Changing employer work Visa questions

I am inquiring about visa process and documents required for change of employer in Hong Kong for my husband. Below are some details of our situation:

My husband is currently working for a client in Hong Kong as an employee of an Indian IT company. He has a valid employment visa till 14th March 2017. He received better job opportunity and looking forward to switch employer. My husband submitted his resignation to his current employer on 20th December 2016 (Indian IT company) and his last working day with the client in Hong Kong is 27th Jan 2017 (already have a confirmation email from the client). However, the existing employer (Indian IT company) wants him to continue work with them in India for 2 more months. He asked them for buying the notice period so that he can join the new company in Hong Kong. However, they are creating some complication in terms of the relieving documentation even though there was no contract signed with the current employer (Indian IT Company).

Summarizing below the documents we already have in terms of my husband's current employer:

- A deputation letter from the current employer (Indian IT company) saying he was assigned to work with the client in Hong Kong from March till September 2016 but it could get extended if needed.
- Email confirmation from the client regarding his last working day with the client in Hong Kong

I would like to know if the above mentioned documents will be sufficient as a proof that my husband's existing sponsorship is valid till 27th Jan 2017 so that my new employer can apply for new sponsorship without any clashes or confusion.
How long does it take for the visa process (changing employer)?
Will this be considered as a new work Visa application?
If he quit working for the current employer, will we still be able to stay in Hong Kong (travel in and out) till our visa expires?

I am on dependent visa sponsored by my husband.

Any suggestion would be a great help.

Employment visa is usually not cancelled and remains valid till it expires, you may stay/enter/exit till the validity of Visa and search for another job.

Once new employer applies for the employment visa and it gets approved then you can work for new employer.

if you have resigned and employer has confirmed and accepted it, i do not think he can enforce any other condition after the last working day.

moreover it all depends on who sponsored the visa and what was the contract conditions, since Immigration would have asked for a work offer/contract before issuing a visa.

new visa depends on your employer and the documents he provide, usually 4-8 weeks once you have applied.

remember you need to leave HK before your visa expiry date and that will also break your 7 years continuous stay to be eligible for PR.

Hi M2022,

A company employing foreign professionals on HK work visa is required to inform the Inland revenue and immigration department when the status of an employee changes i.e. ceased to be employed. However, often companies do not take a proactive approach in informing the immigration. Since, your company seems to have an issue, they will surely inform the immigration so I suggest you try and negotiate your way with them.

The paperwork you have seems to be sufficient however, the new employer will have to submit business registration, company tax returns (in case of a small company) as well as a letter supporting why this role can not be filled by a local person.

While this forum could be helpful, I suggest you call up or visit the Immigration department and get correct and latest information/procedure from an immigration officer. They are very friendly and efficient and if you have been in HK legally you don't have to worry about anything.

I am sure you are aware that HK is becoming very cautious about allowing new immigrants and the visa rules are currently under review.

Hope this helps.

The new employer is a well settled company in HK and have recruited many foreign employees in the past (as well as recently). I don't think that would be a problem in our case. The only thing we are worried about the documents from the current employer.

Regarding the IR form, we have been told the current employer will provide us with the form and we have to complete is and post it to Inland Revenue. However, we were thinking if we can apply for new sponsorship with the current situation and documents so that we don't waste any time. My husband have a meeting with the new employer to discuss about the same. We will also talk to immigration and will apply accordingly. Lets see how it goes.

Thank you SCORPIO01 and ABSN.

simply go ahead and apply, if there are any issues then immigration will inform you, they won't reject the application outright.

Hi, If the company have employed many foreign professionals then their HR would know the process and apply on your behalf.

In terms of procedure, Work Visas can be classified into two categories.

I) Substantive and II) Procedural.

That being said Substantive is much harder cause all the docs will be examined. (This usually means a new application.)

In your case, for the change of sponsor, it is usually "procedural", given that he is entering a similar industry and his package is comparable or better than the previous package he receives. It should be a fairly easy process if everything is completed so that it won't start off as a new visa again.

Feel free to contact me if you want to know more or need any further help.
+852-5545-3085

Daniel