Starting a business as a non-local

Many non-local graduates, and many people already in a job, want to open a company in Hong Kong. The first thing to settle is not the steps for registering a company. It is whether your own visa allows you to run a business. These notes take 3 situations, by status. They follow the Immigration Department page on the arrangement for entrepreneurs to invest in Hong Kong, and the page on the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates (IANG). Both pages were revised on 16 April 2026, checked 19 October 2026. They also follow the page on activities a visitor is permitted to take part in, checked 19 October 2026. This is not legal advice or tax advice.

Whether your current status allows a business

1. A visitor, whether here for tourism or on a business visit. Regulation 2(1) of the Immigration Regulations (Cap. 115A) provides that a visitor must not take up employment, paid or unpaid, must not establish or join in any business, and must not study. A breach of a condition of stay is a criminal offence. Section 41 of the Immigration Ordinance (Cap. 115) provides for a maximum fine of HK$50,000 and imprisonment for a maximum of 2 years. The business activities a visitor may carry out are limited to signing a contract, tendering, inspecting goods, taking part in an exhibition (not including selling directly to the public, or setting up a booth), handling a claim, an inspection visit, and attending a short seminar, and activities of that kind.
2. A person approved in the capacity of employment under the General Employment Policy (GEP), the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals (ASMTP), the Technology Talent Admission Scheme (TechTAS), or a scheme of that kind. You may do only the employment the Director of Immigration has approved. Opening a further company and actually running it is work or business that has not been approved. Apply to the Immigration Department first.
3. A person who is not subject to other conditions of stay. That covers an IANG holder, and a person approved under the Top Talent Pass Scheme or the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS). The stay the Immigration Department grants is subject only to a time limit. It is not subject to other conditions of stay. You may establish a business. On an extension you must still meet the extension conditions of your own scheme. For IANG, see the section below on starting a business during IANG. The dependants page states only that employment in Hong Kong is not restricted. It does not say anything specific about running a business (checked 19 October 2026). A dependant who intends to start a business should ask the Immigration Department first.
4. A student. You cannot run a business without permission. For internship and part-time work under a student visa, see the related briefing in this series.

The arrangement for entrepreneurs to invest in Hong Kong, under the General Employment Policy

1. Who cannot use this route:
   1. A Mainland Chinese resident cannot use it. A Chinese citizen who lives overseas and holds a Chinese passport is under separate conditions, set out in item 5 of this section.
   2. Nationals of Afghanistan, Cuba, and North Korea.
2. Education. A good educational background, which normally means a bachelor's degree in the relevant field. In special circumstances, good technical qualifications, proven professional abilities, or documented experience and achievements may also be accepted.
3. A substantial contribution to the economy of Hong Kong. The factors the Immigration Department considers are:
   1. A business plan for 3 years. It covers the nature of the business, market analysis, market positioning, the direction of the business, the customers, and the marketing strategy, with 3-year forecasts of the profit and loss account, the cash flow statement, and the balance sheet.
   2. Turnover. For a business that already exists, the profit and loss account and the balance sheet for the past 1 year.
   3. Financial resources. Proof of personal and company bank deposits over the past 1 year, and of the source of the funds, and the latest audited financial report if there is one.
   4. The sum invested. The Immigration Department looks at whether the sum can support the operation of the business. No minimum sum has been published (checked 19 October 2026).
   5. Local posts. Set out the organisation structure, and the number and level of substantive posts created for local employees.
   6. New technology or skills. A registered patent, if you have one, may be used as supporting material.
4. A start-up. If the start-up has the support of a government support scheme that uses strict vetting and selection, and the applicant is an operator, a partner, or a principal researcher, the application may be considered. The Immigration Department gives these examples:
   1. the StartmeupHK entrepreneurship programme of Invest Hong Kong;
   2. the incubation programmes of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation;
   3. the Cyberport incubation programme;
   4. the Enterprise Support Scheme of the Innovation and Technology Commission;
   5. the design entrepreneurship incubation programme of the Hong Kong Design Centre.

With the application, attach a letter stating that valid support under the support scheme has been obtained.

1. A Chinese citizen who holds a Chinese passport and lives overseas. You must already hold permanent resident status overseas. Or you must have lived overseas for not less than 1 year immediately before the application, and you must submit the application from overseas.
2. A local sponsor. You must nominate one. It may be a company or an individual. An individual sponsor must be aged 18 or above, must be a Hong Kong resident who is genuinely residing in Hong Kong, and must be familiar with the applicant.
3. Processing time. Generally 4 weeks after the documents and the fee have all been received. This route is a specified scheme. A non-refundable application fee and a visa issuance fee are payable.
4. Limit of stay. The first grant is for a maximum of 36 months, in the capacity of employment. You may apply for an extension within the 3 months before the limit expires. It is usually granted on a 3-2 year pattern, provided you still meet the requirements for coming to Hong Kong to invest.

