ImmD decides Hong Kong visa applications: what it means

Every Hong Kong visa and entry permit is decided by the Immigration Department (ImmD), acting for the Director of Immigration. Employers, consultancies and lawyers can prepare and submit the papers. None of them can approve a file. Meeting a scheme’s published criteria makes you eligible to be considered; it does not guarantee a yes.

What ImmD looks at

Two layers apply. First, each scheme has its own criteria: a job offer at market pay for the General Employment Policy, for example, or a points test for the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme. Second, ImmD’s pages say an applicant should meet normal immigration requirements, such as:

• holding a valid travel document with adequate returnability to the country of residence or citizenship;
• having a clear criminal record and raising no security or criminal concerns for Hong Kong; and
• having no likelihood of becoming a burden on Hong Kong.

Each application is decided on its own merits, so someone else’s approval under the same scheme tells you little about yours.

Discretion: why meeting the criteria is not enough

ImmD’s pages describe approval as discretionary and subject to changes in government policy. On the QMAS page, ImmD says the Director has absolute discretion to decide whether an applicant meets any assessment criterion, and to approve or refuse any application without giving any reason. Other ImmD guidebooks say the Director may refuse an application even if it meets all the eligibility criteria. Plan for that before you resign from a job, sell a home or book a move.

Other offices in the process

Some schemes involve another office, but none of them replaces ImmD’s decision. Under the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme, InvestHK first verifies your net assets and issues a certifying proof; only then do you apply to ImmD, which decides the visa. Under the Mainland talents scheme, ImmD approves the entry permit, and the Mainland authorities then issue the exit-entry permit and exit endorsement you travel on. Employers sponsor job-based applications, but they do not approve them either.

How long a decision takes

Each time runs from when ImmD has every required document and the application fee, and ImmD says it will not start processing an ASMTP file until it has both. Actual times depend on the case and how many applications ImmD has. For other schemes, check the ImmD page for that scheme.

After the decision

1. Approved: pay the visa issuance fee where your scheme charges one, then collect the e-Visa. On specified schemes the visa fee is HK$600 for a limit of stay of 180 days or below and HK$1,300 for 181 days or more.
2. Refused: the application fee stays with ImmD. On specified schemes it is HK$600 and non-refundable in any circumstance.
3. Want to try again with new evidence: ImmD’s QMAS guidance notes say you must submit a fresh application if you want to be assessed on fresh materials or information, and the previous or pending application is then treated as withdrawn.

Our specified-scheme fees guide lists which schemes pay these amounts.

Your responsibility for the file

The application is yours even if a firm prepared it. It is an offence for any person or company to give false information or make a false representation to ImmD in a visa or entry permit application. The Government says offenders are liable on conviction to a maximum fine of HK$150,000 and 14 years’ imprisonment. It also reminds applicants that they do not need an intermediary, and not to believe claims of “guaranteed success”.

Hong Kong has no immigration consultant licence, so no official register lists visa firms. If you want help with the paperwork, you can compare visa firms in our directory. If you are already here and need more time, read our extension of stay guide.