Work visa for musician? Course of action?

Hi there, I am a musician. Although I am mixed, I am a UK citizen and I am currently staying as a "tourist" which entitles me to 6 months stay with my passport. This 6 month period will be over in july and my stay will expire. I am trying to pursue my musicial career. I have opportunities and there are things that I can do, but it will take more time and I don't have a company to sponsor me for a working visa.


What are my options? Can I apply for the quality migrant scheme? I would only get 100 points at most. Is it even worth trying? Would it get processed in time before I get kicked out in July?


Alternatively could I start a business (maybe for example teaching music and / or providing bands to venues) for the sake of getting a business visa to be able to stay and pursue my career?


I am aware that I would have to prove that I can fund the business, but since it would have virtually no costs, I can do that. However, I wonder if there is any size limitation? Would the business be too small to be eligible for me to start up to get a business investment visa? I am also aware that i'd have to employ local workers, although ideally i'd just run the business by myself and teach some lessons. My real goal is to be able to stay to pursue my musical career.


If I must employ locals, will employing one other musician be adequate or would there be a limit? There is no information regarding this on the government website and they are not very clear and don't spent the time to explain anything when I go there in person to ask.


Alternatively, would there be some way I can apply for a visa as a freelance worker? This would be ideal. Maybe I could start a "freelance business", which is only run by myself?


What options do I have? Any suggestions and input? Any big downfalls with any of my suggestions?


Also, if my only option is to find a company to sponsor me for work (which I do not have right now), I would definitely need more time to do this. But since it's now almost the end of May, I fear that even if something comes up later it would not get processed in time before my time runs out. Is there some way I can get an extension of stay after the 6 months that my passport allows to bide me some time to find a company to sponsor me for a visa application?


The main problem with all possible options (ie - getting sponsored by a company, quality migrant scheme, etc.), is that the nature of my work is music, which is not considered very academic in terms of fulfilling the criteria for visa applications, in particular the quality migrant scheme. Although I do have a degree, it is not related to music. On the other hand, my musical "abilities" can definitely be considered unique in Hong Kong and I can certainly bring something to Hong Kong that nobody else here can do so far. It's just a question of whether that something is considered worth having or not in terms of applying for a visa.


Really the point of all this is, I need to stay and pursue my career. My stay runs out in July. I need more time. How can I get more time? Even if i'm going to find a sponsor later, I need more time right now.


Many thanks.

Thanos, your best bet is to find a company willing to sponsor you. Try the music schools. You've got two months to do it, so start looking now if you really want to stay in Hong Kong. There's no such thing as a freelance visa.


The Quality Migrant Visas take a long time to get processed, in any event, even if you were eligible but by your own admission you're not.


Getting an investment visa to set up your own business is another option, but you need start up cash and yes, the main objective is supposed to be to employ locals and so benefit the Hong Kong economy.

Thanks Shoe Girl. Well, the problem is I wouldn't be teach music in a convention. I excel as a player, not as a teacher. But I can also teach effectively using real world methods (rather than academic going through the motions methods) if that makes sense. I am not sure this would be adequate for music schools. This is why I pondered going the "investment" visa route starting a business myself.


I did have a potential sponsor when a studio asked me to teach for them. But when I asked them to provide the accouts papers they didn't have any and have never filed a tax return and don't even have an accountant. So no use trying to apply with their help. I am sure it would get rejected and they may also get into trouble.


With regards to the quality migrant visa, I am assuming this would be too late then. In terms of eligibility, well I am eligible to apply (pass mark is 80), but I don't know if 100 points would have much of a chance of succeeding getting it or not. This was one of the questions I was hoping to have answered in here.


If the business is only teaching and / or providing bands to venues, there will be no costs other than the costs to register the business and some occasional rehearsal room rentals. But in general there will be no real overheads. So it's easy for me to finance that. My question was, is it too small-scale to be eligible or not?


I also mentioned that I can employ another musician to work for the company. My question with regards to that was also whether or not employing ONE staff would make the company eligible for me to apply for the visa with or is there a certain number of staff employed required?


Thanks again.

Thanos, with the QM visa, bear in mind also that they have a quota for how many applicants they'll accept under this scheme each year. So even if you're deemed eligible, you may not get in. I can tell you from my experience that this sort of visa takes a long time to get approved, they want to see voluminous documents and have everything substantiated, and the section that approves these meet every quarter, so if you were to satisfy them that you've got everything in say the next three months, you'd be put on their agenda to discuss the approval in the next quarter.


With business visas, it's also not just a matter of registering a name and setting up. For start up businesses, you're going to have to show them bank statements proving that you have enough funds to keep the business going until it starts making money. Immigration department will also want to see business plans. You'll have to show that the business is viable. Most importantly, as I mentioned before, you'll have to show that you're going to eventually employ locals. So if it's too small scale, your chances of success are probably not going to be that good.


Honestly, I think the best thing for you is to find another sponsor.

Thanks again for the reply, but in terms of a sponsor, I could do that if I had more time. But there is no way I can find a sponsor for a "unique job" AND send the application off and get it processed and returned before the July deadline.


PS - I can prove that I can fund the business, the only thing in question is the scale/size of the business. But at least if, in my business plan I can project hiring more workers in the future, would this be plausible? What I really wonder is what are the criteria regarding business size (monetary-wise) and number of employees?

Haha, jobin, I was waiting for that one. I've been told that many times. However, I have a fiancee and my long term plan is to build a career here and then bring her here to stay. So I don't think she'd like me marrying someone.