Starting a business during IANG: what an extension requires

1. The first IANG permission is a stay of 24 months, not subject to other conditions of stay. You may establish a business.
2. The conditions for an extension, in the Immigration Department's own wording, are:
   1. At the time of submission you must already have secured employment. The work must be work usually undertaken by a degree holder. The pay and benefits must be at market level.
   2. If you have already established or joined in any business in Hong Kong, you must produce documents that prove the business.
3. One item among the employer's documents is this. A new company set up within the past 12 months must submit a detailed business plan. The plan covers the source of funds, the estimated amount of capital to be injected, the business model, the projected turnover, the gross profit and the net profit for the coming year, the local posts proposed, and similar matters.
4. The Immigration Department webpage does not specifically say whether being employed by a company in which you yourself hold the shares meets "has already secured employment" (checked 19 October 2026). If you intend to extend on that basis, you should prepare complete proof of the business in advance, and you should ask the Immigration Department.
5. The steadier way to do it:
   1. From the first day, keep real evidence that the company is operating. That includes contracts, invoices, bank transaction records, the tenancy for the office, and records of MPF contributions for local employees.
   2. Salary you pay yourself should have a contract and payroll records. File salaries tax as the law requires, and make MPF contributions for yourself.

Documents for the application to come and invest

The list below follows the groups the Immigration Department sets out.

1. Personal documents. A recent photograph, the travel document, a Hong Kong identity card if you have one, proof of academic qualifications and work experience, and proof of your personal financial position.
2. The company and the business:
   1. An employment contract, or a letter of appointment, between the company and the applicant, if that applies.
   2. An investment plan for 3 years.
   3. Proof of business activity, such as contracts, invoices, and transactions still under discussion.
   4. Proof of the company's financial position, such as audited financial reports and profits tax returns.
   5. Documents on the company's background, such as product catalogues, the mode of operation, and membership of a chamber of commerce.
   6. The lease for the office.
   7. Monthly records of MPF contributions for local employees.
   8. The business registration certificate, and the particulars of the registration.
   9. Documents filed with the Companies Registry, such as the certificate of incorporation, the annual return, and the articles of association.
   10. Licences the business needs, if the industry is regulated.
   11. A letter of support under a government support scheme, where the business is a start-up.
3. On an extension, a letter from the company. It states the sum already invested, the number of local posts already added, and the projected sum of investment and the projected number of posts for the next 3 years.

A document that is not in Chinese or English must be accompanied by a certified translation into Chinese or English. The Immigration Department may visit the premises to check the information. Making a false representation is a criminal offence. A visa that has been issued is void.

Company compliance, separate from the visa

1. Register the company at the Companies Registry, and register the business at the Business Registration Office of the Inland Revenue Department. Fees and time limits follow the webpages of those 2 departments.
2. If you employ staff, enrol eligible employees in an MPF scheme as the law requires, and take out employees' compensation insurance.
3. File the returns the Inland Revenue Department requires. That covers profits tax, and the employer's return.
4. A regulated business, such as finance, an estate agency, or a food business, must obtain the relevant licence first.

Common mistakes

1. "Come on a tourist status, open the company, then apply for the visa." Registering a company is itself separate from the visa. Carrying on a business in Hong Kong as a visitor is a breach of the conditions of stay. After a visitor has arrived, the Immigration Department does not allow a change from visitor status, except in very special circumstances.
2. "A person on a work visa can run a side business as well." A person approved in the capacity of employment may do only the work that was approved. A side business needs approval first.
3. "The more capital you put in, the easier the approval." The Immigration Department assesses the business plan, the turnover, the local posts, and the other factors together. It does not use the sum invested as a single threshold.
4. A Mainland resident cannot apply for a visa under the arrangement for entrepreneurs to invest in Hong Kong. Routes you may consider are IANG, which applies to a person who graduated from a campus in Hong Kong or in the Greater Bay Area, the Top Talent Pass Scheme, QMAS, and other statuses that are not subject to other conditions of stay. The business comes after that status.

Sources

• Immigration Department, webpage on the arrangement for entrepreneurs to invest in Hong Kong (page revised 16 April 2026, checked 19 October 2026)
• Immigration Department, entry guidebook for entrepreneurs investing in Hong Kong, ID(C) 1000 (cited on the webpage)
• Immigration Department, webpage on the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates (checked 19 October 2026)
• Immigration Department, webpage on activities a visitor is permitted to take part in (page revised 1 March 2025, checked 19 October 2026)
• Immigration Department, webpage on the requirements for a visit visa or an entry permit (page revised 26 August 2026, checked 19 October 2026)
• Immigration Department, webpages on the Top Talent Pass Scheme and the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (kept with the first batch of briefings, checked 18 October 2026)
• Immigration Regulations (Cap. 115A), regulation 2(1); Immigration Ordinance (Cap. 115), section 41