Work Visa situation post redundancy

Does anyone know what the situation is regarding employment if I have been made redundant from a company yet still have just under 2 years left on my Visa before expiry?

Do I need further sponsorship to work legally?

Do I have freedom to travel in and out of HK?

Is there a good source of information at HK Immigration dept?

Is it easy/practical to set-up a company myself for the purposes of contracting and to cover the Visa requirements?


Any advice appreciated...

Thanks

1. Yes

2. Yes

3. Yes

4. Not with the visa you have now

hi greenvalleys and 9eorge - re working visa being amended to tourist upon travelling: this startled me a little, as i am in a similar situation and have just returned from a trip. Inparticular I was concerned that this amendment to tourist class would affect my ability to build 7 years continuous residency to PR. I have just spoken to immigration who confirmed that this is NOT the case : you are still able to travel freely in and out of HK as long as your working visa is still in date, and the fact that you're not working and have taken a few days out of HK will not affect your 7 years continuity. Best of luck with the jobhunt !

Thanks for the comments and info.

London Blonde - do you have a number for the immigration dept you can share?

Thanks again.

London Blonde can you give some details? When you re-entered Hong Kong, your work visa was changed from "work" to "tourist", is that right? How long is the validity of the tourist visa?


As an example, the OP said that he still has 2 years of work visa validity, if he goes out of Hong Kong and comes back, is he going to lose that 2 years validity of his working visa?


To the OP, you can only work for the company that sponsored your visa. So even if you can stay in Hong Kong legally for the next two years using that visa, you can't work for another company unless the new company has sponsored for you and your new work visa was approved.


There is no law that prohibits you from starting your own company in Hong Kong, the immigration department however is aware of "tricks" like this that if you sponsor yourself through your own company they will most probably "catch" you.