Extending IANG, and changing jobs

If you already hold a stay under the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates (IANG) and you work in Hong Kong, these notes cover what an extension of stay requires, the timing, the papers, the length granted, and what to watch before and after you change jobs. These notes follow the Immigration Department website, guidebook ID 991, and the notes on the online extension service, checked 18 October 2026.

What an extension requires

1. When you file, you must already be employed in Hong Kong, or you must already have set up or joined a business in Hong Kong.
2. The employed work is normally taken up by a degree holder, and the pay and benefits are at market level.
3. If you have set up or joined a business, you must show papers that prove the business. The department has not published a fixed list.
4. The official frequently asked questions state that the application may be refused if you cannot show that you will continue to be employed in Hong Kong, or that you have set up or joined a business. That applies whether your case is within six months or after six months.
5. The factors the assessment can take into account include, but are not limited to, the pay and benefits or the operation and development of the business, the economic benefit the work or the business brings, and the length of time you have stayed in Hong Kong.

When to file

1. File within the 3 months before the limit of stay expires. In every case you should file at least 6 weeks before it expires.
2. After the documents and the application fee have all been received, processing is generally about 2 to 3 weeks. June to August can take longer.
3. While you wait for the result, you must leave Hong Kong before the limit of stay expires, unless the Director of Immigration gives approval in special circumstances. Filing does not mean you can stay.
4. You must be in Hong Kong when you file, when you pay, and when you collect the e-Visa.
5. An IANG extension must be filed through the online system. That is set out in the appendix to ID 91, version 01/2025. A paper form is not accepted.

Mark 2 dates. The first is 3 months before expiry. You can file from that day. The second is 6 weeks before expiry. That is the latest day to file. Leave time in case further papers are required.

When the online extension service cannot be used

The GovHK online extension-of-stay service lists situations it does not cover. The ones that bear on an IANG holder are these.

1. You are not in Hong Kong when you file, or when you collect the e-Visa.
2. The remaining limit of stay is more than 3 months. That is too early.
3. The limit of stay has already expired. That is too late.
4. The travel document will expire within 6 months. If the passport or travel permit has less than 6 months of validity left, renew it, then file.
5. You hold IANG in Hong Kong but you do not yet have a job.

A change of employer is not on that list. In the clause that shuts out cases where the circumstances have changed, for example a change of employer, GovHK expressly leaves out IANG applicants.

Papers for each situation

The list follows the Immigration Department IANG page and Part VII(D) of the guidebook.

1. You came in on a within-six-months approval, and this is your first extension. Submit a valid travel document, including the latest arrival stamp, arrival label, extension label, and the latest e-Visa, plus your Hong Kong identity card, plus the full set of company papers in Part VII(B).
2. This is not your first extension and you have not changed jobs, or you came in after six months and you have not changed jobs. Submit the travel document and the identity card, plus a letter from the current employer. The letter must state the current post, the monthly pay including benefits, and the period of employment.
3. You have changed jobs, on any extension. Submit the travel document and the identity card, plus the full set of company papers in Part VII(B).

The Part VII(B) company papers are the employment contract or letter of appointment, stating the post, salary, benefits, and period of employment; the business registration certificate; proof of financial position (an audited financial report, a profit and loss account, or a profits tax return); and a business plan if the company has been established for less than 12 months. A listed company, or a company that within 24 months has successfully obtained a work visa for a non-local employee, may leave out the business registration certificate, the financial proof, and the business plan.

The GovHK upload slots are these. Hong Kong identity card: 1 file. Travel document and e-Visa: mandatory, at most 5 files. Company letter or employment contract: mandatory, at most 5 files. Proof of income of HK$2 million: if it applies. Other supporting documents: at most 5 files.

How the length of stay is set

1. An extension is generally granted on a "3-3" year pattern. But the official frequently asked questions state that the period granted is generally not more than 3 years, or runs until the employment contract in Hong Kong ends, whichever is shorter.
2. If the period of employment in the letter or the contract gives a specific end date, the period granted is likely to stop on that day. If the contract is long-term, ask the personnel office to state the true position: no fixed term, or the actual terms of the contract. Do not put down a date at random.
3. There is a top talent category. If you have already stayed under IANG for not less than 2 years, and your assessable income for salaries tax in the previous year of assessment was HK$2 million or above, you may ask to be assessed in this category. If that succeeds, the extension is generally 6 years. You must submit the notice of assessment from the Inland Revenue Department, or the related tax papers.

Fees

1. The application fee is HK$600. You pay it when you file. It is not refunded, whatever the result.
2. After approval you pay a visa issue fee. For an extension, the relevant period is the last day of the new limit minus the last day of the original limit. More than 180 days costs HK$1,300. Not more than 180 days costs HK$600.
3. If the payment notice asks for HK$600, the extension granted this time is not more than 180 days. Check the reason first. Then decide whether to contact the Immigration Department.

Changing jobs

1. You do not need approval in advance. The guidebook states that an IANG holder may take up and change employment freely, without prior approval from the Director.
2. On the next extension after a change of job, you submit the full set of Part VII(B) company papers. A letter alone is not enough.
3. When you change jobs, it is better if the new contract is already signed before you file the extension. The extension looks at whether you are already employed on the day you file.
4. The frequently asked questions state that after you resign you may stay in Hong Kong to look for work. When you file the extension, though, you must already be employed. An IANG holder who is not yet employed cannot use the online extension service. You must find the job inside the limit of stay.
5. If you leave employment under IANG to run your own business, the extension requires proof of the business. The length granted takes the way the business is operating into account.
6. Whether you yourself must tell the Immigration Department after a change of job is not a requirement found on the department website, checked 18 October 2026. ID 990B contains an undertaking by the company to notify the Immigration Department of a change in the employee's employment, or of its termination.

A check before you apply to extend

1. Note the last day of the limit of stay, and whether you are already inside the 3 months before that day.
2. Check that the passport or travel permit still has more than 6 months of validity.
3. Decide whether this is the first extension or a later one, and whether you have changed jobs. That decides whether you submit a letter or the full set of company papers.
4. Check that the letter states the post, the total monthly pay, and the period of employment, and that the dates match the contract.
5. Check whether the company can use the exemption for a listed company, or for having obtained a visa within 24 months, so that it has fewer papers to submit.
6. You will be in Hong Kong when you file, when you pay, and when you collect the e-Visa.
7. You have saved the online application acknowledgement.

Sources

• Immigration Department webpage and frequently asked questions on the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates (checked 18 October 2026)
• Immigration Department guidebook for employment as professionals, ID(E)991 (version 04/2026), Part VII
• Immigration Department form ID 91, application for extension of stay, appendix
• GovHK notes on the online service "Apply for extension of stay"
• Immigration Department, new fee structure for visa applications under specified schemes