a job offer from Hong Kong for position C++ software developer.

    They offer me 9xx'000 HKD per year.

    I already signed employment contract and employer already applied to Immigration Department five weeks ago.

    In short about me:

    • No degree at all;
    • No certificates/courses at all;
    • Working in IT since 2003, working full-time as C/C++ software developer since 2009;
    • Worked in Russia, Sweden, Netherlands. Currently, in the Netherlands I hold "highly skilled migrant" visa;
    • I have 3 years long track record in algorithm competitions (currently rated as top 17%);
    • I have recommendation letters from my ex-colleagues who currently work at Google and Bloomberg;
    • I have reference letters from employers covering my career history since 2006;

    I've read GEP requirements may be hundreds times already:

    https://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/services/visas/GEP.html

    the applicant has a good education background, normally a first degree in the relevant field, but in special circumstances, good technical qualifications, proven professional abilities and/or relevant experience and achievements supported by documentary evidence may also be accepted;
    But I still worry that bureaucrats may not like the fact that I don't have any degree and don't have any certificates.

    What are my chances for GEP approval given that my salary is pretty nice?

  2. #2

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    No one can tell you.

    Is your employer a large taxpaying company? Which passport do you hold? These are all factors.

    Experience can win, but how do you prove this experience on an international level. And what type of employer hires someone without a degree? It's a basic thing to have.

    Good luck.


  3. #3

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    The chance is like 95% to get approved. 900k puts you firmly into the never-heard-of-anyone-rejected-at-this-level category


  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by cookie09:
    The chance is like 95% to get approved. 900k puts you firmly into the never-heard-of-anyone-rejected-at-this-level category
    As long as the company is legit.
    MandM!, cookie09 and Fiona in HKG like this.

  5. #5

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    Yes, it seems like software is one of those few areas where it is acceptable to not have a degree. And tech seems like an area they want to encourage so I think a pretty good chance this will be approved.

    jgl, shri and omgcoin like this.

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by MandM!:
    Experience can win, but how do you prove this experience on an international level. And what type of employer hires someone without a degree? It's a basic thing to have.
    It is nowadays which is why it's use has been diluted. If I go back to when I left school I guess only 2 or 3% of us went on to get a degree. Now even the village cat can get one.

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by cookie09:
    The chance is like 95% to get approved. 900k puts you firmly into the never-heard-of-anyone-rejected-at-this-level category
    other than the FT senior editor...
    cookie09 and Mrs. Jones like this.

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by MABinPengChau:
    Yes, it seems like software is one of those few areas where it is acceptable to not have a degree. And tech seems like an area they want to encourage so I think a pretty good chance this will be approved.
    Agreed. It's uncommon not to have a degree for any white collar job these days, but imo tech is still one area where skill and experience can bypass the degree hurdle.
    Mrs. Jones likes this.

  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by shri:
    As long as the company is legit.
    It's a high frequency trading fund:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algori...quency_trading

    The company I will work for is quite big in terms of daily volume in asian derivatives market.

    HFT funds are very picky, it's quite hard to get in. It took me four years of preparation to get there. To give you an idea how difficult to get into HFT, you can read struggles of Google engineer who decided to leave Google for HFT:

    https://www.quora.com/Why-did-Brian-...nswer/Brian-Bi

    My employer already hired many people from abroad. So it's not their first experience with IMMD, although I might be the only candidate without degree. And IMMD probably have their track record of hiring. All their employees are very qualified with quite strong background.

    It took me very long time to get this job offer and the only thing left is visa. That's why I'm worried.

  10. #10

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    My employer already hired many people from abroad. So it's not their first experience with IMMD, although I might be the only candidate without degree. And IMMD probably have their track record of hiring. All their employees are very qualified with quite strong background.
    And that is all that matters - in which case, I'd ask your firm for the reference number and check online or check with IMMD. Chances are they've outsourced their visa applications - which might add to the delay.

    4 weeks is the benchmark - some cases take longer. In the work visa approval thread, a long term poster said it took them 8 weeks recently to get an application approved.

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