What the employer has to file

Many Hong Kong employers, especially small and medium-sized firms, have never arranged a visa for a non-local employee. You then have to explain the process yourself. From the candidate's side, the sections below cover when the employer has to produce documents, what each part of the employer section of ID 990B asks for, which files to upload, which exemptions apply, and how to brief the human resources department. They follow form ID 990B, Guide ID(E)991, and the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates (IANG) page, checked 18 October 2026.

Decide first what the employer must do this time

1. A first IANG permission submitted within 6 months of the date on the graduation certificate does not require a job first. The employer submits nothing.
2. A first IANG permission after more than 6 months from graduation requires you to be employed first. The employer must upload the Part VII(B) documents, and must complete and sign the employer section of the online application form.
3. An IANG extension: if it is the first extension, coming from a permission granted within the 6-month window, or if you have changed jobs, the employer must submit the full set of Part VII(B) documents. If it is not the first extension and you have not changed jobs, only a letter from the current employer is required.
4. Under the General Employment Policy (GEP) or the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals (ASMTP), the employer must submit the full set of documents, and must explain why the post cannot be filled by a local person, unless a facilitation measure applies.
5. An extension for a holder of the Top Talent Pass Scheme or the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS): the Top Talent Pass Scheme frequently asked questions state that if, at the time of submission or within the 6 months before it, the person has already been permitted to stay under a talent scheme, or if the application is for an extension, the employing company must complete the online form or ID 990B.

The employer section of ID 990B, item by item

Item 1(i), company particulars

1. Company name, the authorised person or the contact person, email, website, company address, correspondence address, and telephone.
2. Business registration certificate number, date of commencement of business, and nature of business.
3. If the company is a subsidiary, the parent company's name and address.

Item 1(ii), the post

1. The job title, and whether it is an intra-company transfer, including a transfer within the group.
2. The monthly salary to be offered, in Hong Kong dollars.
3. Other fringe benefits, with the amount and the type of each (for example housing, a medical allowance, or share options), the total monthly value of the benefits, and the total monthly value of pay and benefits together.
4. The scope of the duties. A further page may be used.
5. If the post already exists, give the current entry requirements and the current pay for it.
6. The Talent List exemption field, and the field for the reasons for employing the applicant and why the post cannot be filled by a local employee. The form states that these apply only to GEP and ASMTP. IANG does not require proof that local recruitment is difficult.

Item 1(iii), the company's financial position: a listed company fills in the stock code. Any other company fills in the turnover for the past 2 years and the paid-up capital.

Item 1(iv), the number of employees in Hong Kong: split them into the professional / managerial / supervisory grades and other staff, and within each of those groups split them into local and non-local.

Item 1(v), particulars of non-local employees: in the 24 months immediately before this application, has the company successfully applied for an employment or training visa for a non-local employee? If yes, fill in the application reference number of the most recent one. This field is tied directly to the document exemption below.

Item 2, the company declaration. The company agrees that the Immigration Department may make enquiries and match data, including checks with the Inland Revenue Department and the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority. It undertakes to be responsible for repatriation if the applicant does not leave Hong Kong when the limit of stay expires. It undertakes to notify the Immigration Department of any change in the applicant's employment, or of its termination. An authorised person of the company signs, and the company chop is placed beside the signature.

Part VII(B): documents the employer must upload

1. An employment contract or a letter of appointment, stating the post, the salary, the other benefits, and the period of employment. This item must be submitted in every case.
2. The business registration certificate.
3. Proof of the company's financial position, for example the latest audited financial report, a profit and loss account, or a profits tax return.
4. Company background (business activities, mode of operation, product catalogues, brochures, and similar). An IANG applicant does not upload this.
5. A company established for less than 12 months: a detailed business plan. It covers the source of funds, the expected capital injection, the nature and mode of the business, the projected turnover, sales, gross profit, and net profit over the coming years, and the local posts the plan is to create.

