Moving to Hong Kong with an existing small business - Visa

My partner and I wish to move to Hong Kong - he has just been offered a permanent job, and I am self employed with an existing small business. We aren't married, so I can't apply for a dependants visa (unless we do a rush job)!


The Investment Visa, I am told, is very difficult to get, and my small (sole trader) company won't meet the local employee criteria and is a fledgling business, so I don't think it will meet the other financial criteria just yet.


Is it legal for me to work from HK on my UK registered business - my customers are largely in the US and and Australia, so it's not as if I'll be taking custom away from any local businesses?


Or, if we were married and applied for the dependants visa, could I work as self employed in this way? I understand that it is OK to work on a dependants visa, so presumably working for myself is also OK.


Are there any other options?


C

I dont know how far you have researched the business visa or what the situation with your business is. It is worth being aware that the Immigration department here is generally very helpful. One company I know of had requirements waived temporarily while the business grew. Also there are local advisors who know what the Immigration Dept sensitivities are and help you apply for business visas. A friend of mine used one to succesfully apply for a business visa based on a very small, but viable, start-up.

Thanks for these helpful answers!


Good to know about the public healthcare situation - do you know where I can find more info on that?


Also interesting that there can be some waiving of requirements by the immigration authorities. My business is essentially subsistence level, it just supports me, and I have no concrete plans to push it further as yet, so this is why I suspect it may not look that attractive to HK immigration. I suppose I could see this situation as a spur to think in terms of expansion, but at the moment my priority is coping with the requirements of relocation to Asia. Ideally, I'd like to have a visa and continue working for myself in the most simple way possible...