The first time of application
You are a foreigner and have been working in Hong Kong for the first year or two. During that time before you first applied for visa (through the Immigration Department) to work in HK, you would have submitted the following documents:
- Your valid passport that has at least six months validity (before the expiry date).
- Your most recent passport sized photos: Quality about 2 to 4.
- The employment visa application form (from the Immigration Department) with all the necessary information that is fully filled.
- Job/employment offer letter that you have received from your new employer (at that time). This is a locally-based company in Hong Kong. Also the job that you applied must be highly relevant to your previous work experience and/or your education or academic qualifications.
- The employing company must provide evidence/information of the job offer you have applied for and should prove that the salary (with the medical, accommodation and other benefits) that has been offered to you is relevant to the field, achievements, technical qualifications, work experience. The salary must be on par with the salaries that are paid to the HK local residents.
- Your travel Insurance and health Insurance.
- The “clean” criminal record document from your country of application/origin.
Extension of stay
Now your employment/work visa is about to expire. The immediate risk is that once your visa expires, you will not be able to legally work from HK. Before your working visa (Hong Kong) expires, you must give it a bit of room for the renewal, or more formally said, the extension of visa (i.e. extension of stay label).
Regardless of your personal status and/or demand, when applying for the extension of visa (of Hong Kong), you do not need to be physically present in Hong Kong at the time of your submission. You will not have to be physically present locally in HK at the time of your collection of your extension of stay label from the Immigration Department. You may request to collect the approved document (i.e. your extension of sty label) at a specific Immigration Department branch office of your choice. Even when you are on a visitor status during your visit in Hong Kong, you can still submit your application.
Switching to a new employer
The extension of stay cannot be valid anymore in case when you are switching to a new job. In this case, you are technically changing to a new employer i.e. new employing sponsor. Remember a work visa cannot be transferred to a different sponsor, and you must re-apply for a new employment/work visa.