Exemption: a company listed on the Main Board or GEM of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, or a company that within the 24 months before submission has successfully obtained an employment or training visa for a non-local employee, may omit items 2 to 5. It submits only the contract or the letter of appointment.

The employer's letter on an extension

Where the extension is not the first one, and you have not changed jobs, only a letter from the current employer is required. It must state:

1. Your current post.
2. The total monthly remuneration, including benefits.
3. The period of employment.

The period granted is generally not more than 3 years, or until the employment contract ends, whichever is shorter. If the contract has no fixed term, the period of employment in the letter should say so, as it is. Do not write in an end date offhand.

What the IANG assessment looks at, and how to write the duties

1. The official conditions: the work is usually done by a degree holder, and the pay and benefits are at market level.
2. Question 15 of the official frequently asked questions: the Immigration Department assesses each case on its own, looking at factors such as the skills and knowledge the post requires, and how complex the duties are.
3. Do not describe the duties only as "help with day-to-day work" or "administrative support". State the professional knowledge you actually use, the specific tasks and the deliverables, the person you report to, and the team you are in.
4. The job title, monthly salary, benefits, and period of employment must match across the contract, the letter of appointment, the employer's letter, and the online form. The Immigration Department is entitled to check the figures with the Inland Revenue Department and the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority.

How to brief human resources: a note you can forward as it stands

After you accept the offer, a useful step is to send the human resources department a note of 1 page covering:

1. The visa category: IANG (a first permission after the 6-month window, a first extension, or an extension after a change of job), or GEP, or ASMTP.
2. How it is lodged: entirely through the Immigration Department online application system. You start the application. An authorised person of the employer completes and signs the employer section of the online form.
3. The list of documents the company must provide, following the Part VII(B) section above, marking which items may be omitted because the company is listed or has arranged a visa within the past 24 months.
4. The fields the company must complete, following the ID 990B section above, with suggested wording for the job title, monthly salary, benefits, and duties, for human resources to check.
5. The points the employer's letter must cover: the post, the total monthly remuneration, and the period of employment.
6. The timing: an extension must be submitted within the 3 months before the limit of stay expires, and at the latest 6 weeks before expiry. Ask the company to provide the documents by a date you name.
7. The fees: the application fee of HK$600 is paid on submission. After approval, the visa issuance fee is HK$600 or HK$1,300, according to the period granted. Who pays is for the two sides to agree. The official rules do not say.

Common sticking points

1. Human resources may say the company has never arranged a visa, so it cannot. The exemption only reduces the documents. A company that has never done this can still submit the business registration certificate and the financial proof in full.
2. A new company has no audited accounts. The official examples of financial proof also include a profit and loss account and a profits tax return. A company established for less than 12 months must submit a business plan.
3. The company does not want to hand over financial information. The heading of Part VII(B) is "Documents the employer must upload". The company documents are part of an extension and of a first application made after the 6-month window. Check first whether the company meets an exemption.
4. The official materials do not say whether an employee may upload the company documents for the company (checked 18 October 2026). Follow the prompts in the online system.
5. The IANG page does not say whether a paper ID 990B must also be uploaded in an IANG online application (checked 18 October 2026). Follow the prompts in the system.
6. The job title does not match the work. If the title is analyst and the duties are entirely administrative, the case is open to the question of whether the work is at degree level.
7. Employment in name only. In the declaration, the company undertakes to tell the Immigration Department of a change in the employment or of its end. A false statement to the Immigration Department is a criminal offence. The visa issued on it is void.

Sources

• Immigration Department, ID 990B, Application for Employing Professionals to Take Up Employment in Hong Kong (to be completed by the employing company) (01/2025 edition)
• Immigration Department, Guidebook for Entry for Employment as Professionals in Hong Kong, ID(E)991 (04/2026 edition), Parts VII and VIII
• Immigration Department, Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates webpage and frequently asked questions (checked 18 October 2026)
• Immigration Department, Top Talent Pass Scheme frequently asked questions, question 5