Hong Kong training visa: rules, sponsor and 12-month limit

A Hong Kong training visa lets a well-established company bring someone in for a limited period of training, not more than 12 months, to learn special skills and knowledge that are not available where that person lives. It is not a work visa. The company signs a contract with the trainee, guarantees their maintenance and repatriation, and the trainee returns home when the training ends. The Immigration Department (ImmD) normally takes four weeks once it has every document.

What ImmD wants to see

ImmD’s training page says an application may be favourably considered if:

• there is no security objection and no known record of serious crime
• the bona fides of the applicant and the sponsoring company are satisfied
• there is a contract signed between the sponsoring company and the applicant
• the company guarantees in writing the applicant’s maintenance and repatriation, and that the applicant will train on the sponsor’s premises until the agreed period ends and then return to their place of residence
• the company is well established and capable of providing the training
• the length and content of the training programme can be justified.

The core test is that the skills and knowledge are not available in the trainee’s own country or territory. If the same training is available there, the application does not meet it.

Who cannot use it

ImmD says the training arrangement does not apply to:

• nationals of Afghanistan, Cuba and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
• Chinese residents of the Mainland, other than Mainland employees and business associates of well-established and multi-national companies based in Hong Kong.

How to apply, step by step

1. Design the programme. Set out what the trainee will learn, where, and for how long, up to 12 months. ImmD will ask you to justify both.
2. Sign the training contract between the company and the trainee.
3. The trainee completes ID 992A, Application for Entry for Training in Hong Kong.
4. The company completes ID 992B, Application for Entry for Training (Sponsor), with its written guarantees.
5. Apply online. ImmD says the applicant, any accompanying dependants and the sponsoring company submit their applications and upload all supporting documents through the designated GovHK website.
6. Wait for the decision. ImmD normally takes four weeks once it has all the required documents, and it cannot start until everything has arrived. Check the current fee on ImmD’s training page.

Documents the sponsoring company provides

The training guidebook, ID(E) 993, asks the company for:

• the training contract with the applicant
• its Business Registration Certificate
• proof of financial standing, such as the latest audited financial report, trading profit and loss account, or profits tax return
• documents on the company’s background: business activities, mode of operation, background or connections, product ranges, sources and markets
• a detailed business plan, if the company was set up within the last 12 months.

A new company can still sponsor, but it has more to prove, because ImmD wants a well-established company capable of giving the training. Our guide to business registration explains the certificate.

Training visa or employment visa

If the company really needs the person to work, our General Employment Policy guide and, for Mainland residents, the ASMTP guide cover the employment routes.

Family, common mistakes and getting help

People admitted for training can sponsor a spouse or recognised partner and unmarried children under 18 under ImmD’s dependant policy, and ImmD says those dependants are not prohibited from taking up employment.

• Using a training visa to fill a vacancy. Training must happen on the sponsor’s premises and end with the trainee going home.
• Planning a programme longer than 12 months.
• Sending an incomplete file. ImmD cannot start processing until everything has arrived.
• Choosing training that is available in the trainee’s home country.

ImmD decides every application, and Hong Kong has no immigration consultant licence. If your company wants help with the file, compare the visa firms on our list.