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Immigration
Legal Update – Launch of the Immigration Facilitation Scheme for Persons Participating in Arbitral Proceedings
On 1 March 2025, the Hong Kong Government will launch the refined Immigration Facilitation Scheme for Persons Participating in Arbitral Proceedings (“Scheme”). Under the new Scheme, the following eligible persons (“Eligible Persons”) will be allowed to enter Hong Kong as a visitor to participate in…Read More
Ready to move to Hong Kong? Proposed company re-domiciliation regime in Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Government has proposed a company re-domiciliation regime which will enable non-Hong Kong incorporated companies to move their place of incorporation to Hong Kong. The proposed re-domiciliation regime is set out in the Companies (Amendment) (No.2) Bill 2024 (“Bill”), which was published in…Read More
Don’t neglect your visa expiry date: the serious consequences of overstaying in Hong Kong
In this article, we discuss the consequences of overstaying your visa in Hong Kong. In a related article (An Overview of 3 Common Immigration Offences in Hong Kong – Overstaying, Making False Representation and Employment of Illegal Workers (tannerdewitt.com)), we discussed the law relating to…Read More
An Overview of 3 Common Immigration Offences in Hong Kong – Overstaying, Making false representation and Employment of illegal workers
After the COVID-19 pandemic subsides and the borders between countries reopen, there has been a noticeable increase in prosecutions related to immigration offences in Hong Kong, such as overstaying and making false statements. In Hong Kong, the Immigration Department is the primary law enforcement agency…Read More
New option if your employment / dependant visa is expiring soon or has expired
A recent change in policy on extensions of stay by the Immigration Department is now permitting applications to be made by applicants who are unable to return to Hong Kong before the expiry of their employment or dependant visas. To be eligible, the applicant must…Read More
Hong Kong Government launches Visa-Free Entry for Arbitration Participants
Generally, anyone who does not have the right of abode or the right to land in Hong Kong requires a visa to work in Hong Kong. In the past, this requirement applied to all participants in arbitral proceedings in Hong Kong including arbitrators, witnesses, counsel,…Read More
Legal update: Same sex spouses to receive dependant visas after policy reversal by Immigration Department
In its judgment handed down on 4 July 2018 the Court of Final Appeal upheld the Court of Appeal’s decision that the Director of Immigration’s exclusion of same-sex married or otherwise formalised couples from the dependant visa policy was unlawful. Effective 19 September 2018, the…Read More
Legal update: Court of Appeal allows same sex dependant visas
In a landmark decision handed down on 25 September 2017, the Court of Appeal held it unlawful to exclude couples in same sex marriages and civil partnerships from the dependant visa regime: QT v Director of Immigration, CACV 117 of 2016. The Court found that…Read More